Vice-President calls for people's movement to protect environment

: Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday called for a people's movement to protect the environment and urged the people to voluntarily participate in various conservation activities.

He called upon the youth, in particular, to pro-actively lead the movement and motivate the others to adopt sustainable practices.

"They (youth) should drive the point among the people that if we take care of nature, nature, in turn, will take care of mankind, he said.

Referring to effects of rapid urbanisation and deforestation, Naidu said there has been a frequency of extreme weather conditions such as flash-floods and landslides in recent times in different parts of the world.

"These are clear signs that climate-change is real and it cannot be business as usual anymore", an official press release quoted him as saying.

To mitigate such weather conditions, the Vice-President said, "...it is imperative that we co-exist harmoniously with nature. We must balance our developmental needs with environmental protection and make sure everyone understands the importance of sustainable living."

Meaningful development is possible only when it takes into account the cost on environment, Naidu said.

He was speaking here at the release of Nursery Rajyaniki Raraju', a book on the life story of late Palla Venkanna, who is credited with transforming the village of Kadiyam in Andhra Pradesh into a popular hub of plant nurseries.

The Vice-President expressed his appreciation of Venkanna for his tireless efforts towards a 'Green Bharat'.

He said Venkanna, who had collected over 3,000 varieties of plants from around the country, believed that "if every home can turn green, the country as a result will turn green."

"Palla Venkanna's life story remains an inspiration to future generations," he said.

He lauded the Telangana government for taking up plantation of trees as a movement under 'Haritha Haram'.

He suggested that all the State governments take the initiative of creating awareness among children on environmental protection and tree plantation from the school-level.

Telangana Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.