Postcard campaign to be held to demand scrapping of projects damaging environment
Monday, 09 January 2023 | PNS | NEW TEHRI
The Ganga Mission has decided to undertake an awareness campaign across the nation on the issue of Joshimath sinking. The campaign will also involve a drive using postcards to demand from Prime Minister Narendra Modi that activities damaging the environment in the Himalayan region should be stopped. This was decided in an online meeting of the Ganga Mission which was attended by over 40 environmentalists and activists from across the nation. Speakers in the meeting were of the opinion that development is important but the cost being paid for it should also be considered. Nature should not be tampered with in the name of development. Large-scale damage to the environment only for the generation of electricity cannot be tolerated, they said.
The head of Ganga Mission, Prahlad Rai Goenka said that Badrinath, Joshimath, and various pilgrimage places in this region are an integral part of the nation’s civilization and culture. Presiding over the meeting, economist and activist Bharat Jhunjhunwala said that this is the time for swift action. “We must put pressure on the government to scrap projects which hamper the unrestricted flow of the Ganga river and damage the environment. The public will have to be made aware for this purpose,” he said.
It was decided in the meeting that college students will be contacted and made aware of such projects being undertaken in the region. A team of geologists of the nation will be brought to Uttarakhand and the team will be asked to study the sensitive ecology of the Himalayas before presenting information about the actual situation to the nation. Social media will be utilized to ensure that issues related to the Ganga and the environment of this region reach the common people. A website will also be created for this purpose.
