Earth Hour every day
Dear Sir,
Doha and many other cities in the world yesterday marked the ninth annual global Earth Hour to highlight climate change.
Hundreds of millions of people worldwide took part in the event organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
Earth Hour started in 2007 in Australia with 2.2mn people taking part, and since then the event has grown into “the world’s largest grassroots movement”.
In 2014, people in 162 countries took part in Earth Hour. This year it could have been more.
The event aims to raise money for environmental projects as well as awareness about the threat of climate change.
I think it is the responsibility of all of us to switch off all our electronic appliances and observe Earth Hour. Institutions such as offices, colleges and schools must support this movement.
However, hospitals must be exempted as lives are at stake there.
Many hotels and Aspire Zone in Qatar took part in the movement. They deserve our appreciation.
Last year, the amount of energy saved during  Earth Hour was enough the light up a big city for a week. Overuse of resources is harmful to  mankind and therefore  observance of Earth Hour should not be limited to just one day a year; it must be part of our daily lives.

Saptarshi Roy Chowdhury

DPS-Modern Indian School
Doha

A source of inspiration
Dear Sir,

With  the passing away of the former prime minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, a towering figure of 20th/21st  century politics,  an era comes to an end. He became Singapore’s first prime minister after the city state’s independence in 1965. Lee is credited with transforming  Singapore into a global financial powerhouse.
With his death, the world has lost one of the great visionaries who took his tiny country to great heights.  
He has left behind a great and remarkable legacy which will be a source of inspiration for other world leaders.

Ramesh G Jethwani
(Address supplied)