Swedish students ride bullock carts in global warming drive

Chennai, Apr 4 : Swedish students rode bullock carts here on Thursday as part of their nationwide campaign to spread awareness about global warming.

An International non-governmental organization, 'Exnora International', that works for the promotion of a clean and safe environment, launched a five eight ('88888') program asking people across the country to switch off their lights for 8 minutes at 8'o clock on August 8 (8th month of the year) in the 8th year (2008).

There is growing alarm over global warming, with several reports projecting more heat waves, floods, desertification and rising seas because of increasing temperatures linked to the release of greenhouse gases, mainly from fossil fuels.

"Global warming is a most serious issue. Some 33 students from Sweden are riding on bullock carts. The idea of riding a bullock cart is to emphasize transport simplicity," said B. Nirmal, an organizer of the event.

The Swedish students are in India as part of a cultural exchange program. "We think that global warming is one of the biggest problems. We really want to create awareness so that people know about global warming and take efforts to stop it because its affecting everyone of us," said Fredrich, a Swedish student.

ANI