Team Herald
MARGAO: Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco on Saturday urged the Chief Minister to introduce subject on climate change from the primary class in the schools across State.
In a written letter to Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant, Reginaldo stated that it is the need of the hour and the subject should be compulsory taught in the schools.
He mentioned, “Even our State government should aim to raise awareness among the people of Goa to protect State’s fragile ecology by tackling climate change and natural disasters.
Drawing attention towards India’s child prodigy Licypriya Kangujam hailing from the State of Manipur, who has been again in the news with her recent October 2020 peaceful protest in New Delhi wherein she has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central government to introduce climate change law for New Delhi and NCR region in order to combat its rising pollution, Reginaldo stated that she is keen that the climate change should be made as a compulsory subject in our schools. Already the State governments of Rajasthan and Gujarat have informed Licypriya that climate change subject has already been introduced in their school curriculum.
“We in Goa too can take a leaf from this nine-year-old girl and rethink on the devastation that we have unleashed on our environment in the name of so-called imposed haphazard development especially the way air and water bodies is becoming polluted and toxic with each passing day due to cutting of thousands of trees, felling of numerous hills, converting Goa into a coal hub, discharge of effluents into water bodies,” highlighted Reginaldo.
“The development model which we have adopted in various parts of Goa including the cutting of trees and felling of hills in Mollem National Park, Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary, the construction of MOPA Airport, the widening of NH-66 and the proposed widening SWR (South Western Railway) line, etc has led to catastrophic environmental damage and but sadly our State government has done nothing to mitigate the loss to ecology and has forgotten for good that trees are an ultimate powerhouse of oxygen,” reminded the MLA.
