Indian Green Building Council has received overwhelming response across India.
C. N. Raghavendran, chairman of the Chennai Chapter of the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) presents the trophy to Shoba Raman, principal of Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School in the presence of S. Raghu, director of the IGBC (1st from left)
Chennai: It is a proud moment for a city school which has been adjudged the best in the country for its green initiatives. The school was awarded in the Indian Green Building Council’s nationwide ‘Green Your School’ contest in which students had to come up with innovative ideas on how to transform their school into eco-friendly institutions.
The 60-year-old Vidya Mandir senior secondary school in Royapettah high road, Mylapore emerged joint winner along with Gandhi Public School at Gunupur in Odisha and Kendriya Vidyalaya AFS at Begumpet in Hyderabad from among 193 registered schools in the contest. IGBC handed over the award along with a cash prize of Rs 2,50,000 to Vidya Mandir on Thursday.
IGBC chairperson C.N. Raghavendran told Deccan Chronicle that IGBC conducts the competition among schools to instill awareness about green buildings and environmental friendly developments among young minds. “For the past 8 years we have been choosing a suitable topic and awards are given. This year we decided to ask students to come up with ideas and present the awards based on their work”.
He said IGBC has received overwhelming response across India. “The message reached over 14,000 schools out of which 800 students and teachers have actively participated in the contest. The jury had a tough time in picking the winner and eventually three finalists have been declared winners and were awarded the first prize. The prize money shall be used for implementing the green ideas in their schools”, Mr Raghavendran said.
When contacted, Vidya Mandir principal Shobha Raman said the school has been working on water management, lighting, air quality and waste management, apart from expanding greenery. “We are planning to have an efficient gray water recycling system, carpooling, harvesting of daylight to classrooms through techniques such as sun pipes, solar bottler bulb and renovating the roof with sky lights, apart from the introduction of rooftop gardens. Another important aspect is the upcoming initiatives of the Clean Brigade – an association formed by students of class 10 in accordance with the Swacch VM campaign, which is already functioning.”
( Source : deccan chronicle )
Next Story
