“Frequent drought, floods, quakes etc are because of the adverse impact of climate change and the planet is facing the consequences. A large awareness drive is a must even in rural areas to grow more plants and save the earth,” he said here on the inaugural day of four-day workshop on ‘Bihar meinparyawaranaursamajiknyay (Environment and Social Justice in Bihar)’ at the local Gandhi Sangrahalay.

He said despite efforts to reduce green house effects, increasing temperature, flood, droughts, rising sea level and scarcity of drinking water as well irrigation water are now inevitable. “We must plan for and adapt to these changes to minimize the negative impacts and enhance the benefits of natural resources. We have to remove encroachments on water bodies like river, lakes and ponds and allow them to flow naturally and preserve water through water harvesting,” said Singh.

The workshop was organized at Motihari to mark Mahatma Gandhi’s ChamparanSatyagrah centenary.

Singh said he will start a ‘Jal Yatra’ from Motihari after concluding the workshop to create awareness in the country. During his last visit on May 17, Singh had launched a ‘Jal Satyagrah’ from Brindawan of West Champaran, but surprisingly ‘Jal Satyagrah’ is yet to start in this district.

Singh said climate change has led to emergence of largescale environmental hazards such as extreme weather, loss of diversity, stress on food producing system and spread of infectious diseases.