The Bengal Club 11th Annual Panel Discussion in association with The Telegraph will be held on Friday. The Telegraph gives a lowdown of the event.
When: Friday
Time: 5.30pm
Venue: ICCR Hall, Ho Chi Minh Sarani
Topic: “Preserving our environment is an exotic but not an essential exercise”.
The speakers: Social activist Medha Patkar; communications professional Mudar Patherya; researcher, author and historian Mahesh Rangarajan; environment activist Subhas Datta; Bengal government’s environment department secretary Vivek Kumar and journalist Jayanta Basu.
Moderator: Cardiac surgeon Kunal Sarkar
What to expect: Sarkar said the discussion would be interesting because conversations around climate and environment in a developing country were different from that in a developed country. “We all want to live better and we are all concerned about the environment, but can a developing country shift to newer forms of energy denying poor people the chance to come out of poverty?” said Sarkar. He referred to the Deocha Pachami coal block in Bengal’s Birbhum district in this context.
The exploration of the huge reserves of coal in the block can generate employment and also give a push to the economy of the state, but at the same time climate activists are pushing for phasing out of coal because of the large volume of emissions made by coal burning.
Who can attend: Entry will be strictly based on invitation. Club members can get invitation cards for Rs 100 and guests of club members can buy the invitation cards for Rs 150. The invitation cards are available in the reception of the Bengal Club.