Third Environment Conservation Fair - 2024 concludes with a message to save air, water and soil 

Ludhiana, February 4, 2024: Third Environment Conservation Fair - 2024 organized by Municipal Corporation (MC) and Society for Conservation and Healing of Environment (SOCH - NGO) culminated at Nehru Rose Garden on Sunday with a message to save air, water and soil for coming generations.
 
On the last day of the two day fair, Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) Chairman Prof.  (Dr.) Adarsh Pal Vig, Padma Shri Dr Surjit Patar, Zonal Commissioner of Municipal Corporation (Zone-D) Jasdev Singh Sekhon among other personalities belonging to different sections of the society participated in  the fair and appealed the residents to contribute their bit for environment conservation. 

Patron of SOCH Baba Gurmeet Singh, President Dr. Balwinder Singh Lakhewali and Secretary Dr. Brij Mohan Bhardwaj said that the aim of the NGO is to inspire people to take care of natural resources and reconnect with them. Working on these lines, this fair was organized in collaboration with different schools, colleges, universities, government and non-government organizations and private companies, so that we can make joint efforts to save the environment for our future generations.  

Science models were installed by different schools, colleges, universities and social organizations during the fair.  Similarly, efforts were also made to spread awareness through cultural programs. Live workshops were also organized on vermicompost, bonsai etc., which gave people some options to solve the challenges related to the environment.

Lakhewali and Bhardwaj said that despite rainfall witnessed on Sunday, people turned up in large numbers and their enthusiasm is praiseworthy. This has encouraged them to further move ahead with the idea.

PPCB Chairman Prof. (Dr.) Adarsh Pal Vig also appreciated SOCH NGO for bringing together different organisations ,which have been working on environment conservation, under one roof. 

Different stalls installed during the fair, especially regarding stubble management and alternatives of plastic, also inspired the participants. It is also beneficial for those people who, along with conserving the environment, are also looking for employment opportunities within the same.

Renowned Punjabi Poet Padma Shri Dr. Surjit Patar appealed to all the Punjabis on this occasion that we should follow the path shown by our Gurus and keep the air, water and earth clean.
Zonal Commissioner of Municipal Corporation (Zone-D) Jasdev Singh Sekhon said that during this fair presentations were also given regarding our heritage trees and their benefits.  Similarly, information was also been shared regarding the management of stubble and kitchen waste. Different ideas were also shared during the fair to manufacture different items using waste material.

The objective of this fair was to highlight various aspects of environment conservation such as heritage tree planting, water conservation, soil conservation, organic home gardening, waste management, management and fertiliser, pollution free vehicles, reduction in air pollution, noise pollution, eco-friendly packaging, energy conservation, solar energy, healthy lifestyle products, coarse grains and human health etc.

On this occasion, different organizations, gram panchayats etc. contributing towards environmental protection were honored with cash prizes worth around Rs 5 lakh.

Dera Baba Daya Ram Sports and Welfare Club Kotdharamu was honored with a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh amount under the Purana Jhiri (Gram Panchayat) Award.  

Under the 'Jahan Safai Wahan Khudai' (Gram Panchayat) Award, Gram Panchayat Mohi Kalan, Patiala was honoured with a cash prize of Rs 75000.  Under the Wild Life Protection Award, workers engaged in the protection and rescue work of wild animals were given items worth Rs 50,000 such as torches, saddles, jackets, shoes etc.  In Organic Farming (Individual Special), Gurmeet Singh from Bahawalpur, Patiala was honored with a cash prize of Rs 50000.  Under Terrace Garden (Individual Special), Maninderjit Kaur of Talwandi Chaudhary, Kapurthala was awarded a cash prize of Rs 25,000.

Under the category of Government College with green campus, Government College, Punjab University Kadiyal, Dharamkot was awarded with cash prize of Rs 25000. Under the private college category, Girls College, Jalandhar was honoured with cash prize of Rs 25000.  

Under the environment friendly model (government school category), first, second and third prize of Rs 10,000, Rs 8,000 and Rs 5,000 were given respectively. Under the category of private schools with environment friendly model, the first prize of Rs 10,000 was given to DAV Public School, Pakhowal Road, Ludhiana. The second prize of Rs 8,000 was given to Police DAV Public School, Civil Lines, Ludhiana and the third prize of Rs 5,000 was given to BCM Model Senior Secondary School and BCM Arya Model Senior Secondary School. 

Under the category of short film on environmental protection, the first prize of Rs 20000 was given to Dipanshu Jain of Ludhiana.  The second prize of Rs 15,000 was given to Piyush Dhingra of Ludhiana and the third prize of Rs 10,000 was given to Gurnoor Kaur and team. 

For photography on environment theme, the first prize of Rs 10,000 was given to Sanjeev Kumar of Amritsar. The second prize of Rs 8,000 was given to Arnav Dua of Ludhiana and the third prize of Rs 5,000 was given to Hardeep Singh of Saidpur, Mohali.

Dr. Manish Kapoor, Tanpreet Singh Sidhu, Tota Singh, Dr. Manmeet Manav, Amarjeet Singh, Charandeep Singh, Rahul Kumar, Vikas Sharma, Sarabjit Kaur, actor Shivendra Mahal, Raj Dhaliwal, Malkit Singh Roni, Karamjeet Anmol, Bharat Bhushan Verma, Mandy Gill among others also participated in the fair on the last day.