Vansh Jain, a Class VIII student of Sundaravalli Memorial School in Tambaram and a resident of East Tambaram, recently organised a cycle rally, at Tambaram railway ground to create awareness about what pollution can do to people and the land. More than 50 school students and members of Tamil Nadu Friends Football Association participated in the rally.
The students and members pedalled around the ground three to four times, carrying placards. They would stop now and then to distribute pamphlets to the people. Vansh Jain, said, “Chennai lost much of its green cover due to cyclone Vardah. Steps must be taken to plant saplings across the city to restore the green cover. Additionally, switching off engines of vehicles at traffic signals, cycling for a short distance and carpooling could reduce pollution to a great extent.”
Several other measures were suggested during the rally; these included switching off lights and fans when nobody needs them, using cloth and paper bags; waste segregation; protection of waterbodies and installation of solar panels for generating electricity.
“The concept of bottle recycling machines, installed at Mumbai’s railway stations, including Churchgate, Dadar, Bandra, Santacruz, Andheri, Goregaon, Borivali and Mumbai Central (main line), can be introduced at Chennai railway stations too. One gets a gift coupon, either a movie ticket or a gift voucher for shopping, for every bottle that is inserted,” Vansh added. Vansh Jain can be contacted at 9941764814.
