Vociferous demands for climate emergency

Hyderabad: About 100 students from different schools gathered and urged governments to declare climate emergency and demanded immediate action for protection of environment and climate. They held a peaceful protest at Tank Bund on Friday.

Recently, 99 trees were cut down at Nallagandly and on Friday another 40 trees were chopped at IDPL. Chaithanya, a Class 8 student from Kukatpally, said, "The government needs to be sensible and make sure the ecological balance is maintained."

"Solutions exist but policies are being blocked due to lack of political will. One urgent step is stop the axing of trees & increase public mass transit systems before building flyovers and expanding roads. A clear protocol must be established to order felling of trees with rules, guidelines & documents required," said Kajol Maheshwari, founder, Fridays For Future.

When will you stop destroying Hyderabad habitat in the guise of development? Stop the Green massacre before it's too late, said the participants. "I came here to shout for Climate Changes and I say don't cut trees because trees are beautiful and helpful for all of us," said Sruthi, 9, a student of Vision Rainbow School.

Friday's climate strike is taking place in 2,300 cities in 153 countries around the world, according to estimates by the climate campaign group Friday For Future.