NE NEWS SERVICE
COIMBATORE, JUNE 3
Save Soil volunteers will celebrate World Environment Day on Sunday, June 5 by holding a 55-km cycle rally, marathons, awareness walks and public line-ups across Tamil Nadu. The programs will be held in various districts, including Chennai, Coimbatore, Trichy, Madurai, Salem, Erode and Thanjavur among others.
The events will raise public awareness about the looming threat of global soil extinction. They include:
A 55 km cycle rally in Chennai from Mylapore to Chengalpattu.
Marathons in Coimbatore and Salem
Walks in Madurai, Nagercoil, Erode, Namakkal and Karur districts
Line-ups of hundreds of placard-bearing volunteers at prominent places in Trichy, Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, Pudukottai, Kumbakonam, Mayiladuthurai and Perambalur districts to raise visibility for the Movement to Save Soil.
Farmers across Tamil Nadu have started planting 2 lakh saplings over three days – June 3, 4 and 5 in support of the Cauvery Calling movement which is aiming to green the river basin by placing a third of the basin area under shade to protect and revive its soil as well as revitalize river Cauvery.
Sadhguru, Founder-Isha Foundation, launched the global Movement to Save Soil from extinction this March, embarking on a 100-day lone motorcycle journey of 30,000 km spanning 27 countries in Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East. Sadhguru reached India on 29th May on his Journey for Soil which will culminate in the Cauvery river basin in late June.
The primary objective of the Save Soil Movement is to urge all nations to mandate a minimum of 3-6% organic content in agricultural soils. Without this minimum organic content, soil scientists have warned of the imminent death of fertile soils worldwide. The Movement is proposing a policy-driven mandate supported by government incentives for farmers to raise organic content on farmlands.
Soil extinction could lead to unprecedented ecological, economic and social catastrophes worldwide. This includes intensifying climate change, global food and water shortages, brutal civil strife and migratory exodus across continents threatening the security and cultural fabric of every nation.
The Save Soil Movement is supported by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Food Program, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Commonwealth. Since Sadhguru began his journey, 74 nations have pledged concrete action to save soil in their countries.
