Gurgaon celebrates Earth Hour with cyclothon and a flash mob

Every year, on the fourth Saturday of March, thousands of cities across the world go dark for an hour between 8.30pm and 9.30pm local time to observe Earth Hour. The global movement, organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), encourages people and businesses to switch off non-essential electric lights for one hour as a symbol of commitment towards the planet. This year, the Earth Hour was observed on March 24 and Gurgaon played host to a number of activities ranging from a cyclothon to a flash mob to raise awareness for the environment.

Gurgaon residents flag off the clyclothon


WWF India partnered with local cycling groups as well as Gurgaon Police and the MCG to organise the Pedal for the Planet cyclothon on Saturday morning. Led by Haryana PWD minister Rao Narbir Singh, several hundred Gurugrammers cycled across the Gurgaon roads near Sector 29 in a 5km circuit to spread the message of 'giving up to give back' for the planet. "It is a wonderful initiative and I urge all of you to not limit this just to one day or one hour but make it a lifestyle choice," the minister urged the participants during the flag-off. Apart from cyclists, students from various schools as well as other residents also walked the course parallel to take part in the walkatahon for the same cause.

Pedalling for a green cause: Abhishek Mishra (in blue), Gurgaon’s first Ultraman, at the event


"Gurgaon usually comes out to walk, run and cycle every weekend, but today it was a great feeling to do it for a cause this time," said Ananya, a city-based student.
Later, in the evening, volunteers from WWF India performed a street play called 'Dharti: Kal, Aaj, Aur Kal at Cyber Hub.' The play dealt with issues of energy conservation and spread the message to control and limit every individual’s usage of electric appliances and non-renewable energy sources. This was followed by a flash mob that drew the attention of several visitors at the busy entertainment hub.

Aarti, a Delhi resident, who watched both the performances, said, “The way the kids performed was commendable and it is a fun, engaging way to spread the message. I didn’t know about Earth Hour in detail before today, but this helped me understand what it is.”

Rao Narbir Singh, Haryana PWD Minister


Pedalling like a pro!

Chak dhoom dhoom! Flash mob at Cyber Hub