Chief minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi take the pledge in Patna on Tuesday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, Aug. 9: Chief minister Nitish Kumar has urged youngsters to come forward to save the environment from further deterioration and take steps to make up for the damage caused because of past activities.

He made this appeal while speaking at an “Earth Day” function organised today at a government school in the state capital.

“August 9 is of special importance to India as on this very day in 1942, Gandhiji had given the call “Do or Die” while launching the Quit India Movement. On this very day this year, we are observing “Earth Day” because if we don’t protect our environment, the very existence of Earth would be at stake,” Nitish said while addressing a gathering of around 500 school stu- dents, who braved the incessant rain to take part in the function.

Apart from the chief minister, several other dignitaries, including deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi and human resource development (HRD) minis- ter P.K. Shahi, addressed the participants.

Bihar has decided to observe August 9 as Earth Day as part of its effort to generate awareness among the younger generation about the need to protect the environment.

The departments of state environment and forests and human resource development jointly organised functions in 3,000-odd government high schools and select private schools across the state.

Students attending the functions took an 11-point pledge to protect the environment.

The environment and forests department provided five saplings to each of the participating schools which planted them on their school premises. The schools would be responsible for nurturing these saplings.

Drawing attention of the participants towards extreme weather conditions like drought and cloudburst, the chief minister said such things were a result of the damage done to the environment. He also urged the students to go through the pledges, which they made today, every morning and try to incorporate the points in their day-to-day life for contributing to the improvement of the environment.

Shweta Kumari, a Class X student, said she would not only learn the pledges but also follow them in her daily life.

Another stu-dent Rekha Kumar, Class IX, was seen reading the pledges in detail. When asked, she said: “I arrived late to the function, so I missed the pledges. Now I am trying to understand each and every point so that I can follow them correctly.”

Nitish also used the occasion to draw the attention of the participants towards the mindless urban growth and cited the example of Patna where buildings had been constructed with- out taking the safety norms into the account.

“As Union agriculture minister, I had visited Guja- rat in 2002 when it was hit by an earthquake and there, some experts told me that had an earthquake of a similar magnitude hit Bihar, the number of casualties would have been five lakh,” Nitish said.

Speaking on this occasion, Modi, who also holds the environment and forests department port- folio, announced that on August 13, Raksha Bandhan, visitors would not have to purchase the entry tickets for visiting the eco park of Patna. “The only condition is that the visitors would have to tie a rakhi to the trees inside the park and make a promise that they would work to protect these trees,” he said.

Speaking about the sud- den decline in the state’s green cover after sepa- ration from Jharkhand, Modi said every person should plant at least one tree every year to add to the green cover of the state.

Bihar has 6,437sqkm forest area, which is less than 7 per cent of the total geographical area of the state. Ideally, a state should have one-third of the total geographical area as forest cover.

Both Nitish and Modi, apart from other digni- taries, planted one sap- ling each on the school pre- mises on the occasion.

Schools join cause

Students dress up as birds at the Earth Day event organised at a government school in Patna on Tuesday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

The downpour failed to dampen the spirit of schoolchildren who planted saplings on their school premises and promo-ted the green cause on Earth Day today.

Students of St Michael’s High School took part in a plantation drive while Rose Bud School organised a special assembly where stu- dents spoke on the importance of a green and clean environment.

Lions Club of Patna Takshila organised the event at St Michael’s. Around 100 saplings were planted on the school premises.

School principal Father Peter Arockiasamy, who inaugurated the event, said: “Lions Club of Patna Takshila has initiated a good campaign. It is spreading awareness.”

The chairman of the project and director of the club, Sanjay Awasthi, said on the occasion: “Time has come for us to return what nature has given to us. It’s very important that we plant more and more trees.”

Students of Rose Bud School promoted the green cause through their speeches during the assembly today.

Richa Jha of Class VIII laid stress on saving elec- tricity and paper. She said: “It’s high time we realise the importance of trees as well as environment. Unless and until we are aware, we cannot proceed further. It’s important to save trees, electricity and paper. We should plant more and more trees.”