Victoria Memorial, Museum blackout in Kolkata for Earth Hour

Kolkata, March 28 (IANS) As millions of people across the globe pledged to switch off non-essential lights for an hour to observe the Earth Hour, the city's iconic Victoria Memorial and the Indian Museum too joined the cause to save power.

"Apart from these two buildings, the air force station at Barrackpore in West Bengal and all National Cadet Corps establishments also participated in the initiative, World Wildlife Federation (WWF) education officer Samya Basu told IANS.

He said people are gradually coming forward for the cause and was optimistic about the adoption of green energy in the state.

"We are working closely with four schools in the Sunderbans where we have deployed solar energy," he said.

WWF is propagating the Earth Hour and educating the youth about the impact of global warming and means of combating it. It is working with 15 colleges and 100 schools in the state to highlight issues affecting the environment.

"We are targeting another 50 schools and five colleges shortly," said Basu.

Earth Hour is a WWF worldwide initiative started in 2007 in Australia to make people aware of the environmental hazards and then spreading through the world. India joined the programme in 2009.