It’s all virtual at Environment Day celebrations amid pandemic

Due to the pandemic and orders from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the forest and environment department did not organise any walk or competitions.
Forest staff plant ficus into holes on trees which got burnt in a forest fire at AM Gudi Range in Bandipur | Express
Forest staff plant ficus into holes on trees which got burnt in a forest fire at AM Gudi Range in Bandipur | Express

BENGALURU: Despite the lockdown and the pandemic making the World Environment Day a low-key affair, the virtual safari tours on social media platforms and shared by the forest department officials, stole the show. 

Due to the pandemic and orders from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the forest and environment department did not organise any walk or competitions. It was marked with virtual meetings and seminars organised by various wildlife divisions, government departments and NGOs. Many educational institutions, including Bangalore University, had partnered with State NSS Cell and United Nations Development Programme to organise a symposium on climate change.

The forest divisions of Bandipur and Nagarhole Tiger Reserves also organised virtual seminars and competitions. The Nagarhole division released a six-minute virtual safari video for all those missing it this season. The staffers at BRT Tiger Reserve organised a talk on Twitter, where directors of all tiger reserves in Karnataka along with Deputy Conservator of Forests of other divisions, shared details on the importance of tiger conservation and grassland protection. 

In other territorial and forest divisions of the state, including Shivamogga, Tumakuru, Chikkamagaluru, MM Hills, Mysuru, Bannerghatta National Park, and Kodagu, symbolic sapling plantation events were also held.  “We decided to not have any celebration, keeping the pandemic in mind. However, we need to create awareness, hence we organised online events in small capacities to the attention of citizens towards conservation,” said a senior forest department official. 

Politicians were not far behind in doing their bit. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa planted a sapling at his official residence. While Forest Minister Aravind Limbavalli participated in the Environment Day event in Dharmasthala, KPCC President D K Shivakumar participated in a sapling plantation drive in Ramanagara. Deputy Chief Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan also planted a sapling in Malleswaram. Actor Darshan urged citizens to adopt animals housed in the nine zoos in Karnataka. 

South Western Railways announced that Indian Railways had taken up the task to be zero carbon emission by 2030. For this, it has already completed electrification of 6,100 route kilometres, of which 303 route kilometres are from SWR. 

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