Udupi: The Government High School at Hebri Karkala Taluk here has bagged the ‘Parisara Shale’ Award (eco-friendly school) for its eco-friendly activities and pollution-free campus.
The ‘Hasiru Shale’ (second prize) and ‘Kittale Shale’ (third prize) awards were presented to 10 schools each at a function jointly organised by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), the Zilla Panchayat, the Pilikula Regional Science Center Mangaluru and the Department of Public Instruction, at the Atal Bihari Vajapee Audtorium, DC Complex, Rajathadri, Manipal here on Thursday, February 26.
Three hundred and twenty schools across the district had applied for the award. 21 schools have been selected among them. The programme encourages children to take up activities on concepts such as water, air, energy, health and hygiene with special emphasis on maintaining ecological balance. At the end of the year, each school will have to evaluate themselves against various parameters like quantity of water consumed, installation of rain water harvesting system, construction of recharge wells, etc.
The schools were evaluated by a core group comprising of experts who visited the school campus and inspected the steps taken by the students and teachers to keep the water, soil and air free from pollution as well as keeping their campus plastic free.
The Parisara Shale Award carries a purse of Rs 20,000, and the Hasiru Shale and Kittale Shale awards carry Rs 2,000 and Rs 1,000 respectively.
The District and Sessions Judge Shivashanker B Amarannanavar inaugurated the programme. M Kanagavalli (CEO of Zilla Panchyat) presided over the function. Kumar (Additional DC), N Laxman (senior Environment Official, KSPCB Mangaluru), H Divakar Shetty DDPI, T S Jithoori (Public prosecutor), K V Rao (Director, Pilikula Regional Science Centre), Rajshekar Puranik of KSPCB Udupi, Dr N A Madhyastha and others were present.
Hasiru Shale awards: Government School Biluru, Thellaru, Pervaje, Shivapura, Prakala, Kucchuru Herga, Hengavalli Kundapura, Sooda, Soorgoli, Kedooru.
Kittale Shale Awards: Gundaje Miyaru, Hejamadi, Macchattu, Muniyalu, Vaddarshe, Kelarkalabettu, Mala, Hejamadi kodi, Kaup, Kalathuru Santhekatte.
