City’s eco-warriors protest for a better tomorrow – Times of India

A climate protest held outside Town Hall on Friday evening saw over 100 eco-warriors wearing masks to participate in tandem with the Global Climate strike and demand urgent action on climate breakdown. “Our first strike witnessed a crowd of some 50-odd people and this is the third such gathering. The rising number of people shows us their willingness to talk about climate change, says Nimisha Agarwal from the NGO Jhatkaa.org. The event saw students from Parikrama performing a play on how we have destroyed nature for selfish reasons. Members from groups like Citizen Movements, Fridays For Future and Extinction Rebellion were also part of the protest. Dialogue around air quality

The agenda of the strike was clear — to draw attention to the biggest environmental crisis that the city is facing — air pollution. “We need to understand what air quality is and its impact on our health. By wearing masks we not only keep ourselves safe, but also draw the government’s attention to the issue of air pollution,” says Avijit Michael from Jhatkaa.org. In fact, when they patched an air quality monitor to the mask, the reading was shocking. “The monitor reveals an air quality index (AQI) of 227, which is almost four times the permissible limit set by the World Health Organization. This is why air pollution needs to be on everyone’s agenda,” stresses Nimisha.

When Gen Z took center stage

The protest saw many young faces, including children as young as six-and-half-year-old Avni Nagraj, who accompanies her father to every clean-up drive and plogging event in the city. “She has been doing this for the last three years with me, which, I believe, will make her more sensitive towards the environment,” says her father, G Nagraj. Another protester was 13-year-old Yathaarth Moorthy, who will lead a climate strike at the MG Road Boulevard later this week. The young Tedx speaker, who was in Los Angeles last year for the talk, says “We need to start giving a serious thought to plastic waste, as that will harm us in the coming years.”

Greta Thunberg inspired many youngsters

Many young faces seen at the event were inspired by the young climate warrior, Greta Thunberg. Sixteen-year-old, Joanna Zaheer Hashmi says, “I am here fighting for my future. I am inspired to fight for a cleaner and greener city because of Greta. To see her doing so much at that age is truly inspiring.”