Earth Day has become one of the most widely celebrated environmental events across the globe. Observed annually on April 22, events are held worldwide to increase awareness and appreciation of the environment. This year, Essar Foundation also celebrated Earth Day in various ways.
Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Essar jointly organised a poster design contest along with The Hindu, a renowned media house. Ten schools in Vishakhapatnam participated in the competition which was held at the Andhra University campus. Students from classes 5 to 10 had to design posters on the topic ‘What can we do better to protect our earth.’ The dignitaries present for the competition included Mr Amit Garg, Commissioner of Police, Visakhapatnam; Mr S Venkatesan, CEO, Essar Steel India Limited; Mr DS Verma, Joint GM – HR, Essar Steel India Limited; Mr T Suresh – Regional GM, The Hindu; and senior officials of Essar Steel and Essar Foundation.
Malkangiri, Odisha
A program was organized to educate children from the local government school about the environment. The program was held at Badpadar village in Chitrakonda block of Odisha’s Malkangiri District. Fifty students participated in debate and speech competitions on the importance of environmental conservation. Out of these, the six best students won prizes. This is just one of the many initiatives by Essar Foundation for school children to promote environmental conservation.
Paradeep, Odisha
Essar Foundation and Essar Steel (ESTL) celebrated Earth Day at the Nuagarh Gram Panchayat’s Balidia Nodal Upper Primary School. The idea was to promote ecology, highlight growing concerns about different kinds of pollution, global warming and to encourage care for life on Earth. Over 200 students attended the event along with the principal and teachers. A mass quiz and debate competitions were held for 72 students of classes 6, 7 and 8. The participants enjoyed themselves and also received prizes.
Speaking at the event, the principal of the school Mr Ramachandra Mohapatra said, “We must start taking small steps like planting trees, limiting the use of vehicles thereby reducing pollution, switching off lights when unnecessary and also conserving petrol. These might be small steps but when a million people do it together, one can definitely see the results. So on this Earth Day, let us pledge to do whatever little we can to help the planet.”
