Observance of World Nature Conservation Day on July 28
Under the initiation of the Institution of Public Health Engineers, India (IPHE) the World Nature Conservation Day 2023; was hosted by the IPHE – Bangalore Regional Centre (BRC) in association with Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering (DSCE), Bangalore on 28th July, 2023.The event was organised virtually on the day from 10.00 AM for about an hour time. “Conserve Nature. Conserve life” was the theme on the occasion. Prior to inception of the programme a brief introductory video about activities of the Civil Engineering Department of DSCE was presented before the participating students, faculty members of DSCE and corporate members of IPHE totaled to about 100 (one hundred) delegates.
The programme started with invocation nicely chanted with devotion by DSCE representative followed by virtual lighting of lamp. Welcome address on the occasion was delivered by Shri R. P. Mallik, Chairman, BRC; when Shri Mallik briefly discussed about significance of the day. The speaker of the occasion,Prof. R. Shankar, former professor of Mangalore University, Advisor, and International Geoscience Education Organisation & Member IUGS Commission on Education, was introduced to the participants by Dr. H. N. Sowmya, Associate Professor, DSCE. The key note address was presented by Dr.Shankar sharing his vast knowledge and stretched upon the need to ‘conserve nature to survive’.
Shri ParitoshTyagi, former Chairman, Central Pollution Control Board shared his thoughts during the panel discussion.
Dr H. K. Ramaraju, Secretary, BRC and Vice Principal, DSCE, IPHE has made concluding remarks and offered formal vote of thanks to all the participants, Students & Faculty members of DSCE&members, IPHE and to the chair.
Brief proceedings of Deliberations:
The history and origin of the World Nature Conservation Day is unknown but the main aim of celebrating it on 28 July is to come together and support nature.
Conservation of nature is the wise management and utilisation of natural resources.
Observe everyday as ‘environment day’ to conserve nature at individual, community and government levels.
Due to natural imbalance, we are facing several problems like global warming, various diseases, natural disasters, increased temperature, etc.
Avoiding wastage and loss of natural resource is one of the most important tools to fight against environmental degradation.
War is the single most danger against conservation of nature. Fact remains, ‘if one win a war on the planet earth, war is LOST’!
It is not impossible to conserve nature through behavioural changes and positive attitude.
Research and development shall play an important role in changing climatic conditions across the globe.
Recommendations:
We all must, as responsible human beings, participate in protecting and conserving our nature.
Conservation goals should include conserving habitat, afforestation vis-à-vis preventing deforestation, halting species extinction, reducing overexploitations and mitigating climate change.
Management of waste should broadly be based on principle of 3Rs (reuse, reduce and recycle) and to be extended to 5Rs (adding refuse and reproduce.
Bangalore city model about implementation of 3Rs should be replicated for other cities / towns / habitats.
Wars must be avoided for preventing resource misuse globally.
---
Observance of World Population Day on July 11
The Institution of Public Health Engineers, India (IPHE) has initiated and coordinated observance of the World Population Day 2023; which was jointly hosted by the IPHE – Agartala Regional Centre (ARC) and IPHE – Delhi Regional Centre (DRC) on 11th July, 2023.The event was organised virtually on the day from 6.30 PM for about an hour time. “On the occasion of AzadikaAmritMahotsav, let us take a pledge to adopt family planning as a choice for happiness and prosperity” was the theme on the occasion declared by the government of India.
Welcome address on the occasion was delivered by Shri Sitangshu Chakraborty, Secretary, ARC; when Shri Chakraborty briefly discussed about significance of the day. The key note address was presented by ShriDevender Gill, Executive Director (Safety), Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), New Delhi.
Dr Dinesh Chand, President, IPHE chaired the event and delivered presidential address on the occasion.
Prof. S. K.Mazumder, Er. P. K. Jain, Er. D. H. Chari, ErBibekananda Mishra and Er. Bipul Chakraborty took active part in the discussions.
Dr Dinesh Chand, President, IPHE chaired the event and delivered presidential address on the occasion.
Prof. Rakesh Mehrotra, Secretary, DRC delivered formal vote of thanks to all the participants, members of ARC & DRC and to the chair.
Brief proceedings of Deliberations:
World population day is being celebrated since year 1989. The world population exceeds 8 billion on 22nd November, 2022 and likely to reach some 9.7 billion by 2050.
Education, maternal health, Gender equality and empowerment of women & freedom of decision to women is essential for the success of any population control programme.
In recent past,Improvement in healthcare has reduced infant and maternal mortality besides substantial improvement in life span. All taken together are triggers for population growth.
Absence of efforts for population stabilization in countries like India may have serious sustainability issues in near future.
Water stress, food, environmental degradation is likely to be aggravated by the very visible climate change.
There are concerns in some developed countries with low populations, low population growthand a future of aged population - shortage of working age citizens.
Countries like India, believing their youth bulge to be fuelling economic development, terming it as demographic dividend.
