Pondicherry University V-C advocates adoption of plastic-free practices across community
P. Prakash Babu, Vice-Chancellor of Pondicherry University has advocated adoption of plastic-free practices in schools, homes, and public events.
In his valedictory address at World Environment Day 2025 celebrations hosted by the Zoological Survey of India, Andaman and Nicobar Regional Centre of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India and EIACP Centre on Island Biodiversity at Sri Vijaya Puram, Port Blair, the Vice-Chancellor stressed the pivotal role of students and academic institutions in driving long-term environmental change.
Emphasising the hazards that micro-plastics posed to the food chain and the suspected linkage to severe health issues, including cancer, Mr. Prakash Babu urged administrators to strictly enforce ban on plastic bags and promote biodegradable alternatives and citizens to refrain from using single-use plastics. He noted that children often have the power to influence household habits.
The Vice-Chancellor also gave a call for sustained action throughout the year, instead of symbolic events to protect the environment on a single day.
Further, the V-C said that the Andaman and Nicobar Islands held the potential to become a national model for responsible tourism. Being relatively less polluted, the islands represent the ideal environment of ecological balance and responsible tourism. He later visited the ZSI museum at Sri Vijaya Puram.
C. Sivaperuman, Additional Director, Zoological Survey of India, Ramakrishna, former ZSI Director, Pallavi Sarkar, Secretary (Agriculture, AH and VS) A and N Islands, Lal Ji Singh, Additional Director, Botanical Survey of India, A and Nicobar Islands, and S. Kannan, Chairperson, School of Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai participated.
The dignitaries also distributed certificates to the winners of various competitions on the theme of environment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
18 hours ago
- Time of India
India among top plastic waste producers: Environmentalist
Koppal: Environmental activist Dr HM Sadananda highlighted India's position as one of the world's major contributors to plastic waste, expressing deep concern about this situation. He was speaking at the World Environment Day 2025 observance on Thursday at Talakal Govt Engineering College, organised jointly with the National Service Scheme (NSS) and The Institution of Engineers (India), Munirabad centre. "Plastic pollution is suffocating our planet, but the solution is within our reach. By embracing eco-friendly options like cloth bags, bamboo products, and biodegradable materials, while rejecting single-use plastics, we can effect meaningful change," Dr Sadananda stressed. Speaking about Koppal's environmental challenges related to its industrial activities, particularly the iron and steel sector, he noted, "Toxic dust and smoke released from factories are negatively impacting air quality and public health. Additionally, industrial waste and effluents are harming agricultural land and water resources, resulting in diminished crop yields and water pollution." College principal Dr SL Nadaf spoke about environmental preservation, emphasising the importance of 'reduce and reuse'. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like นักเทรดห้ามพลาด! ตลาด EUR / USD กำลังอยู่ในช่วงขาขึ้น IC Markets สมัคร Undo "By cutting down on the use of plastics and other resources and efficiently recycling waste, we can greatly alleviate the strain on our environment," he stated. Dr SM Shashidhar, chairman of The Institution of Engineers (India), Munirabad Centre, stressed the importance of united action. "It is alarming that we consume microplastics equivalent to an ATM card every week. As engineers, you possess the expertise to devise solutions. Consider sustainable alternatives to plastic and create effective waste management systems," he urged. The event concluded with a pledge to reduce single-use plastics. Attendees included Dr Suresh K, Basavaraj Hunasihal, Prashant Kabballi, Bhuvaneshwari Kulkarni, and Puttappa, alongside college staff and students. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Eid wishes , messages , and quotes !
