Planet-friendly measures mark Environment Day

Visakhapatnam: A massive tree plantation drive launch of eco bazaar, green walks, awareness drives and delivery of inspiring messages formed a part of the 'World Environment Day' (WED) celebrations the city witnessed at various places on Sunday.

Armed with gloves and bags, District Collector A Mallikarjuna, Municipal Commissioner G Lakshmisha, Mayor G Hari Venkata Kumari, city Police Commissioner Ch. Srikanth, among others took part in beach clean up drive at Sagar Nagar and cleared 22 tonnes of garbage.

Taking part in the cloth bag distribution programme, GVMC Commissioner Dr. Lakshmisha said a blanket ban on single-use plastic will come into effect from Sunday and appealed to the stakeholders to replace plastic bags with alternatives and to extend their cooperation in making Visakhapatnam a plastic-free city. He mentioned that those who violate the rules will not be spared.

District administration and VMRDA took out a tree plantation programme at VMRDA premises. Speaking on the occasion, VMRDA chairperson A Vijaya Nirmala underlined the need to pass on a better planet to future generations and that increasing green cover acts as one of the effective measures to beat pollution. The District Collector called for a united fight against pollution by planting more saplings and saving the environment in every possible manner.

IT Minister Gudivada Amarnath along with the District Collector, Mayor, Deputy Mayor Jiyyani Sridhar, Municipal Commissioner G Lakshmisha and ZP Chairperson J Subhadra launched Eco Bazaar at beach road. The stalls at the venue exhibited a range of planet-friendly products such as cups and ladles made of coconut shells, wooden toys along with cloth and jute bags.

Waltair division

Reiterating that celebration of WED should not be confined to a day, Divisional Railway Manager Anup Satpathy said, "Imposing plastic ban for a temporary period will not suffice. The focus should be on bringing in change in habits, recycling of products, avoiding dependence on single-use plastic, avoiding littering and contributing to bringing down carbon emissions." Apart from participating in the green plantation drive organised at various locations, the DRM took part in distribution of cloth bags, rally, among other events. More than 2,000 saplings were planted in the railway colonies and station surroundings across the division. A streeplay was presented at DRM office on the

ENC

To bring in awareness and encourage people to take action towards environment conservation, Eastern Naval Command (ENC) joined the WED celebrations. With the theme centred on 'only one earth' and the slogan focusing on 'living sustainably in harmony with nature', awareness activities and campaigns, including display of banners to sensitise the personnel on the issues affecting the environment were organised. Shunning single-use plastic, encouraging carpooling, lectures, seminars, painting competitions and water conservation awareness drives formed a part of the activities of the ENC.

RINL organised a bicycle rally at Trishna grounds, Ukkunagaram Township. Flagging off the rally director (Operations), RINL AK Saxena said people should strive to pass on a clean and green planet to the next generation.

At NTPC Simhadri, chief general manager GC Choukse administered an environmental pledge to the participants. The day's celebrations also included a green walkathon, tree plantation, among others. A 3.3 KW solar tree was inaugurated on the occasion. Also, a vehicle emission check-up camp was organised.

HPCL-Visakh Refinery executive director in-charge V Ratan Raj mentioned that the earth is the only place for human beings to live and it is very important to protect it and pass it on to future generations. Inaugurating the oxygen terrain where NASA suggested plant species formed part of it. HPCL CGM (HR) K Nagesh said that the company gives significance to planting oxygen-generating saplings. HPCL personnel conducted a zoo visit, plantation programme involving the children of the employees. An eco-trip was undertaken to create awareness about the environs.