Kokuyo Camlin teams up with ‘Rally for Rivers’ to sensitize school children on depleting rivers

EE News Desk Aug 30, 2017

The campaign, envisaged by Sadhguru, Founder, Isha Foundation. Indian Rivers, the lifeline of our civilization are at a dangerous level of depletion. With many of the minor rivers having vanished and major perennial rivers turning seasonal, this dire situation for a nation with a population of over a billion can no longer be ignored. Studies say that within the next 15 years, we will have only 50 per cent of the water we need for our basic survival.

“This is not a protest. This is not an agitation. This is a people’s campaign to raise awareness that our rivers are depleting. Everyone who consumes water must Rally for Rivers” said Sadhguru, Founder, Isha Foundation, while launching a nationwide people’s movement.

To create mass awareness, Sadhguru will himself drive from Kanyakumari to the Himalayas through 16 states. The campaign will include 21 major events and numerous smaller events, both online and off-line, to touch every segment of society.

Kokuyo Camlin will do its bit as part of the campaign by hosting a creative writing contest with the topic -- `Saving Rivers: India’s Lifelines’. This Creative Writing Contest will be conducted in; over 1500 schools across 26 cities around the country. Kokuyo Camlin with its strong presence plans to sensitize and equip children with a sense of solidarity to rivers across the country by getting them to participate in this writing contest. In the writing contest, participants will need to express their perspective on the importance of rivers and their views on what needs to be done to save them.

Saumitra Prasad, Chief Marketing Officer, Kokuyo Camlin Ltd, said, “It’s an honor for us to associate with Isha Foundation and create awareness among school students on depletion of rivers. Our endeavor is to protect the environment and reach out to as many students as possible to make the project successful. Rally for Rivers is great project to save our rivers from dying. We at Kokuyo Camlin have been promoting mechanical pencils which do not destroy trees and hence help environment, also we have been activities with school children for the cause of environment like tree plantation on world environment day and Project Ganga on Work River Day. We are looking forward to active participation from students in the promotion and we hope to make a difference through this activity.”

The writing contest is eligible for students of the 5th, 6th and 7th class only. The school children will have to pen down a short essay on the topic of `Saving Rivers: India’s Lifelines’ in not more than 40 words in a given time of 15 minutes. Every Class will have one winner, which will be jointly decided by the teacher and the event organizers. The prize for the same will be Camlin Mechanical Pencils. Three entries from each school (one each for 5, 6, 7th standard) will be short-listed by the school principal or a specially appointed jury. In every state – three winners will be decided by a Jury and these winners will attend the event with Sadhguru and other eminent personalities. Prizes worth Rs 3,000 for each state winner.

The state winners will become eligible for national online voting contest and 3 national winners will be selected based on online voting. Prizes worth Rs 25,000 for each national winner. All state winners get an opportunity to attend a creative writing workshop at Isha Yoga Center with an eminent author.

Kokuyo Camlin, in the past, has organized activities like planting 10 lakh saplings in single day in Pithoragarh region along with Eco Task Force. They also celebrated, World Environment Day by organizing ‘Camlin Green India Challenge’ and planting trees in six Kokuyo Camlin’s factories. Even in their product range they have innovated and come up with Mechanical Pencils that doesn’t involve any wood in the making thereby saving the trees.