World Environment Day Celebrated: Call to Beat Plastic Pollution and Restore Forest Cover
Balasore, 7/6:(Krushna Kumar Mohanty)The World Environment Day celebration was jointly organized by Kalinga Advance Charitable Trust and Save Environment, Save Globe.
Dr. Sipra Mallick, former MLA of Kendrapara, and Dr. Pabitra Mohan Samantaray, noted philanthropist, veteran journalist, and editor of the English daily The Kalinga Chronicles and Odia journal Paryabekhyak, graced the event as Chief Guest and Chief Speaker, respectively.
Among other notable attendees were Shri Gopabandhu Mallick, Chairman of Save Environment, Save Globe, and Sugyana Chaudhury, News Editor of The Pioneer, who participated as Eminent Guests.
This year’s theme, “Beat Plastic Pollution,” formed the core of the discussion. The speakers addressed pressing environmental concerns such as biodiversity loss, chemical contamination, and the worsening impacts of climate change due to plastic waste. A collective appeal was made to the government to shut down hazardous plastic industries that severely affect the climate.
In his address, Dr. Pabitra Mohan Samantaray reflected on India's National Forest Policy (1988), which aims to bring 33% of the country's geographical area under forest cover. He cited former Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru's vision from the 1952 Forest Policy, emphasizing the need to involve local communities in forest conservation. He expressed concern that India’s current forest cover stands at only 25.17%, calling it “dismal and frustrating.” He urged the government to take moral and legal responsibility for achieving this target and appealed to citizens to plant trees for their own wellbeing.
Sugyana Chaudhury, in his speech, shared a stark statistic: India generates around 9.3 million tonnes of plastic pollution annually—roughly one-fifth of global plastic emissions. Warning that this trend threatens ecosystems and human survival, he urged the public to avoid plastic, especially polythene bags.
Dr. Sushanta Das, Gopabandhu Mallick, and writer Rashmi Roul also voiced concerns over environmental degradation. They encouraged people across Odisha to plant neem trees in devotion to Lord Jagannath, combining spiritual sentiment with environmental responsibility.
The programme saw enthusiastic participation from environmentalists and students, including Sulagna Sucharita, Banashree Mohapatra, Nrusingha Nath Nanda, and Dinabandhu Das, among others.
The event concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. Sushanta Das, expressing gratitude to all who contributed to making the function meaningful and memorable.
