SEPA organizes seminar, stage drama, music show and cycle rally on World Environment Day

SEPA organizes seminar, stage drama, music show and cycle rally on World Environment Day

Karachi: Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) organized a seminar, stage drama and live music show on the occasion of World Environment Day on Sunday in collaboration with Forozan Pakistan and in collaboration with Engro at the Arts Council of Pakistan, with the chief guest being Provincial Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Coastal Development Muhammad Ismail Rahu. Earlier, SEPA organized two cycle rallies, one from Sakhi Hassan and the other from FTC Building, and both rallies concluded at the Mazar-e-Quaid-e-Azam.
Addressing the seminar titled “This is the land to live” as the slogan of World Environment Day, Provincial Minister for Environment Ismail Rahu said that water and air pollution are the most harmful to the environment and human health as both of them directly harm the environment and human health. He said that no environmental problem can be solved alone, for which it is necessary that all stakeholders come together and solve it on a sustainable basis.
He further said that industrially developed nations had initially caused a lot of damage to the environment, but realizing the sensitivity of the issue, they then adopted industrial production methods that caused minimal damage to the environment, while developing countries like us still need to do a lot to protect their environmental affairs.
Earlier, Additional Chief Secretary of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Coastal Development, Government of Sindh, Muhammad Hassan Iqbal, said in his address that public awareness plays an important role in the effective implementation of environmental laws. If people are aware, they welcome the strict implementation of environmental laws, while otherwise, environmental law enforcement agencies face resistance.
At the beginning of the seminar, CEPA Director Technical Waqar Hussain Phulpoto highlighted the duties, responsibilities and performance of the organization in his address and said that with its limited resources, CEPA has prioritized its manpower for the prevention of industrial and medical pollution so that both the health of the people and the environment can be ensured simultaneously.
Reputed environmentalist Shahid Lutfi gave a detailed presentation on the slogan of this year’s Environment Day, “This is the only world” and said that this world gives us unlimited opportunities for improvement, but due to our short-sightedness, we do not take advantage of them and keep running after temporary benefits, and this behavior has turned the strength of the world into weakness.
Reputed health personality Dr. Tipu Sultan, who is also the patron-in-chief of Forozan magazine, said in his address that water pollution harms us the most, for which we should at least not buy any drinks from street vendors and prefer home-made food and drinks.
Forozan editor Mahmood Khalid Alam reviewed the performance of his magazine in his welcome address, while at the end, Deputy Director of Public Awareness of SEPA Mujtaba Baig thanked the guests and Assistant Professor of the Department of Environment of Karachi University, Dr. Waqar, directed the distribution of shields. All the speakers received shields from the provincial minister, while Additional Chief Secretary Environment Muhammad Hassan Iqbal presented a shield to the Environment Minister.
Later, a stage play titled Sans Lena Mahal was presented, which explained how the health of people, especially children, is deteriorating due to air pollution and it was also said that the public and the government can better protect the environment only by working together.
Earlier, two bicycle rallies were also taken out by SEPA early in the morning, one from the FTC Building and the other from Sakhi Hassan Chowrangi. Both the rallies ended at the Quaid-e-Azam shrine where certificates of appreciation were distributed among the participants. Apart from professional and amateur cyclists, SEPA officers and staff also participated in the rally.
Another activity of World Environment Day was an awareness walk and tree plantation, which was organized in collaboration with SEPA and DHA Karachi on Abdul Sattar Edhi Road near Emaar in Defense Phase 8. The walk was led by DHA Administrator Brigadier Rai Asim Mustafa, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Coastal Development Muhammad Hassan Iqbal and Director General, SEPA Naeem Ahmed Mughal. The participants of the walk carried various types of placards and banners to raise environmental awareness.
It should be noted that on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of Environment Day, on the instructions of Provincial Minister for Environment Muhammad Ismail Rahu and Additional Chief Secretary, Environment Muhammad Hassan Iqbal, SEPA celebrated Environment Week this year, in which, in addition to the above activities, various awareness activities were carried out throughout the week. These included a training workshop to teach journalists how to report on climate change and distribution of free pamphlets on busy highways to create public awareness on vehicle exhaust.
In addition, various activities including walks, tree plantations and seminars were also organized on this occasion in other cities of the province including Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Shaheed Benazirabad and all districts of Sukkur region.