On the occasion of World Environment Day, leading NGO AROH Foundation organised a rally and plantation drives besides cleaning school premises and community parks in Delhi slums and in multiple villages across the country. Following the theme of 2019 ‘Beating Air Pollution’, the focus of most of the activities led by the children and the communities was to combat increasing air pollution.

The children of RISE, an initiative of AROH Foundation for remedial education of poor children, conducted rallies as a part of the programme to create awareness amongst towards increasing ecological imbalance due to deforestation, pollution and population.

In Badrakha Village, Bulandshaher, Uttar Pradesh the foundation also distributed Biomass chulhas to the women. The biomass chulhas due to their efficient burning process and low carbon footprints are more convenient to use. These chulhas plays an important role in mitigating pollutants emitted from traditional domestic cooking by providing an alternative over traditional methods of wood log based cooking which has higher rates of carbon emissions.

AROH over the year has distributed hundreds of Bio mass chulha for the promotion of healthy & easy cooking and reducing carbon footprints.

Along with distribution, AROH over the years has been creating mass awareness towards health hazards that are caused due to carbon monoxide ridden smoke chulhas that are traditionally used in village level cooking.

Inaugurating the formal programme in Sangam Vihar Slum of South Delhi, the president of AROH Foundation Dr. Neelam Gupta lauded the efforts of children and their commitment towards protecting the environment with the collective effort of the society.

The foundation also installed Biogas stove in the village which was inaugurated by the block development committee member.  Biogas generators save women and children from the daunting task of firewood collection. As a result, more time is left over for cooking and clean. More importantly, cooking on a gas stove, instead of over an open fire, prevents the family from being exposed to smoke in the kitchen. This helps prevent deadly respiratory diseases. Around, 4.3 million people a year die prematurely from illness attributable to the household air pollution caused by the inefficient use of solid fuels for cooking.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Gupta said, “Untimely deaths, disease-ridden & lethargic lives are now common scenario due to chemical loaded edibles, contaminated air & water and unhealthy lifestyles. Irresponsible treatment of our natural resources is causing irreparable damages to our environment and eventually to our existence. Adopting an organic, hygienic & sustainable lifestyle can be a simple and impactful solution to these problems. It’s time that we should come together to make our planet green, healthy and sustainable.”  

AROH Foundation has been constantly working towards the upliftment of poor and underprivileged to fulfill its vision of a world where people can live with dignity and can also work for the wellbeing of planet Earth.

Established in the year 2001, AROH foundation has marked its presence in over 1200 remotest villages and slums across 18 states. It has recently been conferred with United Nations Global Compact Award, 2019 for its extraordinary contribution towards social cause under its Holistic Rural Development programme. AROH has become a preferred NGO impact partner for several corporate wherein it provides integrated development solutions to key CSR projects in our country.