When city got lost in clean, green drives

Coimbatore: The city railway station did it bit to promote green concepts on the occasion of the World Environment Day on Wednesday. Passengers who came to board trains were provided with cloth bags to create awareness among them on alternatives for plastic, while the travellers who came out of the station were greeted with a street play on the theme of environmental conservation.
In another instance, a group of volunteers and NSS students cleaned the Sengulam tank at Kuniamuthur in the city. Similarly, several governmental and non-governmental organizations conducted an array of events to mark the World Environment Day.
Southern railway officials had tied up with private firms and NGOs to organize a number of events. “We planted saplings near the railway police station,” said a railway official. Along with the city-based Aram foundation, they also arranged a street play and a parai aattam performance.
Members of the Kovai Kulangal Padhukappu Amaippu, along with the NSS volunteers of Sri Ramakrishna College of Arts and Science, cleared plastic waste and liquor bottles from Sengulam tank in Kuniamuthur. “People are using tank bunds as drinking places. We have removed sacks full of liquor bottles from the tank. Officials should take strict action against the people who drink in ecologically sensitive spots,” said R Manikandan, organizer of Kovai Kulangal Padhukappu Amaippu.
Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (IFGTB) in the city, meanwhile, organized a bamboo planting campaign to mark the environment day and also to inaugurate its monsoon planting programme. A ‘graffiti wall’ was also installed on its campus. It would be open for three days and people could express their ideas about saving environment on the wall. A week-long activity on ‘beat air pollution’, the theme of this year’s World Environment Day, would be arranged for school and college students who visit the Gass Forest Museum on the campus.
District collector K Rajamani distributed saplings to morning walkers at Race Course. On its part, the city municipal corporation, along with city-based NGOs, organized a tree planting drive at the 650-acre Vellalore dump yard. Rajamani corporation commissioner J Sravan Kumar and other officials participated in the event.
Educational institutions in the city too organized events to mark the World Environmental Day. Sri Krishna Arts and Science College, Kuniamuthur, conducted awareness sessions on air pollution and planted saplings. Similarly, representatives of PSG Hospitals planted saplings on the hospital premises.
The civic body also unveiled a medical plants garden and arboretum of endangered trees at Singanallur Lake and distributed seed balls to the students.