Better environment awareness needed, MRPL honours Dr.Soans

Better environment awareness needed, MRPL honours Dr.Soans

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, June 13, 2017: Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) observed World Environment Day in the city. The theme of this year’s Environment Day was ’Connecting People to Nature - in the City and on the Land, from the Poles to the Equator’.

MRPL MD H Kumar said , "Cities contribute almost 90% of the total pollution and we expect villages to conserve environment. Our country has the tradition of respecting nature, be it sun, tree, plant or animal and we need to continue that tradition."   MRPL plans to set up second generation ethanol plant and a day should come when such fuels will replace other oil products, he said.

Renowned horticulturist Dr L C Soans said the efforts made to conserve environment today are just enough for survival but more needs to be done. Sun’s energy needs to be used for agriculture and to improve the lives of people, he said and complimented the MRPL for the greenery maintained in its surroundings.

Professor and chairman of Department of Marine Geology, Mangalore University, Dr B R Manjunatha said World Environment Day was first introduced in 1972 and since then, the need for conservation of environment is being propagated everywhere.

KSPCB senior scientific officer Jayaprakash Nayak advised a balanced approach for development. Be eco-friendly, prevent degradation of land and water, he advised.

Seed balls : MRPL organised a seed ball preparation programme at Ganeshapura, Kaikamba. More than one thousand seed balls were prepared with the active support of employees, dependents and neighbourhood residents.

Seed ball is an innovative way to grow plants. It consists of a mixture of red soil and cow dung mixed with other biocompost. The semi-solid mix is prepared by adding water proportionate to the quantity of mixture after which a particular plant seed is inserted into it. The balls are allowed to dry in sunlight and stored to be used later. They are thrown near hills, plains, lakes, ponds so that they become trees, thereby aiding in afforestation. As compared to a sapling that is planted, the success rate of survival of these plants is quite high.

Prizes were distributed to school students, the employees and their dependents.