New Delhi: Railways on Friday launched a special train, which will showcase the concept of climate change and the need to adapt to a lifestyle which will mitigate the impact of climate change.
The refurbished ‘Science Express’ with a theme of climate change was fagged off by Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu, environment minister Anil Madhav Dave and Science and technology minister Harsh Vardhan.
The Science Express will embark on its journey of over 19000 km to cover 68 locations across India till September 8, 2017 and is expected to attract 30 lakh visitors. The climate action special will spread awareness on this key issue and augment our efforts to ensure a better future.
The exhibition is open to all, but primarily targets students and teachers. Various coaches of the train will showcase various themes like solar energy and bio-cooking.
Of the 16 coaches, exhibitions in 8 coaches have been developed by the Environment Ministry. These exhibitions have been exclusively devoted to information, case studies and material related to various aspects of climate change, the underlying science, impacts, adaptation activities, mitigation solutions and policy approaches in a manner that is easy to understand and interesting for not just school students, but also the masses.
The Science Express should reach out to 6.5 lakh villages of the country and should motivate people to take individual actions and initiatives to fight climate change, Mr Dave said.
“What should each individual do, what should the governments do, what should the society do, everyone’s role has to be determined”, he said.
Mr Prabhu said that climate change was a big threat for the mankind and can be tackled only through collaborative efforts. He said that the Science Express will not just convey the message about climate change, but also generate dialogue and discussion on this burning issue.
Science and technology minister Harsh Vardhan said the government plans to run four more trains in the coming years to make it a bigger movement.
