Dehradun,  The Gati Foundation welcomed the decision to include the city of Dehradun in the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) of the Central Government. NCAP is the most ambitious programme of the government to tackle the worsening air quality in the country.

Cities included in the NCAP need to commit to reduce their air pollution levels by 20 to 30% by 2024 compared to the baseline levels from 2017. To accomplish this objective, cities need to come out with air pollution abatement action plans. A slew of measures including detailed city-wide source appointment studies are needed for the NCAP.

Currently, 102 cities were a part of the NCAP including the cities of Rishikesh and Kashipur from Uttarakhand. With the inclusion of 20 new cities from eight states in the country, Dehradun, with much higher pollution levels than Rishikesh and Kashipur, is finally a part of NCAP.

Data from Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board clearly indicates that the air pollution levels for PM 10 in Dehradun are three to five times higher than the national standards. The monitoring stations at ISBT, Clock Tower and Raipur measure the air quality in the city. Air pollution levels are considerably lower both in Rishikesh and Kashipur as compared to Dehradun.

Gati Foundation believes that the inclusion of Dehradun in NCAP will facilitate better inter departmental coordination and abatement efforts will receive a boost.  With increased participation from citizens supported by authorities, the city of Dehradun can hope for cleaner air in the coming days.

Dehradun: “You can never have enough trees,” says Principal Thsespal Kundan, Principal, Moravian Institute, Dehradun welcoming the plantation drive of 100 trees by Sustainable Green Initiative Foundation (SGIF) on its campus, in coordination with Earth Day Network, a Washington-based organisation.

The lush-green campus of the school will now have even more trees, which were planted by the students of the school themselves, who also promised to nurture saplings of Arjun, Acacia, Bael, Bottlebrush, Kachnar, Palash, Lemon, Amaltas and Neem that they planted. The students who braved the monsoon downpour and gladly got their hands dirty in the mud, also said a prayer for the saplings that they planted.

Affiliated to the Indian School Certificate Examinations (ISCE) board, the day-cum-residential school on Rajpur Road, established in 1963, provides quality education to underprivileged students of the city. “We would have loved to plant fruit trees, too, but the monkeys and our students ensure that there aren’t any ripe fruits left!” added Mr Kundan, on a lighter note.

It is worth mentioning here that SGIF (Sustainable Green Initiative Foundation) had also organised a session at the Moravian Institute on climate change, environmental degradation and global warming on August 3, which was attended by students of class six to twelve, who took active part in the discussions.

“Trees are the only and the most sure-shot way to fight global warming and we’re glad Moravian Institute is putting its weight behind the cause,” said Mr Durgesh Raturi, Co-trustee, SGIF.

The school protects and takes are of its existing trees and has two composting pits that turn fallen leaves, kitchen waste and leftover food into organic fertiliser for the campus trees. It is also actively considering the idea of rainwater harvesting in the immediate future.

Mussoorie, The collective effort by Hilldaari in Mussoorie has led to the diversion of 10 tonnes of low value plastic from the landfill in the hill-station.

The town has made a major breakthrough in the disposal of ‘multi-layered plastic’ with the collective efforts of its residents, Municipal Co-operation, Nestlé India, Gati Foundation, Recity and KEEN- Keeping The Environment Ecologically Natural on the eve of the 73rd Independence Day.

Disposal and recycling of this type of plastic which is used to pack food items is difficult and expensive, but earlier this week, about 6 tonnes of dry waste was moved for disposal by Nepra Group of Companies to its Delhi based plant, where it will be put into use to generate energy.

Earlier in June, 4 tonnes of dry waste was carried to Delhi. For the last three months, Gati Foundation is collecting dry waste from 80 sites in the area. This effort, made under the Hilldaari movement to make Mussoorie one of the cleanest hill stations in the country, is a major step towards freedom from garbage.

According to Hilldaari’s project manager Arvind Shukla, ‘We were collecting MLP and low value plastic from the city for the last eight months at the Dry Waste Collection Center near IDH building on the by-pass road. Different methods of disposal, modes of transport and expenses, etc. were taken into consideration. Now that this process has been made with the help of Nestlé, the plan is to send a truck i.e. about 5 tonnes of garbage every week.”

Due to the unprecedented cooperation the movement is getting from the residents of the hill-station, 80 percent of people have started segregating waste i.e. wet and dry at home. Now,  the waste generated is being directly linked to better disposal and recycling process so that the amount of trash that reaches landfills is curtailed.

Efforts are on to improve the standard of living of garbage pickers in this campaign, which intends to take everyone along in their larger scheme of things.

Dehradun,  In line with their ongoing mission to bring messages of safety and social relevance to their audience while connecting with the citizens of the state directly, the Uttarakhand Police Department recently joined TikTok, the world’s leading short-form video platform.

The move from the Uttarakhand Police Department comes shortly after the Kerala Police Department joined the platform amidst much fanfare. TikTok is slowly emerging as the voice of the country’s police force to start conversations around various social issues as well as a platform to share citizen alerts and awareness videos.

Commenting on the need to join the platform, Sh Ashok Kumar, IPS, DG Law and Order, Uttarakhand Police said, “We believe being on TikTok gives us the opportunity to be easily approachable, while allowing us to connect with the general public at a very personal level. Uttarakhand Police would like to share awareness videos related to road safety, cyber security, woman safety and other social issues through this platform. We are looking forward to spreading more positivity in the state of Uttarakhand with our videos on the app.”

Nitin Saluja, Director of Public Policy (India), TikTok added, “We feel delighted to have Uttarakhand Police on board and extend a warm welcome to them. As part of our commitment to India’s growing digital community, it is a proud moment for us to collaborate with more and more law enforcement agencies across India and make a difference in the society through the power of our platform.”

Through the account, Uttarakhand Police will create and post videos that raise awareness among the youth on various social issues as well as coordinate with creators who have become a sensation on TikTok to lend their messages an effective voice.

Uttarakhand Police on TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@uttarakhandpolice

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