MUMBAI: June 5 is celebrated as World Environment Day. It is observed to create awareness about protecting and preserving the environment. But are we really aware? The viral news of a pregnant elephant, who was fed pineapple stuffed with crackers, which resulted in her death, brought tears to our eyes. So, guess we do not really care about anything. 

Though the lockdown imposed in a lot of countries brought many positive changes in the environment, but are we going to follow the same pattern for a cleaner and greener environment.

(Also read: Vikas Sethi: I want to get back to acting soon) 

On the occasion of World Environment Day, celebs talk about creating more awareness and imposing stricter laws to protect and preserve whatever we have left of the environment. Here's what they had to say -

Amal Sehrawat:  I on behalf of the entire human race apologise to mother nature for polluting it. I pledge not to do it anymore, restrict usage of vehicles, electrical appliances, and be more grateful to the environment and I will protest against exploitation of nature and atmosphere. We humans should realise the importance of keeping our environment safe and healthy and should refrain from polluting it. Remember we are here to make the earth a better place and not to destroy it.

Sudipto Balav: I completely agree with the thought that human beings are to be blamed for the condition that the universe is going through today. We have no respect for nature, no respect for fellow beings, no respect for animal life. What happened in Kerala is beyond words and I am shocked, ashamed and I feel that humanity couldn’t have gone lower than this. I strongly feel corrective measures in terms of strict laws and punishments need to be imposed. Cleaning up of the corrupt system is also equally necessary to bring things back to normal.

Harssh A Singh: I think the only thing we can do is to educate our children and everybody that nature and humans are not separate, we all will live together and die together. If we don’t learn how to respect it, it will be destroyed. With everything that is happening around the world it is clear that we all are connected. What they have done to an elephant in Kerala is not acceptable, they are murderers. Everybody needs to study ecology, need to learn what is good for the environment and for us.

Vikas Sethi: You need to plant more trees to save the environment, this is the only solution. At my home in my balcony I have planted many tress. We people have already damaged everything and now because of the lockdown beaches are clean, the quality of air is so pure, we are getting fresh air but this is not for so long because once the lockdown gets over everyone will be doing the same thing what they were doing before. I belong to Punjab and my mother is in Ludhiana right now, she said there is no need of AC because the air is so cool and fresh. Today’s weather was so good. I felt very angry on seeing the news about the pregnant elephant. The culprit should be punished. We see elephant as lord Ganesh. We should arrest them. I don’t dump waste anywhere, I stopped using plastic bottles, I always carry a steel bottle with me wherever I go. We should spread awareness. 

Amit Sarin: Yes, every single person's action matters. We need to own up to our responsibility and it's high time we realised that it’s our actions and ignorance which needs to change. For example - something like using a plastic bag can cause so many environmental problems, but we as individuals think it’s not our fault. We need to heighten our awareness towards our environment, surroundings and fellow human beings. We need to learn from nature - to be compassionate, to be giving unconditionally.

Sharad Malhotra: Humans have been misusing nature and taking it for granted. In metros, we have been cutting trees and forest so nature has taken its own revenge today, we are all at home and mother nature is breathing. Each and every person should  take care of the environment. We should be planting more trees rather than cutting.

Vivian Dsena: We can’t take the environment for granted. We should be planting trees and there should be strict laws and fines for people damaging nature and increasing pollution. There are people who still mix wet and dry garbage and throw it on the road, all this should be banned. We should stop cruelty towards nature and animals. We should take responsibility of our surrounding environment.

Kettan Singh: Environment needs to be nurtured personally by everyone, they can’t depend on the government and other authorities. I think carpooling should be encouraged to reduce pollution because somewhere we destroy the nature, knowingly or unknowingly.

Aniruddh Dave: I was brought up in the pink city of India, Jaipur, there is still a lot of greenery around, but I can’t say the same about Mumbai. Whatever mangroves we had, we have just cut them for our benefit. There should be no cruelty towards plants, tress or animals. There should be more awareness about it and stricter punishments.

Rishina Kandhari: We often forget that we are largely dependent on mother nature and have become ignorant towards taking care of it. It’s our duty to create awareness amongst people about the importance of preserving nature and environment in order to strengthen our world. We saw all sorts of animal and birds out in the open during the lockdown, even the level of pollution had gone down and the air and water quality improved. If this is what is required to save our mother nature so be it ! There should be a mandatory lockdown for a week every two months because we humans still need to learn how to handle mother nature with care.

Vijayendra Kumeria: The world is not the same what it used to be, post Covid-19  lockdown there has been some great changes in the environment. There is less pollution now, the air is better, because of lesser human footfall even the oceans are recovering. But still, we have a long way to go, hope post lockdown people follow the good things. We all have to be positive and passionate when it comes to protecting our environment. What we are giving back to our mother nature? Recent events - from bushfires in Brazil, the United States, and Australia to locust infestations across East Africa, and now a global pandemic somewhere we have all gone wrong. But still, we have time so please be more generous to our mother nature, be loving to animals and also be compassionate towards each other.

(Also read: This is how Naagin 4 actor Vijayendra Kumeria is spending his quarantine time...)