Minister launches Bhogi Awareness Programme
Posted on: 13/Jan/2015 11:02:08 AM
Environment minister N D Venkatachalam launched the Bhogi Awareness Programme at the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) auditorium in Guindy on Monday. Environment minister N D Venkatachalam vowed at the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) auditorium “I will desist from burning tyres and plastic on Bhogi.“ About 500 schoolchildren also took the oath with him.
The oath is significant, as it comes two days before Bhogi, when, traditionally, the “old is burnt to make way for the new“but in turn polluting the air. Tonnes of old tyres and other waste are burnt on Bhogi, the first of the four days of Pongal festivities, which is celebrated on the last day of the Tamil month of Margazhi. Burning of old waste, particularly rubber and plastic, releases carbon monoxide, sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides and carcinogens that cause a range of respiratory problems
