Adopt some nature-loving habits in daily life says Janak Didi
Indore
Dr. Janak Palta McGilligan emphasis zed on the urgency of "Restoring the Earth with Sustainable Lifestyle" at Shri Vaishnav Institute of Management and Science
The 6th day of the Environment Discourse Week organized by Jimmy and Janak McGilligan Foundation for Sustainable Development began with the worship of Mother Saraswati, lighting of lamp, and the Kulgeet of the Institute.
In the welcome address of the chief guest of the program, Janak Didi, the director of the institute, George Thomas, told all the teachers and students that Dr. Janak Palta is the pride of Indore, we are fortunate and proud that she has been associated with this institute since 1987 and always guides and inspires us us. Her most important message is that for environmental protection and sustainable development, adopt some nature-loving habits in daily life, which can protect the earth. Like- use using jute bags, cloth bags , Planting one tree every month.He assured Didi that with her inspiration, a camp named Vriksha Parenting (Plant Parenting) has been started in the institute so that the campus environment remains clean and green.
Janak McGilligan told that she left her parents, family and prestigious job in Chandigarh and came to Indore as a Baha'i pioneer to establish a training institute for the empowerment of tribal women. She was appointed as the director for the Institute , which she named Barli Devlopment Institute For Rural women
Janak Didi shared the journey from the beginning to the present and also described in detail the journey of her life from 1985 till today, how she restored the dry well of that barren land of 6 acres by making it organic, full of biodiversity and sustainable through rainwater harvesting with the hard work of her husband, late Mr. Jimmy McGilligan, the manager of the institute. In the first 26 years, 6000 girls were sent to 500 tribal villages as sustainability workers. In 2011, both Jimmy and Janak retired from the Institute and bought 1/2 acre of land on a barren hill- rock in Sanawadiya village and built a sustainable house famous for self-reliant, organic food, solar-wind, renewable energy garbage free, chemical free, pollution free green house and not dependent on the market. After her husband Jimmy's sudden demise in April 2011 following a road accident, Janak Didi has taught sustainable development life to about 1.8 lakh people free of cost. While discussing today's topic of sustainable development, she told that to live a life with sustainable development, first of all, to make life zerowaste and pollution free, we have to stop using plastic, disposable, chemical free items and food. For a healthy life, we have to make a habit of eating organic food, along with this, we have to promote solar cooking, solar dryer. She told that every year she plants no of trees l on her birthday equal to her age and accepts plant gifts on Rakhi or every festival. In the last few years, with the help of people, she has contributed to tree plantation on 8 hills around Indore during the rainy season and grown them. Plant more trees and grow them. This is called sustainable lifestyle, which makes life, earth and all living beings happy, by abandoning single-use plastic, we have to make biodiversity and earth healthy, only then we can get rid of climate crisis.
At the end of the program, Dr. Jagdish Sharma (Head of the Department) thanked Dr. Janak Palta on behalf of the institute and the present Director George Thomas, Dr. Kshama Paithankar (HOD), Dr. Deepa Katiyal, Dr. Mandeep Gill (Head of the Department PG) all the students and teachers. The program ended with the national anthem.
