Bengaluru: Prioritising the protection of wetlands in Bengaluru, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday announced that a new authority has been formed to manage water bodies in Bengaluru.
The Karnataka Wetland Conservation and Development Authority (KWCDA) is expected to work under the present Lake Development Authority. The government announcement comes at a time when most of the lakes in the city are dogged by encroachment and entry of untreated sewage.
Inaugurating the Parisara Habba (Environment Festival) at the Kanteerava Stadium, Mr Siddaramaiah said that the new body will ensure that the lakes are saved from further encroachment.
Union Law Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda said the draft bill for penalising offenders for garbage dumping in public areas has been prepared by the central government and it will soon be placed in front of the cabinet. Mr Siddaramaiah also conferred green awards on individuals and organisations who have worked towards ecological conservation.
Meanwhile, corporates and governmental organisations took up tree planting, green walks, painting competitions and lectures by ecological experts on the occasion of Environment Day.
Tesco HSC launched ‘Greenfuture’ campaign, with the theme ‘Several billion dreams. One planet. Consume with care’, to address colleagues, neighbourhood and the larger community. Ola Cabs launched a nationwide campaign, ‘Plant a Sapling’, which enables anyone to ‘plant a sapling’ using the Ola mobile app till June 8. For every sapling planted by a user, Ola plants one more.
All users who participate will also get a digital certificate mentioning the location of their sapling, which helps them identify their tree years later. Wipro celebrated Environment Day by spreading awareness about the environment and the work done in various locations with a series of activities which included screening of ‘Home’ an environmental documentary, an exhibition with an environmental perspective by photographer Anil Annaiah and interaction with experts from ATREE.
A number of schools conducted tree planting initiatives where hundreds of children participated. A group of students from Gopalan International School planted rain trees.
