Earth Hour is coming to India and the IT capital of Bangalore will be participating. As one of the highest power consuming Indian cities, Bangalore is working to raise awareness of the environmental impact of not only tech and other industries, but of the individuals and families in the area.
The M.G. Road and Brigade Road shopping districts have promised to participate by turning off their lights from 8:30 – 9:30 pm on Saturday, March 28th. Local trade associations have worked over the past few weeks to ensure there will be ample candle light and security for shoppers. Restaurants, five star hotels in Bangalore, as well as IT companies are all expected to join in the event.
Employees of the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) were strongly encouraged to participate as well. Officials believe that most if not all will turn off their lights.
The city’s power demands are approximately 32 million units(mu) of power a day. Since they only receive 27 million units, that’s a shortage of five mu per day. The state of Karnataka (of which Bangalore is the capital) has a daily shortage of 9 mu.
The global observance of Earth Hour began two years ago in Australia to call attention to the effects of global warming. This year over 80 countries are committed to participating and an anticipated billion homes and businesses will go dark for one hour on Saturday night.