An Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
professor has said Bharat would be among the top countries to be impacted by
the climate change.
Professor Chetan Singh Solanki, often
called the ‘Solar Man of India’, arrived in Indore in Madhya Pradesh as part of
his ‘Energy Swaraj Yatra’.
“India is among the countries that are
going to be most impacted by climate change. We are seeing that climate change
is causing unseasonal rains and severe floods,” said Solanki on Thursday.
To spread awareness about the threat of
climate change, Solanki said he took leave without pay from IIT Bombay to set
out on the ‘Energy Swaraj Yatra’ in November 2020, adding that the drive will
continue till 2030.
“I have resolved not to go home till the
yatra is over. This solar-powered bus is now my home. It has covered more than
47,000 kilometres and I have addressed programmes in more than 600
institutions,” he said.
In the bus, he has built an office,
kitchen, worship room, bed, training room, dining room, library and a
bath-cum-toilet, Solanki said.
“The root cause of climate change is
ever-increasing carbon emissions. Solar energy can be the solution to the
problem of climate change, but it is very important that solar energy is used
properly,” he said.
“It is not right to install large solar
power plants indiscriminately in the country. We should make people
self-sufficient in solar power generation at the local level. Only then will we
get swaraj in the energy sector and not have to depend on other countries for
fuels,” said Solanki, who is also the solar energy ambassador of the Madhya
Pradesh Government.
PTI
