Climate protesters have become a daily sight on London’s streets, undeterred by the honking horns of irate motorists, personal insults and even arrests. This time, Ocean Rebellion campaigners pretended to drown themselves in oil and gas in a protest outside a United Nations agency in London. The climate change activists staged the frightening demonstration on the steps of the International Maritime Organisation, the UN agency responsible for regulating maritime transport. “A drowning ocean goddess symbolizes the dire threat LNG poses to our oceans,” the group wrote on X while sharing pictures of the stunt show. 

The images show, one activist, dressed as an “ocean goddess”, donning a fishbowl on her head filled with black liquid as though she was drowning. She could be seen screaming as the liquid engulfed her face before it quickly drained from the bowl. Other protesters around her were seen wearing gas masks and brandishing petrol pumps with flames spouting out of them. 

“Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) is not a “green” solution. Methane leaks from LNG ships are 80x more damaging than CO2. The IMO must wake up to this reality before it’s too late,” Ocean Rebellion wrote on X. 

2/5 Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) is not a “green” solution. Methane leaks from LNG ships are 80x more damaging than CO2. The IMO must wake up to this reality before it’s too late. #SayNoToLNG #ClimateCrisis @OceanRebellion pic.twitter.com/8tFqfqTvV4

— Ocean Rebellion (@oceanrebellion) October 4, 2024

According to the New York Post, the protest took place on Friday, the final day of meetings for the UN agency’s Maritime Environment Protection Committee, which had convened to discuss reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships. The protesters accused the agency of manipulating the fossil fuel industry and failing to protect the ocean. 

“The IMO is failing to protect our oceans. LNG is a dirty fuel disguised as clean. We demand transparency and accountability. Stop listening to fossil fuel lobbyists, start protecting our planet!” the group wrote on the microblogging site. 

Also Read | Antarctica Turning Green At An Alarming Rate, Says Study

Meanwhile, climate change activists have been in the news with their high-profile direct-action protests, such as disrupting Premier League Football matches, and sporting events, to publicise their cause. They have thrown tomato soup on famous paintings and glued themselves to picture frames in galleries. They want the government to end all new oil and gas exploration and have promised not to let up in its protests until it does so.

A few weeks ago, three activists from Just Stop Oil threw soup at two of Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” paintings at London’s National Gallery. This incident occurred just hours after two other members of the protest group were sentenced to prison for a similar act in 2022.

Bhopal:

His complaints against corruption allegedly ignored for years, a man from Madhya Pradesh assembled a garland out of the documents and made an entrance into a district collector’s office that left everyone stunned. Crawling on the road and then rolling on it, the man dragged several other documents containing what he claimed was “evidence” behind him, finally getting the attention that he was so desperately seeking. 

Like every Tuesday, a public hearing was being conducted in the office of the Neemuch district collector to address people’s grievances when Mukesh Prajapati was spotted crawling on his elbows – a garland of documents around him and several others sewn together on a rope trailing him. As he switched to rolling on the road and made his way to the entrance, it emerged that Mr Prajapat had been complaining against the alleged corrupt acts carried out by the sarpanch of his village, Kankariya, and claimed he had not been heard for over six years. 

His shirt off and keeping a slipper on his head, Mr Prajapati said, “I have been complaining about the corrupt sarpanch for six to seven years, but no action has been taken. This is not out of self-interest. I am shining a light on corruption in the interest of the country.”

Sub-Divisional Magistrate Mamta Khede told news agency PTI that Mr Prajapati had complained against a sarpanch, and the Panchayat and Rural Development had already conducted a probe into the allegations levelled by him.

District Collector Himanshu Chandra said he has ordered a fresh investigation into the complaints and asked for a report within three days.

“A team has been asked to go to the village and look into the complaints of corruption made by the man. I have asked for a report to be submitted within three days and action will be taken based on that,” said Mr Chandra. 

Videos of the unique protest were shared widely on social media and one of them was also picked up by the handle of the Madhya Pradesh Congress. 

“This person, crawling and dragging documents of complaints and evidence, depicts the helplessness of the Mohan Yadav government. His name is Mukesh Prajapati and he has reached the collector’s office seeking justice,” the post on the Madhya Pradesh Congress handle said in Hindi.