On the eve of World Environment Day (WED) 2014 falling on 5th of June each year, international reputed Sand artist Sri Manas Kumar Sahoo created a sand sculpture on the golden sea-beach of Puri, 65 km from Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha.
World Environment Day (WED) is the United Nations’ principal vehicle for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the environment. Over the years it has grown to be a broad, global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated by stakeholders in over 100 countries. It also serves as the ‘people’s day’ for doing something positive for the environment, galvanizing individual actions into a collective power that generates an exponential positive impact on the planet. This year’s theme is “Raise Your Voice, Not the Sea Level”.
Commemorated yearly on 5 June, WED is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action.Over the past two decades India’s holy cities have seen a large increase in the number of pilgrims visiting them. In many instances this has led to significant environmental problems. These include waste management issues, lack of adequate sanitation, and the pollution of rivers, lakes and streams.
The artist’s message in this art is that children experiencing the beauty of nature at their tender age expecting to inherit a beautiful future; and to make the people aware to keep the environment green and protect it for future generation. The sand sculpture is of 10 feet height made with 15 tons of sand, with a hard labor of nearly 24 hours and with a message “Better Environment Better Tomorrow”.