Teen launches green drive to protect lung spaces in city

Hyderabad: Taking an initiative and making efforts to protect the green cover of the city on the occasion Global Climate Strike, a 17-year-old Ruchith Asha Kamal, student of Nizam College organised an awareness campaign on ways to protect the environment at People Plaza on Friday.

The campaign highlighted various environmental issues which have been neglected by the State government, especially the recent decision of revoking GO111. The youth opined that the government should protect the green cover, put a break on encroachments on open spaces and stop deforestation in the name of expanding highways. This Global Climate Strike started on September 25, 2018, by a teen climate activist, Greta Thunberg, who skipped her school every Friday and demanded from the Swedish government to act on climate change by sitting in front of the Swedish parliament. This movement slowly became a global movement to draw attention to the climate crisis across the countries.

Ruchith Asha Kamal, degree first year student of Nizam college and member of Fridays for Future, said, "I joined this mission as this strike is conducted globally to protect the environment. We are already aware of the never-ending battle of protecting Chevella Banyan trees and revoking GO111, as many protests were conducted in the past." The authorities are also chopping trees in the city in the name of highway expansion every month. There is law in states like Maharashtra and Gujarat and many more states where any tree which is more than 50 years cannot be cut.

But in Telangana there is no such rule imposed. Hence, this campaign was organised to spread awareness and awake the citizen as well as the government to stop exploiting the green cover.

I do not have the power and funds yet, but we are still fighting to save the environment. In this campaign, I interacted with few walkers and the passing populace and created an awareness on the importance of sustainable development and conservation to stop and reverse global warming, added Ruchith.