Eco Pro
Clean water, air and biological diversity are the backbone of our survival and settlements. All 3 of them are under extremely serious threat in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra. The Erai river, the main tributary of the Wardha river, is the lifeline for the people of Chandrapur in Maharashtra. In the last three decades, the river has been highly polluted by industrial effluents and sewage. Coal mining in the area has resulted in flooding in the Erai watershed area. The overall storage capacity of the river is reduced to 35-40% and out of that water 50-60% water is polluted and not fit for drinking. The Air Quality Life Index report by the University of Chicago stated that due to the increase in air pollution in the states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, the average life expectancy of an average person is reducing by 2.5-2.9 years. There are 26 coal mines in Chandrapur district and potentially there are coal reserves almost everywhere in the district. Which means there will be no forest left in the whole region if we do not control coal mining.
If this destruction continues uninterrupted, Chandrapur will become inhabitable and millions of vulnerable people will face displacement and worst forms of poverty.
Eco-Pro, an organization started by Mr. Bandu Dhotre is working to stop this and build a sustainable future. Bandu Dhotre is a wildlife activist, environmental conservationist, and the founder of the youth organization ECO-PRO. He has been actively involved in wildlife and environment conservation since 2004, and this gave many youths the inspiration to participate in conserving our Mother Nature, which resulted in the formation of ECO-PRO in 2006, a youth-driven organization committed to conserving wildlife and our mother nature.
Dhotre’s method of waking up the sleeping authorities in charge of environmental protection is to starve himself until the concerned administration and policy-makers assure that their decision is reversed. He has gone on indefinite hunger strikes more than eight times to protest the extinction of tigers, the prohibition of building coal mines in forest areas, pollution reduction, and other issues.
ECO PRO started out as a youth organization committed to saving the environment and wildlife, but today with 1000 members and 300+ active volunteers in the organization, they are involved in various other activities like archeological conservation, disaster management, adventure club, and much more.
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