A New Green Initiative - "A Day for Mother Earth" to be observed on July 7 in Sikkim

Press Conference | Gangtok | 02/07/2019:

A press briefing in presence of local and regional media was held by the the Honourable Minister Forests Shri Karma Loday Bhutia and the Principal Secretary-cum-PCCF Shri M L Srivastava at Tragopam Meeting Room of the Forest Secretariat on July 2, 2019.

The Government of Sikkim has come up with a novel idea of dedicating  “A Day for Mother Earth” on 7th of July every year. This will be a permanent feature. The day will be celebrated with great zest and fervour by taking up environment friendly activities across the State. The day is also coinciding with the closing day of Van Mahotsav Week i.e. 1st July to 7th July celebrated across the country.

A Day for Mother Earth is a wider initiative of the present government involving environment friendly activities to address the climate change. It has been decided to observe 7 minutes of no vehicle plying (except emergency vehicles like Ambulance, Police, Fire Services etc.) on 7th July 2019 which is also culminating day of Van Mahotsav. It is a known fact that vehicular pollution releasing carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxides of Sulphur and Nitrogen contribute to Greenhouse gas effect and thus global warming. This endeavor aims to contribute towards Nationally Determined Contributions and Sustainable Development Goals for positive climate action.

A Day for Mother Earth calls for our positive action which is the need of the hour to safeguard future generations or posterity.  Clean and healthy environment starts from our homes.  Hence, it is the duty and responsibility of every citizen to be well aware and conscious about environmental issues and put green ideas and green good deeds into action.

During the Van Mahotsav and “A Day for Mother Earth”, let us clean and beautify our neighbourhood, plant native saplings, resort to eco-friendly lifestyles and create low carbon footprints. 

Sikkim would definitely work towards contributing to national target of carbon sequestration (2.5 to 3 Billion Tonnes) by 2030.

The official function to celebrate "A  Day for Mother Earth" will be organised by the State Forest, Environment & Wildlife Management Department at Kitchu Dumra, Kamrang, South Sikkim. The programme will be graced by the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Sikkim Shri Prem Singh Tamang as the chief guest.