City schools celebrate ‘green Diwali’

LUDHIANA: With special emphasis on the values of sharing and caring, city students gathered to pledge for celebrating a clean, green, and safe Diwali. A special pre-Diwali exhibition was organized at DAV College on Pakhowal Road, in which students were given an opportunity to sell their hand-made greeting cards, decorative ‘diyas’, and candles. The objective of the exhibition was to divert the attention of students from bursting crackers, and take pride in decorating homes with their own pieces of art and rangolis. The school’s Entrepreneur Club enabled students to make profits and inculcate the habit of saving money. The kindergarten wing made tiny-tots aware about the history behind Diwali through a tableaux.

Interactive session

The Police DAV Public School too pitched in for an ‘eco-friendly Diwali’ by organizing an interactive session for students on Friday. Sanjeev Uppal, head of the plastic surgery department in DMCH held a session to sensitize students and create awareness about celebrating a green Diwali. Uppal interacted with students to make them understand ways of bursting crackers safely under guidance of adults, keeping water nearby, wearing cotton clothes, and bursting crackers from a proper distance to protect oneself from undesired injuries.

Diwali Mela

Meanwhile, the corridors of Khalsa College for Women (KCW) reverberated with enthusiasm as the Fine Arts department organized a Diwali Mela on the college campus. Manmeet Kaur Grewal, national chairperson of Youth for Understanding, and general secretary of Refocus Foundation India graced the event. Various departments put up around 100 stalls, comprising fancy ‘diyas’, stone art, decorative candles and bottles, glass paintings, and photo-frames. BBA students put up a ‘Foodies Street’ showcasing their marketing skills and serving delicacies. The Botany department put up a stall of plants to promote a healthy, green Diwali.

Saying ‘no to crackers’

Ryan International School, Jamalpur, too campaigned for a green Diwali by saying ‘no to crackers’. Students from classes 6-8 presented a talk show, made slogans and banners to emphasize the celebration of a ‘safe and green Diwali’. Ram Lal Bhasin Public School organized a candle and ‘diya’ decoration activity in the junior section, and a flower arrangement competition for senior sections.