Eastern India’s ‘First Green Portal’ Inaugurated by Newsclick Editor Prabir Purkayastha

Kolkata: Expressing hope for a better green future of the country through holistic change in the attitude of the people of the country on issues, such as green energy, Newsclick’s Chief Editor Prabir Purkayastha recently inaugurated Eastern India’s ‘first green portal’ www.climate24.in in Kolkata.

Themed around green climate, science and technology, health, environment and society, the portal was inaugurated during “The Green Summit 2025” at the Press Club, Kolkata.

“This is the time for action and many deliberations have taken place already,” said Purkayastha, adding that the climate conference -- COP30 -- to be held in Brazil in November, might show some resilience on that front.

Criticising the ‘carbon capture’ projects, he said carbon dioxide was needed for all living beings along with oxygen to survive, adding that carbon dioxide in itself was not a pollutant, and efforts to arrest carbon was a wasted effort.

Noted river scientist and West Bengal Pollution Control Board Chairman, Kalyan Rudra, who inaugurated “The Green Summit—2025’ said that rampant cutting of the trees throughout the country, especially on the Char Dham route, for making highways, had brought in catastrophic floods and deluge in the Uttarkashi region of Uttarakhand.

“We are replicating the same mistake in Kolkata where Puja organisers are rampantly cutting trees on roadsides in the name of trimming them,” he added.

The summit was sponsored by Bandhan Bank, with Indian Oil as ‘gold sponsors’ and State Bank of India as co-sponsor.

Addressing the summit, eminent educationist and JIS University Vice Chancellor Bhaskar Gupta, who is also the former VC of Jadavpur University, said the issue of environment should get weight in public life as environment degradation had reached an “alarming stage”.

Aniruddh Mukherjee, Head of the Environmental Sciences  Department, Calcutta University, said, “Harnessing biomass energy needs to be further explored in India as an environmentally efficient alternative to conventional fuels”.  Biomass energy is derived from organic matter from recently living or living organisms, such as plants, animals and waste materials, which can be converted into heat, electricity or biofuels.
 

Apart from solar, tidal and hydro energy sources, biomass energy can be explored, as it is not adequately evaluated in the country, he said.
 

"There is a lot of scope for harnessing this form of energy," said Mukherjee, who is also a scientist at Calcutta University, with specialisation in environmental biotechnology, bioremediation and toxicology.

Addressing a seminar during the summit,   Fuad Halim, also known as the ‘People’s Doctor’ of West Bengal, who is also a member of the Advisory Board of www.climate24.in in a powerpoint presentation talked about climate change and its impact on people’s health around the globe. He said many critical diseases were on a rise due to extreme events that were affecting the planet.

Sabir Ahamad, National Research Coordinator of the Pratichi Trust,   highlighted the need for revolutionising the scenario centred around  harnessing the country’s solar energy potential, but stressed on usage of off-grid DIY (Do It Yourself) solar kits that can provide enough electricity needed to lighten up an average household at a minimal cost.

It may be noted that the Pratichi Trust, and noted editor and journalist Antara Dev Sen, the Managing Trustee of Pratichi Trust, have been guiding spirits behind the setting up of the green portal in Kolkata.

The programme also saw a fiery speech from Paschim Banga Vigyan Manch general secretary and environmentalist Sourav Chakraborty, who called upon the richer nations “to stop directing the Global South about what is to be done, as it is they who pollute the globe to the farthest extent.”

A media conclave was also held featuring senior journalists Debdoot Ghosh Thakur,  Environment Editor of Climate 24, Snehasish Sur, President, Press Club Kolkata and Doordarshan veteran Amal Sarkar. Executive Editor of The Wall,  Jayanta Basu, Editor of the Plurals,  Krishnendu Bandyopadhyay, Environment Editor, Times of India, Ritobrata Bhattacharyya, Editor of R PLUS channel, and Himadri Sarkar, News Editor of the Bengali Daily, Ei Samay, which deliberated on the importance of environment issues in newsrooms and what could be done to increase the reach of such issues to a wider readership.