Kalam calls for empowerment of youths for clean habitat

Bangalore, June 6 (UNI) President A P J Abdul Kalam today called for empowerment of enlightened and disciplined youths to promote a clean habitat movement in the country.

Participating in the World Environment Day celebrations here, he said India had 38 lakh Bharat Scouts and Guides, 13 lakh NCC cadets and a large number of NSS volunteers and students. These youth forces could be enlightened through their participation in imparting awareness among the rural and urban population. This type of societal participation would lead to a healthy environment and promote better performance and productivity in various tasks taken up by the people, he added.

The President, who earlier gave away prizes to school children for various competitions on environmental aspects, made the participants take a ten-point oath covering various aspects of clean environment, including planting of saplings, efforts to prevent pollution and activation of at least one pond in the neighbourhood.

Mr Kalam laid emphasis on municipal waste disposal and power generation, fly ash clearing and synergy mission for environmental upgradation. Efficient and environmentally clean disposal of garbage had always been a major technological challenge. India needed thousands of mini power plants to convert municipal waste in small towns and urban areas. Banks could provide the thrust for promoting creation of such mini power plants in major municipalities with collaboration of small and medium enterprises, he added.

Similarly, fly ash could be converted into a wealth generator by using it for agriculture and producing green building materials.

Full utilisation of the generating stock of fly ash could ensure employment to over three lakh people as against 50,000 now and result in business volume crossing over Rs 4,000 crore a year, he said.

UNI SR GD KD GC1855