Saturday, 23 April 2022 | Prateek Tiwari | Dehradun
Till about 50 years ago the people of Uttarakhand used to think of forests as their home and mother. But now the state is on the verge of losing all the forest areas and making mother earth suffer more, said Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO) founder Anil Prakash Joshi on the occasion of World Earth Day on Friday.
Joshi asserted,“The government should review The Forest Act 1980 because this law has separated villagers and forests from each other. Now the people of Uttarakhand are not embracing the forest as they were doing it before.”
When asked about forest fires in the state, he said that 50 years ago when incidents like forest fires used to happen, villagers used to form groups to stop the fire and in an effort to support them other villagers used to cook meals for them, he added.
“Youth who are still sleeping should be more cautious because one day they will have to save themselves from polluted air, contaminated food from impure soil, reducing their life span so it’s high time for young people to act now,” he added.
Social Development for Communities (SDC) Foundation’s Anoop Nautiyal said, “We have a crisis in our hands, whether we accept it or not. There are enough choices in our minds to wake up through our slumber to save the earth”, he added.
On being asked about the cause of degradation of the environment he said, “Each and everyone is responsible for their role in degrading nature. One crore, thirty five lakh people of the state should come together to save earth. We have to minimise the negative effects of developmental activities on forests. We all need combined and consistent attempts to tackle environmental problems. The State government should act fast to save the earth,” he added.
