Speaking at the 5th Re-Commerce Expo at Hotel Ashok on Tuesday, Eshwar Khandre said the need of the hour is to regenerate and reprocess E-Waste, batteries and other electronic goods by giving top priority. “This will not only be economically viable but also environmentally-friendly,” Khandre added.

According to the Karnataka Forest Minister, climate change is a big challenge in the world. The collapse of hills and earth sinking at Shirur in North Kanara district and Wayanad in Kerala state are alarming bells for all of us.

“We need to be vigilant on these aspects and evolve plans to avoid such tragedies. Pollution is rampant in atmosphere as well as in water due to increase in Electronic goods, batteries along with industrial pollution. It is our duty to protect the mankind from these vagaries of nature that are posing a grave threat to the world,” Eshwar Khandre explained.

He emphasized the need to blend the development and production process without damaging the ecology and environment. “There is huge opportunities for the young generation to work on this subject,” the minister added.

Venkatreddy D Patil, CEO of Urdhva Management, the organizers of Re-Expo, in his speech said, our main aim is to strengthen processing for which the number of partners should increase. We need to re-process mobile, batteries and laptops and put it to use without harming the ecology and environment. “These Electronic gadgets are necessary for creation of jobs in a big way,” Venkatreddy D Patil added.

He was speaking at the Sustainability Leadership Summit, organized by Centre for Sustainable Development. While releasing Bangalore Declaration on Acceleration of Sustainable Development Goals, he said Bangalore has seen rapid growth and transformation, but this very growth has also exposed its vulnerabilities. The issues of urbanization, traffic congestion, pollution, and access to clean water and sanitation are problems we cannot ignore. We must ensure that our actions today do not compromise the well-being of future generations. Sustainable development is a complex challenge that transcends borders and disciplines. It requires collaboration across sectors, industries, and communitiesm he added.

“The benefits of sustainable development must be accessible to all, not just a privileged few. We must prioritize inclusive growth to ensure that no one is left behind. We need to address the issues of social justice, reducing inequality, and empowering marginalized communities to participate fully in the sustainable development process through inclusive growth of every sector” he opined

We need to evaluate the progress made toward achieving the sustainable development goals both globally and within specific regions or sectors. Let us assess where we stand in relation to the 2030 targets and identify areas where improvements are needed, the Minister said.

Additional Chief Secretary to Department of Forest and Environmnet, Javed Akthar, IAS delivered the key note address. The head of CSD, former Chief Secretary Dr A. Ravindra, Dr Shalini Rajneesh, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner, Dr Abhinash Dash, Director, Development, Monitoring and Evaluation Office, NITI Aayog, Dr Upendra Tripathy, former Director General of International Solar Alliance, Dr S. Satapathy, former Director, Climate Change, Union Ministry of Environment, Ashish Tiwary, IFS, Government of UP, Dr Dola Bhattacharjee, Scientist, Regional office, Ministry of Environment, Dr Achalendra Reddy, Chairman, National Bio Diversity Authority, Dr Ramanjaneyulu from Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Dr Yele Lingaraju, National Director, River rejuvenation centre, and others were present.