Earth Hour was observed for one hour across the entire state on Saturday night. However, it did not appear to have any significant impact in Doon. Lights remained on in markets and various other locations. In several places, people did keep the lights off inside their homes. Around the Clock Tower and its vicinity, all lights remained illuminated from 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM.
In some areas, people voluntarily switched off the lights in their homes. However, in many places, the initiative failed to show any visible impact, largely because people were unaware of what Earth Hour was. The blackout also failed to have any noticeable effect in Uttarkashi.
Meanwhile, at the Pauri district headquarters, the power supply was not interrupted during Earth Hour. The majority of the residents were completely unaware of what Earth Hour entailed. Nevertheless, rumors regarding a one-hour power outage scheduled for Saturday’s Earth Hour had been circulating widely on social media throughout the day.
**No Power Outage at the Scheduled Time**
Pauri residents Suman Devi, Pradeep Kumar, and Anoop Singh stated that they had read about the directive to switch off electricity during Earth Hour on social media. However, they noted that they could not find any official or authenticated information regarding the order. They mentioned that they had finished cooking dinner by 8:00 PM and were preparing to eat, but the power did not go out at the scheduled time. Consequently, the residents did not even realize that Earth Hour was taking place.
An appeal had been issued across the state to observe Earth Hour for one hour on Saturday night. During this period, people were requested to switch off all lights and electrical appliances. In this regard, the Uttarakhand administration had decided to observe Earth Hour from 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM on Saturday night. During this specific hour, residents across the state were urged to switch off all non-essential lights and electrical devices.
Essentially, this campaign is being organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), New Delhi. This initiative aims to raise awareness regarding the conservation of natural resources, the maintenance of ecological balance, and the creation of a better future for coming generations. As part of this campaign, the public was urged to keep non-essential electrical appliances switched off for a duration of one hour
