TOI's Initiative Bagged DMA's Leader Award

BENGALURU: A campaign 'Let Delhi Breathe', a Times of India’s initiative has won the Leader award for its drive at the DMA ECHO India CREATEFFECT Awards 2016.

The drive—started back in 2014 and inaugurated by Delhi Governer Najeeb Jung—has been applauded for its efforts; award celebrates India's most creative and effective data-driven marketing campaigns.

Delhi's alarmingly poor air quality and after the WHO ranked the national capital as the world's most polluted city on particulate matter (PM2.5)—15 times higher than permissible limit. Upon introspecting on what can be done, the TOI Green Drive was launched as an on-ground activity in collaboration with DDA to plant over a lac sapling in the national capital.

To create awareness of rising air pollution levels in capital, the drive effectively used print media, TV, radio, website, social media and on-ground activities such as street plays, flash mobs, freeze mobs, street walks and walkathon. This assembled over 40,000 people to be part of the plantation steer.

Various dept including government bodies, corporate houses, NGOs, and different age group like schoolchildren, senior citizens, and specially-abled—had come together to make this drive campaign a revolution.

From August 4, 2015 to August 30, 2015, the month-long campaign witnessed 40,000 Delhiites plant 1.2 lac saplings in less than six hours at Tilpath Valley. The valley was designed to be developed as a biodiversity park completely focused to revive the paralyzed ecosystem and in reducing the hazardous effects of air pollution.

The trees local species plants were planted in the form of community clusters so that it may assist other species of flora and fauna to regenerate in large numbers. After the event, the 200 acres of city forest land was cleaned and waste in the form of empty water bottles, plastic wraps and empty food boxes -was sent for disposal. According to the team, this initiative by TOI will be taken forward and considered in other cities as well.

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