Switch off for an hour at 8.30 pm today
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28/03/2009
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Asian Age (New Delhi)
March 27: For 60 minutes on Saturday, beginning 8.30 pm, several important landmarks - including Raj Nivas and the hot-spots like PVRs --- in the city would "go on the blink" in support of the Earth Hour initiative that looks to spread the message of conserving climate by minimising the use of power. The city would joining hands with several offices and landmarks in Mumbai and Bangalore, besides several other Indian cities, which will switch off during the "Earth Hour".
Elaborating on the event at a press conference here, programme director of WWF (India), Sejal Worah; said: "The idea is to make people realise how much of non-essential lights we use leading to excessive power consumption that ultimately affects the climate."
Along with Delhi, other cities like Mumbai, Bangalore and even smaller centres like Kochi, Shimla, Guwahati and Ahmedabad will also join the initiative. These cities, in turn, will be linked to at least 35 cities across the world where this initiative is being undertaken. Mr Worah said the support for the campaign has not only come from the corporate (at least 50 corporates have agreed to join the initiatives and observe the Earth Hour in most of their establishments across the nation) and the government but also from the residents' ,welfare associations and even common men.
Most of the hotels, like the ITC Welcomgroup, who have joined the initiative, have planned programmes that would involve minimal use of lights and regale the audiences simultaneously.
"Nearly 20,000 school students in Delhi and Mumbai would be the part of the campaign," informed Ms Worah.
Ms Worah further added that when the initiative was first taken up in Mumbai, it was not at such a large scale.