Chipko Movement leader and veteran environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna called for efforts to ensure that Himalaya remain a natural storehouse of water. He said this while speaking at a programme organised at the Doon University on the occasion of his 92nd birthday on Tuesday.
He said that environmental protection in the State will not only benefit Uttarakhand but also prove beneficial for the whole nation.
Stating that the youth have much potential, he opined that it is difficult to get work done in this nation without shaking the governments.
Addressing the gathering on the occasion, the veteran environmentalist said that the colonial British were businessmen. They had grown pine trees in the Himalayan region due to which the region was converted into a timber mine of sorts. Bahuguna said that the pine trees should be replaced by broad-leaved trees. Trees like walnut should be grown in the mountains as this will not only generate income for farmers but will also improve the environment further.
Speaking on the occasion, Bahuguna’s biographer and University of Texas professor George Alfred James recalled that Bahuguna’s social activism had started with his opposition to casteism.
After that he undertook a movement on the issue of alcohol sale and then also started making attempts for environmental conservation. Bahuguna’s ideas inspire one to realise that plans should be made for long term gains instead of being aimed at short term gains.
Expressing his views, the former president of Pradesh Congress Committee, Kishore Upadhyay said that Bahuguna had struggled throughout his life for building a better society. The coming generations should benefit from his thoughts, added Upadhyay.
The Doon University vice chancellor Kusum Arunachalam and others were also present on the occasion.