When it comes to environment and citizens engagement, Pune is the bright spot

When it comes to environment and citizens engagement, Pune is the bright spot. Highlighting this on the backdrop of ‘World Environment Day’ as it reflects the tryst of Punekars for protecting the environment. Irrespective of whether they are natives to the city, or have come here for work and settled, their choices, hteir background, one thing is common, the diverse topography including the hills, surrounding lakes, forts, rivers keeps the citizens tied together.

As an environment enthusiast and somebody who has been volunteering for over a decade, I am witness to the enthusiasm which Punekars have when it comes to protecting the environment. Volunteering is not the only way of Punekars for environment. It is not about carrying out an initiative for a day and go back. People have the passion, they will find time and they will ask the right questions, what is Individual Social Responsibility, what is Corporate Social Responsibility and what is the responsibility of the administration. They are able to balance all the three stakeholders.

Earlier people and organizations used to work in isolation , but now we see definitely more volunteers and NGOs come together and carrying out initiatives in structured manner with a long term vision. And all this is been seen at a much bigger scale. Whatever social responsibility we are talking about, cleanliness or environment activities have become a basic activity for citizens engagements.

As a hub for education and technology, the quest for knowledge and new ideas also extend towards environment and sustainability. People from all age groups volunteer for various activities be it cleanliness, tree plantations, plogging, protests for environment protection. Known earlier to be a laid back city, it has the spirit and energy to stand up when it comes to environment. This makes Pune stand out from the rest !

Sathya Natarajan

Lead Volunteer, Adar Poonawalla CleanCity Initiative (APCCI)