Vice president M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday highlighted the urgency posed by climate change and called for a people’s movement to protect the environment. He was speaking in Hyderabad at a function to release Nursery Rajyaniki Raraju, a book based on the life story of late Palla Venkanna, a renowned conservationist.
He urged people to voluntarily participate in various environment conservation activities and asserted that youth should lead the movement to protect the environmental and “motivate others to adopt sustainable practices”. “They should drive the point among people that if we take care of nature, nature, in turn, will take care of mankind”, he added.
Acknowledging the repercussions of rapid urbanisation and deforestation, Naidu said that “there has been an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events in recent times such as flash floods and landslides in different parts of the world. These are clear signs that climate change is real and it cannot be business as usual anymore.”
The VP noted the importance of harmonious human coexistence with nature in order to mitigate such weather events. “We must balance our developmental needs with environmental protection and make sure everyone understands the importance of sustainable living. Meaningful development is possible only when it takes into account the cost to the environment,” Naidu added.
While appreciating Telangana government’s tree plantation initiative under ‘Haritha Haram’, VP urged all state governments to adopt initiatives for amplifying awareness around environmental protection and tree plantation among children.
