Shimla, May 14 -- Governor Kavinder Gupta on Wednesday declared Lok Bhavan a 'fuel conservation zone' and appealed to the universities to lead the conservation movement. Responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to reduce fuel consumption and self-reliance in the wake of West Asia crisis, the governor announced several measures, like designating Lok Bhavan as a 'fuel conservation zone', observing 'petrol-free Sundays', with no official vehicle using fuel on that day. Gupta on Wednesday through his social media post declared Lok Bhavan a 'Fuel Conservation Zone'. He announced that no official vehicle will use imported fuel on Sundays. He will give up his official vehicle one day every week, opting for an electric vehicle or carpooling instead. Taking the call of the PM on "work from home", the governor said that all Sundays' engagements will be via video conferencing. He announced that his official convoy's size would be cut by half. He said that all non-essential meetings shifted to video conferencing to eliminate unnecessary travel. He has grounded the state helicopter and announced that he will not use the state helicopter until the West Asia crisis subsides and fuel prices stabilise. "When the nation is being called upon to conserve every drop of fuel, it would be inappropriate for me to use the most fuel-intensive mode of official transport available," he said. He has written to the state government informing them about the austerity measures taken by him and urged them to put in place standard operating procedures (SOPs) to conserve fuel and cut down on expenditure in view of the call given by the PM. "When the nation is asked to conserve every drop of fuel, it would be inappropriate for me to use the most fuel-intensive mode of official transport available," he said. The governor, who is also the chancellor, made a special appeal to vice-chancellors to take effective measures to conserve energy in their campuses and issue advisories to faculty, staff, and students to promote carpooling, cycling and public transport for daily commuting. He appealed to students to "become ambassadors of the fuel conservation movement" in their colleges, hostels and home communities, and participate in nation-building, strengthening the spirit of social responsibility and discipline within their communities. Reaching out to the residents of the state, the governor appealed to citizens to adopt carpooling, use public transport, walk for short distances, and promote cycling as both a conservation and health measure. The governor called upon the people to adopt 'vocal for local' and promote local products, handicrafts, and indigenous goods over imported alternatives, and prefer domestic tourism destinations over foreign travel....