Sikh Community participates in EARTH HOUR

MISSISSAUGA, ON, March 24 /CNW/ - The Punjabi Daily newspaper from Mississauga has been urging its readers and Sikh organizations to participate
in EARTH HOUR.

The Ontario Khalsa Darbar (Dixie Rd. Gurdwara Sahib-Sikh Place of Worship) has prepared for Earth Hour on March 29, a worldwide initiative launched by the WWF, the global conservation organization.

It will be lights-off between 8 and 9 p.m. at the Gurdwara, where the hundreds gathered in the congregation will unite and use candles to pray for a
cleaner and more peaceful world.

"The Sikh Community has always taken a leadership role in protecting our environment. We are proud to participate in Earth Hour, which shows the Sikh communities commitment to protecting the environment, I encourage everyone to join in and turn off their lights for that one hour," said Sukhminder Singh Hansra, of The Punjabi Daily, a Punjabi newspaper in Mississauga who urged the Sikh community join in using it's editorials.

Furthermore the International Punjabi Sports & Culture Centre will also join in on Saturday from 8-9 pm at National Banquet Hall, where they are
holding their 4th annual fundraising event. This event will boast a crowd of over 500 guests, dignitaries and business people who will light candles to
participate in Earth Hour during their speeches, reorganizations and the Punjabi folk dance called Bhangra.

The Earth Hour campaign by the WWF, started in Sydney, Australia in 2007 when 2.2 million people and 2,100 Sydney businesses turned off the lights for one hour, lowering the city's energy consumption by 10.2 per cent. The effect was equivalent to taking 48,000 cars off the road for one hour, according to organizers. This campaign has now spread to major cities worldwide making Earth Hour 2008 a global movement.