Shun plastic use, save environment: Harsh Vardhan

Urging people to minimize the use of plastic in everyday life, Union minister Harsh Vardhan today said people of this country should take "active measures" to protect and conserve the ecosystem.

The United Nations has entrusted India with the responsibility of hosting the 'World Environment Day' on June 5 with focus on finding alternative to plastic in diffent parts of the globe, the minister said after inaugurating four galleries at the Indian Museum.

"The entire world is looking at India with hope as people of this country is known to have shared a unique bond with nature for ages. They are waiting to see us successfully implement the 'Beat Plastic' campaign, which will be launched on the occasion of World Environment Day," the Union minister of science and environment told reporters.

During international meets, delegations from different countries propose measures to arrest global warming and climate change but the commitments made are usually "only symbolic" in nature.

"If we have to return to the next generation the same clean air and clean Ganga water our forefathers enjoyed, we have to involve everyone in saving the ecology. Ask people what they can do for the environment to save water and energy. How can each of us contribute?" he told reporters.

As part of the initiative, a digital campaign feature 'Green Good Deeds' has been added to 'Dr Harsh Vardhan' mobile app to encourage people to take anti-pollution measures such as planting a sapling and recycling waste.

"One may choose any deed as his green social responsibility on the app. If people start taking green initiatives seriously, we can soon make the planet a better place to live in," he said.

Congratulating the Indian museum authorities for the new galleries, Vardhan said Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai are the science hubs of this country.

The new galleries - Invertebrate, Mammal, Ecosystem and Botanical - will draw more visitors in the coming days, the minister said.

"I was told that an estimated 11 lakh people had recently visited the Indian Museum. People, especially students and teachers, will get to learn a lot from these galleries," he explained.