The timing could not have been better as large tracts of Sikkim has been left parched due to an unprecedented dry spell that resulted in over 113 forest fires since the year 2009 began.

The ‘Earth Hour’ Sikkim Batti Bandh’ , saw the lights being switched off for an hour yesterday, from 8.30 pm to 9:30 pm to take a united stand against the threat of global warming and help deliver a powerful message about the need for action. “The whole world is doing it. Sikkim - Now is your turn” was a message posted on the internet by the campaigners in Sikkim.

Sikkim joined the select few cities in the country participating in the Earth Hour canpaign. Other cities which have already launched the campaign in India are Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Earth Hour is a global World Wildlife Fund (WWF) climate change initiative. Individuals, businesses, governments and communities were invited to turn out their lights for one hour on Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 8.30 pm to show their support for action on climate change.

The event began in Sydney in 2007 where two million people switched off their lights. In 2008, more than 50 million people around the globe participated.

In 2009, Earth Hour aims to reach out to one billion people in 1,000 cities and Sikkim joined in the campaign when Karma M Bhutia, a Sikkimese and the managing partner of SourceN Inc., a web and information technology firm based in San Jose, California with its India headquarters at Bangalore decided to kick off the campaign in Sikkim in his individual capacity with the help of friends. He initially started the campaign through an appeal on the internet.

The idea behind the Earth Hour is to conserve energy during that one hour, as a mark of commitment towards fighting global warming.

The objective is to create awareness and is also a form of protest and a platform to put a voice to take a positive step for global warming since this is having an alarming effect all over the globe”, Bhutia said on the ‘Earth Hour : Sikkim Batti Bandh campaign’.