Licypriya Kangujam meet landslides victims of Odisha

Bhubaneswar, 26th October 2019

Licypriya Kangujam meet landslides victims of Odisha

8-years-Old Indian kid traveled thousands of kilometers to meet the landslides victims of Odisha.

“Dear World Leaders, This is Climate Emergency. Act now.” - 8 years old Indian Climate Activist & Founder of The Child Movement Licypriya Kangujam stood with a banner with the victim children & families at the landslides sites of Badakalokot Panchayat, Gumma Block in Odisha today by traveling over 1800 km from Delhi. She also appeals to the villagers not to cut the trees to tackle the global climate crisis.

She reached the spot of the disaster sites after climbing the Mukhaling hill for more than 3000 metres from the foothills. She was welcome & accompanied by the village & block panchayat leaders including Anupan Sahu (IAS), District Collector of Gajapati District. She said, “I am coming here to tell the world leaders that this is climate emergency. Animals are dying. People are suffering. Children become homeless. These are all the effect of climate change. They must act now.”

Licypriya Kangujam meet landslides victims of Odisha

“Despite technological advancements, still people are dying due to many disasters and lack of awareness. Why there is no early warning systems for landslides unlike for earthquakes, Cyclones and tsunami, etc. in India? If there is early warning system, we can reduce the damage of properties and human lives”, she cries.

On Thursday, around 20 houses were damaged due to a landslide in this village. The houses were damaged when the landslide occurred due to heavy rainfall. The incident took place in Gumma tehsil of Gajapati district. Locals are facing difficulty due to heavy rainfall in the area.

Incessant rain triggered by a well-marked low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal threw normal life out of gear in several parts of Odisha on Thursday. The regional meteorological center here issued red, orange and yellow warnings for the coastal and southern districts of the state till October 26.

Licypriya Kangujam meet landslides victims of Odisha

The state government declared the closure of all schools and Anganwadi centres for two days in eight districts and asked the teachers and staff to remain present at the institutes for an emergency.

“It’s our time to rise up. We don’t have a lot of time left; it’s us who have to make a change so I thought it would be important to be here and show support to our generation.”, she added. “In India, it’s hard to talk about climate change. We hardly see it on the news or in the papers or hear about it from government.”

“We are touch our heart when a small eight years old kids come all the way for thousands of kilometers when she heard the news and climbed this big hill to meet us and also distributed blankets, clothes and various food items in such neglected tribal areas. She shared the pains and tears with us. There were young people taking protest action in many cities. It is a fledgling movement but we are very happy with her action today. We are trying to get people to be more aware of climate change and the need to tackle it.”, a villager said.

Licypriya Kangujam meet landslides victims of Odisha

When she appeared, the villagers chanted her name and she earned cheers and applause by telling them: “We have been born into this world and we have to live with this crisis, and our generation. We are facing the greatest crisis of humanity. And yet it has been ignored. Leaders who have ignored it but we will not.”

“Collective action of the kind you’re championing can make a difference and a profound one,” Augustis, 17 years old teenage said. “Together we can beat climate change. “It will require us to change the way in which our energy is generated, change the way in which our homes are built, change the way in which our land is managed and farming operates. But that change is absolutely necessary.”

Later she distributed relief materials to the people staying in the relief camp. Later, she woo the heart of the people by sharing her meals with the victims children. She also will visit Simlipal National Park in Mayurbhanj on 30 October to rise the issue of declining tiger population despite government crores of investments to preserve tigers.

Licypriya Kangujam meet landslides victims of Odisha

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