Normalisation of violence against ecology cause for concern: Wangchuck

Climate activist and innovator Sonam Wangchuk on Sunday expressed concerns about the normalisation of everyday violence against ecology.

Wangchuk was attending the ‘Vikas ke naam par vinash’ (destruction in the name of development) protest at Freedom Park, conducted by students organisations, including the Students Association of Ladakh.

Protesters raised demands for including Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, in favour of which Wangchuck recently held a 21-day fast.

Wangchuck joined the protest late. He walked into the venue amid slogans of ‘Sixth Schedule lagu karo’.

"While people worry about when the third world war will break out, I feel it is already on. Every year, globally, seven to 10 million people die of air pollution, which is equal to the number of people who died every year, on average, during the two world wars,” Wangchuk said.

Drawing parallels between Ladakh and Bengaluru, civic activist Sandeep Anirudhan called for efficient local governance to resolve civic issues.

"Bengaluru has lost nearly 95% of its wetlands since the 1970s. Similarly, our green cover has decreased from 70% to approximately 2%. The city needs a strong decentralised government to deal with such destructive development,” he said.