The Hindu : Karnataka News : ‘Our living style is harming the earth’

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‘Our living style is harming the earth’

Staff Correspondent

Concern expressed over depletion of water resources, global warming

Manipal: Pro-Vice Chancellor of Manipal University S.S. Pabla said on Saturday that immediate steps should be taken to reduce all kinds of pollution.

He was delivering the keynote address at the inaugural function of a seminar on “Planet Earth”, organised by The Institution of Engineers, Mangalore, and Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT), to mark the 41st Engineers’ Day celebrations, here.

Prof. Pabla said that earlier water, food and shelter were available for free. “But now, people are buying water in some places. The way we are living now is harming the earth. We have polluted our rivers. Our resources are becoming scanty. We need to take corrective steps,” he said.

Presiding over the function, Chairman of the Institution of Engineers, J. Mascarenhas said, “We need to create awareness about the problems caused by global warming such as climate change, depletion of forests and water, and melting of ice caps.”

Director (Admissions), Manipal University, H.N. Udayshankar dwelt on the ill-effects of over-exploitation of ground water and the importance of conserving it through rain water harvesting, and reusing and recycling of water. “Of the three per cent of water on the planet, only one per cent is actually available. The rest is in the form of ice,” he said. Reader in the Department of Civil Engineering, MIT, K. Balakrishna and Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, NMAM Insititute of Technology, Nitte, K. Radhakrishnan spoke.

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