Scholars unite for a cause

KOCHI: It was a nostalgic moment for many scholars who assembled at the Maharaja’s College Hall here on Sunday after almost four decades for a day’s seminar. The seminar was being organised to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Environmental Awareness Group of the college. On the occasion, Prof U K Gopalan recalled the conference organised by the Cochin Science Association in 1971. “In the conference... P V S Namboodiripad, who worked at Periyar Chemicals, delivered a lecture that shook the audience. He revealed the amount of waste being discharged into the Aroor River by the factory daily. It caught the attention of the media then,” said UKG. “Yet, the issue neither hogged any headlines nor inspired activists to hit the streets then. But today it is on everybody’s lips. It has many names -- environmental protection, sustainable development, ecological conservation. Everybody from corporate honchos to emaciated tribal women in forest belts is worried about it.  “We were worried about the issue but unlike today, nobody talked about it then,” he said.Since then, things have changed. The Stockholm International Conference, Silent Valley Movement, Bhopal gas tragedy have made the people more aware about environmental issues. Other speakers, too, talked about various landmark issues that influenced environmental policies of the country. They gave examples of how sometimes even well-meaning people fail to grasp the issue. “Once, there was a move to acquire forest land and redistribute it to poor farmers for cultivation. V R Krishna Iyer was the judge. Someone asked him about the survival of elephants if forest land was given away. He said man must be given the first priority. That was the understanding then. But today, it is different. No one can ignore environmental issues any more,” said Leelakrishnan. “But in spite of the awareness, there is no respite for environmental problems,” the speakers rued.  “Today we have around 200 environmental laws, courts and tribunals. But, environmental issues have increased,” said M K Prasad.  “By 1971, we lost one-third of our wetlands in Kochi. Today it is less than one-fourth,” said U K Gopalan. The speakers included Justice K Sukumaran, M K Prasad, Leelakrishnan, U K Gopalan, A R S Vadyar.