New Delhi: Celebrating United Nations 2011 theme “The International Year of Forests”, North Delhi Power (NDPL) in association with The Energy and Resources Institute (Teri) celebrated Earth Day 2011 – “Forests for our future”.  

 

NDPL joined hands with Teri to educate, mobilise and inspire the students from its Energy Club member-schools in North & North West Delhi and the general public on environmental protection and energy conservation. NDPL and Teri organised various activities such as painting, debate competitions, quiz, and dance competitions starting from April 13, 2011, in schools in Delhi and NCR where 20 Energy Club member-schools from North & North West Delhi also participated in the various competitions. The competition culminated on April 21, 2011, at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, with a prize distribution ceremony. Jaspal Kaur Public School, Shalimar Bagh, won the first prize in the quiz competition. 

 

Sunil Wadhwa, managing director, NDPL, RK Pachauri, director general, Teri and Keshav Chandra, special secretary to the chief minister and secretary, environment, Government of Delhi, along with students and teachers from Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chandigarh, were present on the occasion. 

 

Praising NDPL and Teri for bringing to the forefront the critical issues of the environment and natural resources, Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister, Delhi, said, “The world’s forests are being cut and burnt at such a rapid rate that if action is not taken soon, we risk undermining their vital function in maintaining a habitable planet. Already, forest loss is contributing to the extinction of plants and animals, increased flooding, disruption of climate patterns and increasing social and economic distress in many parts of the world. Indian civilisation has always been environment friendly and as leaders of tomorrow, children must take special interest in following our traditions of living with modesty and compassion and help in spreading the message to protect our mother Earth with love and affection.” 

 

Said Mr Wadhwa, “We have been aggressively creating energy conservation awareness though our Energy Club programmes comprising students from close to 200 member-schools in its distribution network of North & North West Delhi. It also educates its consumers about the benefits of adopting a low-carbon lifestyle for reducing carbon emissions through various mediums. NDPL is also sensitive to the aspect of climate change and is committed to introducing energy efficient and greener technologies and focus on renewable energy for meeting power demands in its distribution network.”

 

In his address, Mr Pachauri said, “Forests are a treasure trove of our ecosystem. Today there are many stresses and challenges on the forest sector, where application of science can help in increasing the forest cover. But, its long-term longevity and association with humankind lies on our shoulders. Maintaining the delicate balance of the forest ecosystem is vital, with increasing human intervention and exploitation of the forest ecosystem already impacting the climatic conditions and altering the environment. Students being the citizens of tomorrow will be most impacted by present actions around the world. They have the most to lose if action is not taken today, thus the challenge lies not only in building awareness but also in changing behavioural attitude.” 

 

Energy and environment conservation are two key issues which need urgent attention across the world at all levels from various quarters. As part of a larger move of escalating its ongoing energy conservation programme, NDPL is also sensitive to the aspect of climate change and is committed to introducing energy-efficient and greener technologies. NDPL has also set up solar power plants in its network ranging from 25KW – 1MW. The 1MW solar plant set up by NDPL is the largest solar plant in India within city limits. NDPL also actively promotes the use of electric cars and electric scooters for its field staff for maintenance and operations activities.