New Delhi: Lights at public places and prominent sites in various cities of India, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad, were turned off between 8.30 pm to 9.30 pm on Saturday as part of the global ‘Earth Hour’ event. The annual event is observed to raise awareness about energy conservation. Lights at India Gate and also the famous Akshardham temple in the National Capital were turned off in support of nature and the planet on Saturday between 8:30 pm and 9.30 pm.
According to power distribution company BSES, 206 MW of electricity was saved on account of the Earth Hour in Delhi as a whole.
Last year, Delhi saved 279 MW of electricity during this hour, as per BSES data.
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Similarly, visuals from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus showed lights being switched off for an hour to mark Earth Hour.
In Kolkata, too, the lights of the iconic Howrah Bridge were turned off to mark the annual event observed globally to promote awareness about climate change.
As part of observing Earth Hour, the lights of the Dr BR Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat will be switched off. Candles were lit in the shape of the number ’60’ symbolising 60 minutes of an hour at the state secretariat during this time.
Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad also joined the nationwide Earth Hour initiative by turning off all lights in its iconic premises, staff colony, officer’s quarters, and administrative building for one hour.
In Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) also observed Earth Hour at the Napier Museum by lighting candles in the shape of the number ’60’ symbolising 60 minutes of an hour.
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The lights at the Assam Legislative Assembly in Guwahati were also turned off to conserve energy, marking Earth Hour. On the occasion, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma switched off the lights in his office.
The lights of the District Magistrate office building in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh were also switched off for 1 hour on Earth Hour Day.
Gorakhpur City Magistrate Manglesh Dubey called it a very good initiative and said that everyone was pre-informed about the event.
Through Earth Hour, WWF encourages people worldwide to turn their lights off for 60 minutes to raise awareness about environmental issues.
Started in Sydney in 2007, Earth Hour is an annual international event, that has been held since 2007 on the last Saturday in March by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
It has grown to become one of the world’s biggest environmental movements, taking action for the planet. The Earth Hour has been observed between 8.30 pm and 9.30 pm.
Also Read: Global Emissions May Drop By Just 2 Per Cent By 2030: UN Report
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which in its Season 10 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In a world post COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental well-being, self-care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
