Pressing environmental issues pertaining to carbon footprint, green cover, conservation of natural resources and saving the ozone layer from depletion found vivid artistic expressions on canvass as around 260 students from 23 schools picked up brushes, oil pastels and watercolours to express their thoughts.
A painting contest was organised jointly by The Hindu and the Essar Foundation marking the International Day for the Prevention of the Ozone Layer at Visakhapatnam Public Library on Sunday offered them the right ground to spread the messages loud and clear .
World Ozone Day
Focussing on the current year’s theme ‘Keep cool and carry on: Montreal protocol’, the contestants exhibited their creative expertise by bringing out thought-provoking concepts on canvas. G. Lakshman, a Class VIII student of Mrs. A.V.N. College High School, portrayed nature’s fury on one side of the cone ice-cream and its beauty on the other half of the canvas. “We should make an effort to conserve environment in whatever manner possible and work collectively to create a better world for our future,” he said. Excitement was writ large on B. Swetha’s face as she stood first in the senior category of the contest. “I am fond of magic. So, I chose to depict environment conservation in my painting through a magic wand that casts a spell,” she added.
Holistic education
Head (HR) of Essar D.S. Varma said the organisation has been supporting such green initiatives for over a decade which aims at bring in the change in the attitude of youngsters towards the environment.
Laying emphasis on holistic education, Municipal Commissioner M. Hari Narayanan mentioned that co-curricular activities play an imperative role in enriching the academic life of students. Participating as the chief guest, he lauded the efforts of The Hindu in hosting such environmental awareness events in a consistent manner.
Andhra University Vice-Chancellor G. Nageswara Rao explained the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation exposure that poses risk of cancer, along with other serious health hazards. While P. Ravindranath, Senior Environmental Engineer, Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board attended as the guest of honour, guest faculty of the Department of Fine Arts, AU T. Jagadeesh participated as judge.
Winners
The top three contestants and consolation prize winners in each group walked away with trophies and certificate of appreciation. Certificates were given away to all the participants.
M. Bhavani (Class VII) of Keystone School, C. Kavyasree (Class VI) of S.R. Digi School and B. Yaswanth (Class V) of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan won the top three prizes in the junior category. The consolation prizes were given away to Riti Agarwal (Class VI) Timpany School, Ranga Ramanuja Ayyangar (Class VI) of Ramanath Secondary School, NSTL and B. Nikhil (Class V) of Chaitanya Public School.
In the senior category, B. Swetha (Class X) of Sri Prakash Vidyaniketan, Pendurthi branch, C. Sampath (Class VIII) of Sri Krishna Vidya Mandir and L. Dinesh (Class X) of Sanskruti Global School grabbed the first, second and third prizes respectively. S. Chandrakala and V. Pavan (Class VIII) of Gayatri Vidya Parishad MLBT School, Veera Sri Lalitha (Class IX) Kendriya Vidyalaya No:1 bagged the consolation prizes.