The Hindu
a day ago
- The Hindu
Pondicherry University V-C advocates adoption of plastic-free practices across community
P. Prakash Babu, Vice-Chancellor of Pondicherry University has advocated adoption of plastic-free practices in schools, homes, and public events. In his valedictory address at World Environment Day 2025 celebrations hosted by the Zoological Survey of India, Andaman and Nicobar Regional Centre of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India and EIACP Centre on Island Biodiversity at Sri Vijaya Puram, Port Blair, the Vice-Chancellor stressed the pivotal role of students and academic institutions in driving long-term environmental change. Emphasising the hazards that micro-plastics posed to the food chain and the suspected linkage to severe health issues, including cancer, Mr. Prakash Babu urged administrators to strictly enforce ban on plastic bags and promote biodegradable alternatives and citizens to refrain from using single-use plastics. He noted that children often have the power to influence household habits. The Vice-Chancellor also gave a call for sustained action throughout the year, instead of symbolic events to protect the environment on a single day. Further, the V-C said that the Andaman and Nicobar Islands held the potential to become a national model for responsible tourism. Being relatively less polluted, the islands represent the ideal environment of ecological balance and responsible tourism. He later visited the ZSI museum at Sri Vijaya Puram. C. Sivaperuman, Additional Director, Zoological Survey of India, Ramakrishna, former ZSI Director, Pallavi Sarkar, Secretary (Agriculture, AH and VS) A and N Islands, Lal Ji Singh, Additional Director, Botanical Survey of India, A and Nicobar Islands, and S. Kannan, Chairperson, School of Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai participated. The dignitaries also distributed certificates to the winners of various competitions on the theme of environment.
The Hindu
a day ago
- The Hindu
New Himalayan bat blurs India-Pakistan divide
A new-to-science Himalayan bat has blurred the India-Pakistan divide. A team of Indian scientists documented 29 species of bats during a series of surveys in the Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand segment of the Western Himalayas from 2017 to 2021. These included the Blandford's fruit bat, Japanese greater horseshoe bat, Chinese horseshoe bat, Nepalese whiskered bat, Mandelli's mouse-eared bat, Kashmir cave myotis, chocolate pipistrelle, and the eastern long-winged bat. One of these 29 species, however, did not fit the taxonomic descriptions of the others or any other bats elsewhere on earth, apart from belonging to the genus Myotis or mouse-eared. A specimen of this undefined species was collected from Ansuya in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district in May 2021. An investigation revealed that this undefined specimen was the same as the one collected from Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by Gabor Csorba, a Hungarian scientist, in 1998, but it was not previously described. Dr Csorba of Budapest's Hungarian Natural History Museum is one of the five authors of a study that described the Himalayan long-tailed myotis (Myotis himalaicus) as a new species of bat. The others are Uttam Saikia from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) in Shillong, Rohit Chakravarty of Mysuru's Nature Conservation Foundation, Mostaque Ahmed Laskar of St Anthony's College in Shillong, and Manuel Ruedi of the Natural History Museum of Geneva. Their study, describing the Himalayan long-tailed myotis and 28 other bats documented from Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, was published in the latest edition of Zootaxa, a zoological mega-journal. 'Our team recorded the Himalayan long-tailed myotis during previous surveys in Uttarakhand's Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, but we did not collect any specimens,' Dr Saikia told The Hindu. According to the study, the new species belongs to a group of morphologically similar species called the Myotis frater complex, which has a wide distribution from eastern China, Taiwan, central and southeastern Siberia, Korea, Japan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. 'Apparently a native of the southern slopes of the Himalayas, the newly described bat species was thus far encountered in the deodar, pine, or cedar forest and appears uncommon,' the study said. Addition to India's bat fauna The study also resulted in the globally data-deficient East Asian free-tailed bat (Tadarida insignis) being added to India's bat fauna. Earlier, this species was mistaken for the European free-tailed bat (Tadarida teniotis) in all existing literature in India. Based on a detailed study of the specimen collected from Uttarakhand and genetic analysis, the researchers concluded that this species is distributed in the Himalayan region of India, besides China, Taiwan, Japan, and the Korean Peninsula. The documentation of the East Asian free-tailed bat in the Western Himalayas extended its range eastward by about 2,500 km. Another highlight of the study is the validation of the species status of another poorly understood species named Babu's pipistrelle (Pipistrellus babu). This species was recorded more than a century ago from the Muree hills in present-day Pakistan. Due to morphological similarities, subsequent researchers considered it a synonym of another species, the Javan pipistrelle (Pipistrellus javanicus), a resident primarily of Southeast Asia. The new study conclusively proved that Babu's pipistrelle is a species distinct from the Javan pipistrelle and is distributed in Pakistan, India, and Nepal. The study also provided the first specimen-based confirmation of the presence a few other bat species in India, namely Savi's pipistrelle (Hypsugo savii) and Japanese greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus nippon). 'This study is expected to have significant implications in the documentation and conservation of small mammalian fauna in the country and boost further studies in the Indian Himalayas,' ZSI Director Dhriti Banerjee said. The revisionary study across Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand took the tally of Indian bat species to 135.
