Kathmandu, August 20:

How can one measure the level of environmental awareness? Various people may come up with varied answers.

However, Megh Ale, an environmental campaigner, says: “One could measure it by counting the number of people who join awareness campaigns every year.” And this is exactly what he has been doing since June 5, a time that saw environmental activists observing the river festival for the fifth time since 2001. The event, which kicked off on World Environment Day on June 5 ended today. However, due to the situation that has arisen due to the hike in fuel prices, the organisers dropped the grand finale scheduled for today that included rafting down the Bagmati river from Pashupati to Thapathali. The prizes for winners of various competitions will now be given away once the situation becomes normal.

“We did well this year. The point is we attracted more people. We have a huge following now. Over 80 institutions means a lot,” Ale said when asked to comment on the progress made.

He is happy that environment as an issue is slowly catching up with imagination of the people and corporate houses.