As they decided to pen their frustration over their neighbourhood lake continuing to foam, hundreds of children pinned their hopes on the highest authority in the country. They decided to send postcards to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The postcards are from students of K.K. English High School, which abuts the heavily-polluted Varthur Lake. They start with ‘Dear Modi Uncle’ followed by a desperate plea to address their grievance.
Heavy rains in the past month have led to the froth – a result of industrial and domestic effluents being dumped in the lake – increase in proportion. The school had tied up with Indian Institute of Science researcher T.V. Ramachandra to monitor the water quality in the 445-acre lake since 1998. It has first-hand experience of the deteriorating ecology of the water body.
“Clean air, clear water and clean environment is our right. Protect our lakes and rivers from encroachment and pollution. We need our Varthur and Bangalore for our future. We need your intervention in protecting them,” the postcards say.
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On Monday, 1,000 postcards were posted with the hope that their concerns would be addressed soon.
“These letters will create awareness among children and encourage them to stand up and question our policy makers in future. We hope that these letters reach before Independence Day (when the PM addresses the country from the Red Fort),” says Md. Arifullah Khan, administrative associate of the school.