By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 27 Dec: A one-day awareness drive and drawing competition on Swachhata under the ongoing Swachhata Pakhwada (16-31 December) were conducted by the Division of Soil Science & Agronomy of ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation (ICAR-IISWC), here, on 26 December at its campus by involving children of the staff.
Director Dr M Madhu apprised the students and children about the competition. Acknowledging the efforts of the Division’s staff in organising the programme for the children, he underlined the importance of continuing such programmes for long-term benefits. He requested the children to conserve water, electricity and food as part of their daily routine. He also distributed prizes to winners of the competition.
Earlier, at the beginning of the programme, Dr Debashis Mandal, Acting Head of the Division and Principal Scientist (Soils), delivered the introductory remarks on the importance of Swachhata Campaign. He also spoke about the mandates and activities of the ICAR-IISWC and encouraged the children of the staff to opt for science and agriculture subjects in their higher studies. He described the role of soils in the ecosystem as a filtering mechanism.
A drawing competition on Swachhata in three age-group categories (<7years, 7-11years and 11-15 years) was organized on the topics of importance of Swachhata in daily life.
Dr Raman Jeet Singh, Senior Scientist (Agronomy), coordinated the overall activities of the programme. He motivated the students to come out with innovative ideas to solve the daily problems.
Dr Devideen Yadav, Scientist (Agronomy), Ashok Kumar, CTO, and Sarita Gupta, ACTO, evaluated the performances of the competitions. Sita Ram (T4), Mudit Mishra (T3), Varsha Gupta (T1), and Rishabh (SRF) organised the various activities. Deepak Kaul (TO), Madhu (SSS) and Ajit Rana (SSS) coordinated the distribution of refreshment packets among the children and staff members.
About 50 participants, including children, their parents, and officials of the IISWC attended the programme. The vote of thanks was proposed by Dr Devideen Yadav. The programme was organised under the COVID protocol.
Before the main event, a cleanliness campaign was also conducted by the divisional staff at Nagal near Sahastradhara on 23 December by involving the labourers of a construction site and villagers.
