Allahabad residents to take pledge to boycott polythene

ALLAHABAD: To protect the green cover in the city, people in Sangam city have coined the slogan "Save Natural Resources and Environment". On the occasion of World Environment Day on Tuesday, a plantation drive will be undertaken in the city and people will take the pledge to boycott daily use of polythene.The volunteers of civil defence will conduct a door to door campaign with an aim to protect environment, while children will take out rallies to spread awareness on protecting environment.Various organisations, including government and semi-government, have also decided to raise awareness on forest conservation.Guinness Book Record holder, Rajendra Tiwari 'Dukaanji' has urged people to plant saplings of neem, peepal and banyan. He said there is need to plant more saplings for maintaining the ecological balance.He said the onus is on every citizen to protect the environment.Environment expert Kaushal Tiwari said, "If we fail to pay heed to increasing pollution levels, then the impact on human lives would be adverse." The district administration too has planned to a carry out a series of programmes like exhibitions, plantation drives and competitions on World Environment Day. Forest ecosystems account for 80% of the exchange of carbon between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere, but due to increasing deforestation, clean air and oxygen emission is on the decline.