I’ll introduce my son to tree plantation today: Gul Panag

Titas Chowdhury

Over the years, Gul Panag has emerged as an eco-warrier and she believes that it is her duty to set a precedent to reduce carbon footprints by opting for renewable energy resources. “I switched to driving an electric car six years ago as my primary vehicle of local commute. I’m currently installing solar devices across all my homes. Our home in Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab, was one of the first to be grid tied in the state as part of a pilot project,”

she shares.

Panag feels that making environment preservation a part of the mainstream discourse is the need of the hour: “It’s not a part of the mainstream narrative because there’s no immediate threat to our life and it’s not sensational enough for the media to cover. As a result, the government doesn’t do much either. The outcome is deliberate circumvention of environmental issues.”

This Earth Day, the actor emphasises on instilling values about a sustainable future in children. She says, “It needs to be the core of their learning and reinforced repeatedly. It’s difficult to change the attitude of indifference in adults but with children, we can mould their attitudes. Today, I’ll introduce my three-yearold son, Nihal, to tree plantation as his initiation to caring for the environment.”

A few years back, Panag became a part of the Col Shamsher Singh Foundation which addresses issues like effective employment of natural energy resources along with co-founding a company ‘that provides electric charging infrastructure’. “The most important role any public figure can play is advocacy. I use every available platform to speak up on environmental issues, among other things,” the Dor (2006) actor concludes.

Debina Bonnerjee