Former Deputy Mayor advocates for Green MC polls
Shimla, April 15
After a green Deepawali, Shimla needs to shift towards a green election and prohibit the use of non-biodegradable materials, according to Tikender Panwar, the former Deputy Mayor of Shimla from the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Panwar advocated for a green message to address the problem of civic pollution that requires immediate attention.
Panwar urged all political parties not to use flex and other non-biodegradable materials for canvassing. He also appealed to all the participating candidates and parties that instead of campaigning in a vehicle, they should walk their wards, to set an example.
Panwar called for a waste audit in the township and cited a study conducted by Ladakh Municipality which identified the eight biggest polluters, including multinational corporations like Nestle, Pepsi, and Coca-Cola. ” Similar could be the situation in Shimla,” he stated, while talking about waste management.
Panwar also talked about the mobility plan, which highlighted the need to reduce the number of cars and increase the car passengers’ ratio. He claimed that it would be impossible to allow more than 40,000 to 50,000 cars in a day with the current car passengers’ ratio and emphasized the need to improve traffic in Shimla.
Panwar criticized the previous BJP government for their reckless concreting of the town, which he claimed was aimed at helping the builder mafia. He suggested that local wisdom should prevail to preserve Shimla’s environment and beauty, instead of relying on consultants from outside the state.
He further stated that the town did not need conventional construction materials to rebuild the one hundred and fifty years old town, but rather retrofit all old constructions that are in shambles. Panwar also accused the previous BJP rule of misusing World Bank funds and violating the construction code inherited by Shimla from the Britishers.
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Finally, he emphasized the need to address climatic changes by adopting green planning instead of relying on ideas that do not suit the hills. He argued that the town was not built for cars but for people to walk on foot, and the blind following of consultant town was leading to the destruction of hill ecology.
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