Hyderabad: The world wide “Earth Hour” movement found the backing of Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan and the entire staff of the Raj Bhavan, who kept the lights switched off from 8.30 pm to 9.30 pm. Earth Hour meet-ups were held in various places in the city like Jubilee Hills, old city, hotels like Westin, Hyderabad Mindspace etc. A few NGOs across the city also took part.
More than 2,000 individuals from the city had pledged their support to the movement on various social forums like, Facebook, Twitter etc.
When asked, APTra-nsco officials said that although it is difficult to estimate how much power was saved during that one hour, officials said that if 2,000 individuals actually switched off lights and other equipment for an hour, at least 30 MW power could be saved. Although that is not much, it does make a difference if even this much power is saved on a day-to-day basis.
This year, the theme of the Earth Hour is “India Unplugged” which not only calls out to people to switch off lights, but also encourages citizens across the country to explore and adopt a cleaner and more sustainable lifestyle by embracing renewable energy solutions.
A cyclothon “Pedal for the Planet” was organised in Hyderabad by the WWF-India, in association with the Hyderabad Bicycling Club. Tennis ace Sania Mirza had previously pledged support to the WWF-India Earth Hour 2015 — WWF’s global campaign to raise awareness and inspire individual action on climate change.
“I liked the concept of showing support to the cause of planet Earth, when I heard about the ‘Earth Hour’ for the first time two years ago. Since then I have been observing the day each year,” said Sagar Kumar, a college student.
