World Environment Day: Bhumi Pednekar blames the urban class, calls them ‘the biggest abuser of the natural resources’

In the last two months since lockdown was imposed in the country, pollution levels have indeed gone down and one can breathe the fresh air, but Bhumi Pednekar has a word of caution. While the actor, also a climate activist hopes that people have learnt the lesson, she feels there’s still a long way to go.

“We’ve to understand that the two months of global lockdown is not the solution. People think ki ‘arrey wah, abhi air pollution kam ho gaya, sab accha ho gaya’. We’ve to continue on this path, so that our planet gets a chance to recover,” says Pednekar, adding that this has been a great awakening in all ways.

“People have had the time to introspect and understand that there is no planet B. This is the only world we have and it’s our only chance at survival,” she says. 

Insisting on the need for every individual to take note of the gravity of the situation, the actor, 30, is all about adopting habits. “We may think what difference will one person’s habit make, but it does matter. In the last 40 years that things have gone out of control, it has taken one generation to do all the damage, and it’s going to take a lot longer than that to heal our planet, “says the actor, who through her initiative, Climate Warrior, is urging people to share their ‘One Wish for The Earth’.

The Saand Ki Aankh actor feels that the action to save the environment can be as small as not wasting water at home, saving electricity, not taking long baths and banishing single use plastic.

She explains, “It’s about making smart choices. Especially the urban class is the biggest abuser of the natural resources. We really need to get our act together. Recycle is one and also avoid food wastage, which is the one of the biggest contributors to climate change. We’re producing more food than out planet can support, and we still have countries that are hungry.” 

Pednekar also urges people to not just do it for the future generations, but for their own future as well.

“I want to grow old in a surrounding that’s fulfilled. I want to go out for a walk after I retire, breathe in clean air and have clean water. It’s my basic right,” she asserts.

However, she fails to understand how humans feel that they’re so invincible and think they’ll survive “without water food or clean air to breathe”.

Raising awareness is the key, Pednekar points, and adds, “We can bring about a change when we talk about it. We have policy makers. In India, we’re fortunate that we’re working towards green business, developing renewable energy, celebrating going green or blue with our infrastructure.”

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