Shimla authors, green activists pitch 9-point plan to save Himachal from disasters. Indeed it is a tall claim as Nature takes its own course.
Shimla, Sept 21 – With the slogan “Harit Himachal, Swasth Himachal” (Green Himachal, Healthy Himachal), a group of writers and environmentalists on Sunday handed over a 9-point restriction letter to the state government, Governor, and the Himachal Pradesh High Court, demanding urgent steps to check ecological degradation.
The call came during a poetry session and dialogue on environment at the historic Gaiety Theatre in Shimla, organised by the Himalaya Sahitya Sanskriti Evam Paryavaran Manch.
Chaired by five senior authors – Dr. Masat Ram Sharma, Dr. Vijay Lakshmi Negi, Om Prakash Sharma, Dr. Satyanarayan Snehi and Jagdish Bali – the meet turned into a collective appeal to stop “human greed from devouring nature.”
Renowned author and Manch chairperson S.R. Harnot told mediapersons that the 9-point plan demands a total ban on plastic use, deforestation, multi-storey building construction, unscientific four-laning, mining, dumping of waste in the mountains, explosives, and high-decibel sound pollution.
It also stresses on making the “Ritu Mitra Vriksharopan” (Seasonal Friend Tree Plantation) scheme mandatory from panchayats to cities, schools, colleges, and households.
Harnot warned that Himachal has been reeling from back-to-back natural disasters for the past three years due to reckless development.
“The government must act with commitment. Instead of more hydropower projects, Himachal should focus on becoming a solar energy state and shift buildings away from rivers and streams,” he said, adding that tourism should also be made fully eco-friendly.
The event, moderated by Deepti Sarswat, saw over 50 young and senior writers recite poems on ecological concerns.
Among the participants were Kuldeep Garg Tarun, Dinesh Sharma, Salil Shamshery, Sneh Negi, Pooja Sood Dogra, Ramesh Dadhwal, Devkanya Thakur, Kishan Shriman, Manan, Kalpana Gangta, Uma Thakur Nadhik, Kamla Bhoyal, Veerendra Kumar, Hemlata, Ghanshyam Das Sharma, Gulpal Verma, Naina Deshta, Nisha Chauhan, Yadav Chand, Divya, Pradeep Dharam, Sakshi and many others.
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