By far, the largest gathering for Environment Day celebrations was organised by Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Programme, in which hundreds of women marched from Kote Anjaneya Temple to the Deputy Commissioner’s Office. Women carried placards and raised slogans towards a pollution free environment. They also sought the government to ban the use of plastic.

City Police Commissioner, K L Sudheer launched the rally. MLC C H Vijashanker said that trees are being cut in an uncontrolled manner, which has resulted in an imbalance in the nature.

“It is the responsibility of every person to plant and nurture trees. If deforestation continues unfazed, we will have to face a lot of problems in the future,” he said.

Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens also celebrated World Environment Day. The zoo organised awareness programmes on the theme ‘Think-eat-save’, which has become the global campaign.

The programme was inaugurated by planting trees at the zoo premises by winners of various competitions organised as part of Environment Day celebrations. Executive Director of the Zoo, B P Ravi was present.

Similarly, awareness programmes were held at National Institute of Engineering in the city. Participants planted saplings of rare species in the campus. The programme was held with a theme ‘Plant Trees Save Our Planet’.

S N Devaraj, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Wildlife Division, Mysore and R Vijay Shekar, President of Sadvidya Educational Institutes were guests.

A talk on the impact of climate change was organised at Dr Reddy Foundation in the city. Environmentalist Vasanthkumar Mysoremath briefed a gathering of students on how climate change could melt polar caps and glaciers and also affect the life of humans on the planet.

World Environment Day celebrations were also held in several schools and colleges in the city, where saplings were planted and talks on the importance of conserving nature was held.