Population and poverty are major cause of environmental pollution. Each human directly contributes 80g BOD & 1 kg carbon dioxide daily. All the pollution due to transport, energy use, industry etc. is for the sake of public. Each individual is a proportionate pollution contributor indirectly (embedded per capita environmental footprint). Therefore, there is also a correlation between population size and pollution.
Recommendations:
Education, gender equality, women empowerment etc.are some of the non-coercive ideal measures for population stabilisation. However, emergency measures are needed to stall an impending crisis. Awareness of sex education, birth control methods, sexual health etc. is essential to practice voluntary birth control.
The legal age of marriage needs to bemaintained to reduce birth rate.
Due to overpopulation our youth, particularly the educated face challenges of employment / looks forward for different types of employment opportunities. The situation likely to become more challenging with AI.
Large unmanageable populationthough puts pressure on food, infra, health, public order, utilities but have some positive impact on human resource development & quality of education / competency/ training etc.
Bold, policy initiatives are imperatives for sustainability in the backdrop of climate change.
---
August 6: HIROSHIMA DAY
Hiroshima Day is observed on August 6 every year to promote "peace politics". The day is a reminder of the bombing attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States during World War II in 1945. An atomic bomb was dropped on the day in the city of Hiroshima, Japan.After three days, on August 9, the second bomb was dropped in Nagasaki. The nuclear bomb blasts took the lives of thousands, killing approximately 80,000 people directly, and leaving another 35,000 injured. It led to more than 60,000 casualties by the end of the year from the effects of the fallout in Hiroshima.
Along with the lives, the bomb blasts led to massive structural damage, with Japanese officials stating that around 69 percent of the buildings in Hiroshima were destructed.Apart from the killings, the Japanese also suffered from terrible burns and radiation sickness.
But Japan did not surrender in World War II. After three days, on August 9, the second bomb was dropped in Nagasaki. As a result, Emperor of Japan Hirohito announced unconditional surrender in World War II by radio on August 15, giving information about the destructive power of a new and barbaric bomb.These bombings ended World War II.
It has been seventy-five years since the death of precious lives, which is said to be hundreds-thousands in number, by a single atomic bomb. At that time, the city of Hiroshima, which was abandoned immediately, has made a powerful recovery as a world-renowned peace city, through the tireless efforts of its predecessors.
Nagasaki was also rebuilt after the war, but was dramatically changed in the process. The pace of reconstruction was initially slow, and the first simple emergency dwellings were not provided until 1946. The focus on redevelopment was the replacement of war industries with foreign trade, shipbuilding and fishing. This was formally declared when the Nagasaki International Culture City Reconstruction Law was passed in May 1949. New structures were also raised as memorials, such as the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, which was opened in the mid-1990s
---
September 15: ENGINEERS DAY
Engineer's Day is observed in several countries on various dates of the year. It is celebrated as tribute to the Indian engineer and Bharat Ratna
Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya. Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, who was fondly called Sir MV, was literally the builder of India, the builder of dams and water systems, to be precise, which not only boosted irrigation facilities but also saved a large number of people from floods. He was an engineering pioneer of India whose genius reflected in harnessing of water resources and building and consolidation of dams across the country.
The Bharat Ratna awardee, Visvesvaraya was born on September 15, 1861 in a village called Muddenahalli in Karnataka. He studdied Bachelor of Arts (BA) from the University of Madras and pursued civil engineering at the College of Science in Pune. He later patented and installed an irrigation system with water floodgates at the Khadakvasla reservoir near Pune to raise the food supply level and storage to the highest levels. This was also installed at Gwalior’s Tigra Dam and Mysuru’sKrishnarajaSagara (KRS) dam, the latter of which created one of the largest reservoirs in Asia at the time.
While serving as the Diwan of Mysore, he was awarded ‘Knight’ in 1915 as a commander of the British Indian empire by King George V. He received the Bharat Ratna in 1955, became a member of the London Institution of Civil Engineers before he was awarded a fellowship by the Indian Institute of Science (IISC) Bangalore. The eminent engineer, MokshagundamVisvesvaraya passed away in 1962.
A theme of national importance is chosen every year to observe the day. The entire engineering fraternity observe the day through organising seminars, workshops, symposiums and many other programme on the day.
---
September 28:
GREEN CONSUMERS DAY
The Green Consumer Day is celebrated globally on 28th September every year, focuses primarily on awareness raising and the importance of recycling-reusing and reducing waste material.
This global celebration highlights the problems of consumerism and its impact on the environment. This is an area of major concern in today’s global market oriented world. We should focus primarily on creating awareness and the importance of recycling-reusing and reducing waste material among us.
Green consumption is closely related to the notions of sustainable development or sustainable consumer behaviour. It is a form of consumption that is compatible with the safeguard of the environment for the present and for the next generations. It is a concept which ascribes to consumers responsibility or co-responsibility for addressing environmental problems through adoption of environmentally friendly behaviours, such as the use of organic products, clean and renewable energy and the research of goods produced by companies with zero, or almost zero, impact.
