Siddharth, Vignesh Shivan join hands with Anbumani for 'Chennai Run'

CHENNAI: Renowned actor Siddharth and movie director Vignesh Shivan on Sunday joined hands with PMK President Anbumani Ramadoss for Chennai Run, an awareness run conducted by Pasumai Thayagam, environment wing of PMK, on the occasion of birthday of Anbumani, near Besant Nagar beach.

While Siddharth flagged off the run, Anbumani along with PMK leaders participated in the run.

"Our intention is that the State government should immediately take-up the issues related to climate change and should declare a climate emergency. We are witnessing this across the globe, not just in Chennai or Tamil Nadu. In India, every year is announced as the hottest year. On one side there is drought and on other side flood wrecks havoc every year. There is a need for awareness about climate change among students, youngsters, industrialists, NGOs and so we are conducting this awareness run by inviting film stars." said Anbumani, before the run.

He also said that the UN has warned that if we do not take necessary actions within 8 years the world cannot be saved and the changes will be irreparable. "Everyone has the responsibility to mitigate climate change. Starting from village panchayats to Corporations, schools to colleges everyone has responsibility and we must fulfill our duties. Only if immediate action is taken we can prevent nature from taking its next course of action,” he added.

He also demanded the Tamil Nadu government to allot Rs 1 lakh crore towards water management, which is an essential component of climate change mitigation.

"Earlier, there were 45 days of rainfall during monsoon. Now, the number of days have reduced to 30. On the other side, the quantity of water has increased due to which there is no proper mechanism to save water. We should build check dams, should construct water reservoirs, desilt water bodies and for all these the state government requires atleast Rs 1 lakh crore,” added Anbumani.