Gorakhpur,

13 March (HS): Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said

that good results will come only by combining technology and public awareness

to bring down carbon emissions to the minimum level and protect the

environment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set the target of net zero by the

year 2070. There is a need to take forward programs from national to local

level. There should also be public participation in these programs through

public representatives because no movement can be successful without public

participation. The Chief Minister said that the government will develop all the

municipal corporations of the state as solar cities. CM Yogi was addressing the

closing session of the national conference organized by the Municipal

Corporation at a hotel on the National Clean Air Program (NCAP) on Thursday.

In

a conference organized in a hotel in the metropolis on the theme ‘Roadmap to

make Gorakhpur a city free from burning garbage in the open by 2027′, the Chief

Minister, citing a quote from the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, said

that nature can fulfill everyone’s needs but it does not have the capacity to

fulfill anyone’s greed. He said that the programs run under the guidance of

Prime Minister Narendra Modi for nature-environment conservation aim to bring

carbon emissions to the minimum level. The Chief Minister said that everyone

has seen the result of messing with nature during the Covid period. In the

second wave of Covid, people were suffering like a fish out of water. He said

that humans themselves will have to bear the ill effects of the distortions

created by humans.

Rs

1000 crore saved by using LED instead of halogen: While discussing the efforts

of the state government to minimize carbon emissions, CM Yogi said that since

2017, the state government has replaced 17 lakh halogen street lights with LED

street lights. Not a single penny was spent on this. Halogen street lights

caused high carbon emissions and also high energy consumption. Installing LED

lights has reduced carbon emissions and also saved energy. In lieu of

installing LED lights, the concerned company was given the difference in energy

savings. This system resulted in a saving of Rs 1,000 crore in the bodies.

Ban

on single use plastic to protect the environment: The Chief Minister said that

the government banned single-use plastic to protect the environment. Parallel

to this, the Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana was implemented and clay products

were promoted. Electric and solar wheels were given to clay artisans to

increase their capacity. This not only got rid of plastic waste, but also

created new employment opportunities. The Chief Minister said that the

foundation stone of a plant to make products from banana fiber as an

alternative to plastic products has been laid in Lakhimpur. The products made

from this will automatically mix with the soil within three months.

Forest

coverage is increasing in Uttar Pradesh even after industrial development: The

Chief Minister also mentioned the success of the plantation campaign in UP for

environmental protection. He said that 210 crore saplings have been

successfully planted in the state in the last eight years. Of these, 70 to 75

percent saplings have also grown. The Chief Minister said that it is a pleasant

feeling from these efforts that despite population, infrastructure development

and rapid industrial development, forest coverage is increasing in UP. He

appealed to plant trees around the house and said that trees and plants bring

beauty to the house. The Chief Minister said that we can live a spiritual

conscience only by staying in the lap of nature. The Prime Minister has also

said that nature has everything.

Government

is focusing on renewable energy: The Chief Minister said that the government is

emphasizing on renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions. The government’s

target is to produce 22 thousand megawatts of such energy. In this sequence,

Ayodhya has been developed as the first solar city where 6 thousand megawatts

of solar energy has been arranged. Bundelkhand is being developed as a green

corridor of 5 thousand megawatts. He said that the government will make all the

municipal corporations of the state solar cities.

PM

implemented Ujjwala scheme for environment and health: CM Yogi said that

earlier the villagers had to burn wood, coal or cow dung cakes to cook food.

This had an adverse effect on the environment and health. To avoid this adverse

effect and improve air quality, Prime Minister Narendra Modi implemented the

Ujjwala scheme and provided LPG gas connections to 10 crore families. The Chief

Minister said that yesterday on Holi, the process of providing free gas

cylinders to 1.81 crore families of the state was taken forward.

Government

is earning extra income from stubble: CM Yogi said that the ill-effects of

burning stubble (crop residue) are visible to everyone in Delhi-NCR. The

Supreme Court has to intervene on this. But, in UP, the state government is

using stubble to make compressed bio gas and ethanol. The government is also

helping farmers earn additional income from stubble. A compressed bio gas plant

has also been set up in Gorakhpur. The Chief Minister said that a policy is

also being taken forward on the possibilities of green hydrogen in the state.

Emphasis

on rain water harvesting and conservation of water sources: During his address,

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath emphasized on rain water harvesting and

conservation of ponds. There should be a system of rain water harvesting in

every house. This will improve the level of ground water and will also give

life to the drying rivers. The level of humidity in the atmosphere will be

maintained and dust particles will keep getting absorbed. He said that

similarly there is a need to keep the ponds encroachment free.

If

the rivers dry up, the lifeline will dry up: CM Yogi said that the rivers have

to be saved from drying up. Because these rivers are the lifeline of nature

like the blood vessels of the human body. If the rivers dry up, the lifeline

will dry up. He said that no one should be allowed to pollute the rivers or

tamper with them. If the rivers grow, the forest cover will increase and this

will increase the oxygen reserves.

