Are you ready to switch off to turn green?

How far would you go to spread the green message? For activist Vaibhav Desai, armed with just a cycle, no distance is too small. In his bid to try and start a green revolution, he will embark on a nationwide tour this December in the most eco friendly manner available — on cycle. “The plan is to cover every state of the country in my journey, spreading the message of a green, sustainable and peaceful future,” says Desai.

On his third cycling trip as part of his Green Cycle Green Earth project, Desai, 24, will spend around two years travelling across villages and cities, beginning from the south. His target is two-fold: “School children — giving them small and easy-to-do green projects and senior people - giving them seeds or saplings to plant and adopt”. Desai, who will travel with his laptop, camera and a voice recorder in addition to his basic necessities, will also document the various suitable and green projects he comes across, which will get updated on his blog.

Why cycle? “It’s cheap, there is no fuel involved, you can decide you own route on your own time” says Desai, an avid cyclist since a child. This is just but one initiative in which cycling is used as a means of promoting the green message. Last Sunday, the group cyclists.in hosted an awareness drive cum cycle ride from Gateway of India till Eternity Mall, Thane. Cyclists.in which consists of avid cyclists from all over the country, conducts regular rides and events to popularise cycling not only as a healthier and alternative means of transport but also as an environment friendly one.

“Cycling is seeing a boom in terms of the number of people taking to it. By the time the cyclothon comes around, our number is set to touch 10,000,” says Firoza Suresh, 39, a passionate cyclist who participated in the cyclothon last year. The upcoming Mumbai Cyclothon in January 2011 is using the green theme — urging people to ‘paint the town green’ and cycle for a greener future.

Suresh is also part of the team that is partnering with the Batti Bandh initiative for the first time. On December 11, between 7.30 and 8.30pm as people switch off their lights, the cyclists will travel from Juhu beach to Marine Drive, crossing Carters, Bandstand, Haji Ali and Breach Candy. “Earlier our aim was to create awareness, now we want to work on a more productive basis,” says Keith Menon, co-founder of Batti Bandh. Menon hopes that through this drive, cycling will take off as a hobby.

Only a few participate, more awareness needed
Batti Bandh campaign is a self awareness drive to check whether common man will participate in green measures that can help save the planet. The initiative can be successful in the city if more awareness is spread. I’m not sure if except the selected few others know of this.  I switch-off the main power-switch whenever our family goes out during the day. There are other measures as well which one can adopt for a greener future. For instance, people should use public transport or turn off their car engines at signals, use the stairs instead of the lifts for one or two floors and so on. The measures are simple, we just need some commitment.
—Amitpal Singh, Malad

Such initiatives required on a regular basis
Initiatives like batti bandh will create awareness to control global warming. This method of trying to reduce global warming is the right spirit especially in places where electricity is used extensively. There are many places in the city that still have load shedding, where I reside, we have at least four hours of it daily. Therefore, I believe such campaigns should happen regularly so that people understand the importance of electricity and don’t waste it. I have switched off lights at home before and have even urged my bosses to do it at our workplace. This initiative will be successful, but I believe it’s more of a trend for many.
—Niraj Kothari, Vashi