The world is in the middle of a humongous climate crisis. It is manmade! More than 15 billion trees are globally cut every year due to deforestation which leads to the extinction of several life species. This accounts for 3000 toilet rolls per person. This also results in the depletion of greenhouse gases (GHG). Climate change can be a natural process where temperature, rainfall, wind, and other elements vary over decades or more. For millions of years, our world has been warmer and colder than it is now. But today we are experiencing unprecedented rapid warming from human activities, primarily due to burning fossil fuels that generate greenhouse gas emissions.
#SOTO, which stands for Switch off and Tap off is a ‘public awareness initiative’ by the Mrittika Earthy Talks Foundation that aims to celebrate Earth Day every year. On 22 April 2024, a total outage of electricity and water supply for 10 minutes was observed as homage to Mother Earth. The initiative is an outcome of the need for the community at large to change behavioural patterns which lead to mass wastage. Unfortunately, the human race is responsible for all the deforestation, and carbon emissions which are leading to climate change.
Mrittika Earthy Talks Foundation (MET) is a Kolkata-based NGO, working in the sphere of environment and sustainability, founded by Somini Sen Dua, who mentioned that “We realise that ‘Climate change’ and ‘global warming’ are terms which are not meant to be confined within files and board rooms only. It is high time we start a public dialogue, as it is the biggest crisis we are facing today.”
MET’s campaign to celebrate Earth Day on 22 April 2024 –Switch Off Tap Off #SOTO was a token gesture for everyone to participate and pledge to combat the climate crisis together to save precious natural resources through a 10-minute outage of electricity and water supply. Individuals, irrespective of age, caste, race, gender, or religion, joined and pledged to use water and electricity judiciously. All lights of the lounge at PVR INOX South City were switched off and the water supply was tapped off to make the community aware of how they can give back to Earth by reducing their consumption. The Chief Guests of the program were Debashis Sen (Former IAS ACS & CMD HIDCO & Founder Director NBC Ltd), Dr Swati Nandi Chakraborty (UN Fellow & Environmentalist), Mr Rwitobroto Mukherjee (Actor) and Mr Amitava Guha Thakurta (Regional Director, PVR INOX Ltd).
An intense social media campaign which was supported by environmentalists and celebrities like Sandhya Mridul, Subha Mudgal, Rituparna Sengupta, DJ Akash, Rwitobroto Mukherjee, Sujoy Prasad Chatterjee from different cities in India brought solidarity to the campaign and people from all walks of life gathered at PVR INOX South City to join the #SOTO.
A total number of 48 brands/spaces including offices, art spaces, cafes, educational institutions, and restaurants joined hands with Mrittika Earthy Talks Foundation and a little more than 1050 units of electricity approx was saved. This year, MET’s campaign #SOTO reached a milestone as the iconic Victoria Memorial and the Howrah Bridge (decorative lights) were switched off at 7pm and 8pm respectively. Since #SOTO was observed by Mrittika Mates on land and in the River Ganga, the cruise to the Howrah Bridge was partnered by The Barge Company.
Schools that have participated in this initiative are:
1. Jewish Girls School
2. La Maternelle High & Primary School
3. Silver Point School
4. Sri Sri Academy
5. Ling Liang High School
Chief Guests Mr Debashis Sen and Dr Swati Nandi Chakraborty congratulated Mrittika Earthy Talks for such a splendid endeavour. Mr. Rwitobroto Mukherjee promised to spread awareness about climate change amongst the youth. Mr Amitava Guha Thakurta said it was his pleasure to collaborate with Mrittika Earthy Talks Foundation as a venue partner and champion the cause of climate action.