CM

Yogi explained the secret of the success of Maha Kumbh: On this occasion, the

Chief Minister also explained the secret of the success of Prayagraj Maha

Kumbh. He said that people take bath at their homes also but were coming there

to see Maa Ganga-Yamuna and to become a part of Purna by taking a dip in

Triveni. If there was no water, dirt and disorder, connectivity, then no one

would have come. More than 66 crore devotees came to Prayagraj Maha Kumbh. The

government ensured that during Maha Kumbh, 10 to 12 cusecs of water was

maintained in Ganga and 8 to 10 cusecs of water in Yamuna. If this had not

happened, then Maha Kumbh Mela would have been disrupted in the first phase

itself.

The

area around Gorakhpur is rich in water, forest and land: The Chief Minister

said that Gorakhpur is a very good city. Gorakhpur and the surrounding area are

rich in water, forest and land. There is sufficient forest area, sufficient

land and many lakes and rivers here. He said that by using surplus land, we can

be successful in minimizing carbon emissions.

The

problem of waterlogging has ended in Gorakhpur, water is being purified by

indigenous method: CM Yogi said that before 2017, there used to be waterlogging

of three to four feet in Gorakhpur. Due to the improvement in the drainage

system and the ban on single-use plastic, there is no waterlogging here even

after twelve hours of rain. He said that earlier NGT used to impose heavy fines

on the Municipal Corporation due to polluted water falling into the Rapti

river. But now by purifying water with the indigenous method, there has been a

saving of Rs 110 crore spent on STP and Rs 10 crore annually in maintenance

expenses. Gorakhpur has not only presented a model of water purification with

the indigenous method, but it has also succeeded in bringing the level of 350

BOD to 8 to 10. During the program, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also

released a booklet based on air quality improvement in Gorakhpur.

Gorakhpur

is being appreciated on national platforms: Mayor – In the program, Mayor Dr.

Manglesh Shrivastava said that under the guidance of Chief Minister Yogi

Adityanath, who is sensitive towards environment and public health, target

based work is being done to improve the air quality in Gorakhpur. Till five

years ago, the air quality index of Gorakhpur was 280 which has now come close

to 100. Gorakhpur’s efforts to improve air quality are being appreciated on national

platforms. The Mayor also gave information about the work being done in

Gorakhpur from NCAP fund.

CM

Yogi’s approach is inspiring for other states: Dr. Bhargava – In the

conference, Dr. Prashant Bhargava, Director, National Clean Air Program, Union

Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change said that air quality is an

important issue. It has a huge impact on health and environment. Departmental

coordination is needed to improve air quality and everyone will have to work

together for this. Dr. Bhargava said that a total of 131 cities of the country

and 17 cities of Uttar Pradesh are included in the National Clean Air Program.

Out of the 55 cities of the country where air quality has improved by more than

20 percent, 13 cities are from UP. 9 cities of UP have improved by more than 40

percent. Improvement in air quality in Gorakhpur is more than 60 percent. This

has been possible under the guidance of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. CM

Yogi’s approach to improve air quality is inspiring for other states.

Excellent

work is being done under the leadership of CM Yogi: Srikumar Swami – On this

occasion, Shri Srikumaraswamy, Director of WRI India, the organizing partner of

the National Conference, gave information about the methods adopted to control the

pollutants affecting air quality. He said that under the leadership of Chief

Minister Yogi Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh, excellent work is being done in

every city to improve air quality.

Participating

subject experts said, Gorakhpur is moving towards becoming a role model

In

the closing session of the conference, the participating subject experts shared

their experiences regarding improvement in air quality in Gorakhpur. Dr. Rajiv

Khurana of Lungs Care Foundation said that he saw a lot of improvement in air

quality in Gorakhpur. There are immense possibilities of tourism in this city

and improvement in air quality will play a big role in realizing these

possibilities. Dr. Ravindra, who came from PGI Chandigarh, said that seeing the

improvement in air quality and waste management, he can say that in this

perspective, Gorakhpur is moving towards becoming a role model for other

cities.

On

this occasion, MP Ravi Kishan Shukla, District Panchayat President Sadhana

Singh, MLA Fateh Bahadur Singh, Shriram Chauhan, Rajesh Tripathi, Vipin Singh,

Mahendrapal Singh, Dr. Vimlesh Paswan, Pradeep Shukla, LLC Dr. Dharmendra

Singh, State Women Commission Vice President Charu Chaudhary, former Mayor

Sitaram Jaiswal, Anju Chaudhary, Satya Pandey, BJP Metropolitan President

Rajesh Gupta etc. were also prominently present.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi