Several residents and youth groups came together for an umbrella rally to raise awareness about a host of environmental issues the city has been grappling with, including the loss of biodoversity and climate change.
A group of women danced to the beats of drums while children and senior citizens carried placards and painted umbrellas to underscore the pressing environmental issues in the city, including saving the Pulicat lake.
Benisha B. of the Chennai Climate Action Group said against the backdrop of the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Conference, it was time local issues of the city were given importance. “These meetings don’t bring solutions for our issues. The Ennore-Manali region, an important ecological cluster which houses a huge petroleum refinery and a coal-based power plant, has turned into a pollution hotspot. The beaches are becoming a prey for urbanisation and this has to stop,” she said.
Vandana Viswanath, a climate activist, said it was heart-wrenching to see the wetlands being polluted and decimated by power plants. “Apart from disturbing the ecosystem and causing a loss of biodiversity, a multitude of people’s livelihood is greatly affected,” Ms. Viswanath said.
Musician T.M. Krishna said that though the understanding and the awareness among the youth about environmental issues had grown significantly, it was important to sustain such campaigns and keep the momentum. “What we need to realise is social justice and environmental change are intertwined,” he added.
