Going backward, looking ahead

To impress upon people that how the greenhouse gases from petrol-driven vehicles are dragging our environment backward, with the threat of taking it to the point of no return—what with global warming—students of a city college staged a novel demonstration: they pulled motorcycles backwards for a distance of about 2 km on the eve of World Earth Day.

Teachers and students of BNM Institute of Technology (BNMIT) joined hands with an NGO, Centre for Social Markets, to draw attention to the problem. About 200 students took part in the demonstration, sporting T-shirts with “Go Green” message printed on them. Groups of five students each dragged motorcycles backwards for about 2 km near Banashankari, covering hot spots like the BDA complex.

They shouted slogans, exhorting people to take steps to save the planet.

“It is the first time that an event like this has been organised,” exclaimed a proud Raksha Jayaraj, a final-year student in electronics and electrical engineering of the college.
Later, the students formed a human chain in the shape of cycle to urge people to switch to the environment-friendly mode of transport.