The Hindu

• It is an attempt to protect the environment
• Students and general public can send their entries

Udupi, Sep 11: N Satish, Range Forest Officer, said on Monday that the department had planted mangroves on 150 acres at places such as, Mattu, Kodi, Byndoor, Kundapur, Jalady and so on, along the coastline of Udupi district, to protect the environment.

Addressing presspersons here, Mr. Satish said the department had taken steps to create public awareness on saving Olive Ridley turtles and their eggs in the region. It had decided to conduct competitions in drawing, poster creation, photography, sand sculpture, and sculpture, as a part of its awareness campaign.

Competitions

Topics for the drawing competition are: for children below six years -the butterflies in our neighbourhood; for students from 2nd standard to 4th standard — the turtles in our neighbourhood; for high school students —the ‘kandlavana’ (mangroves) as seen by me.”

Topic for creation of poster (open for students as well as general public): the dangers to ‘kandlavana’ and need to protect them; for photography (open to students and public): the diversity and importance of ‘kandlavana.

Entries

Entries with pictures, posters and photographs should reach the Office of Deputy Conservator of Forests, Kundapur or the offices of Assistant Conservator of Forests in Kundapur or Moodabidri, before September 25, 2007. Entries can also be sent to the offices of Forest Department at Byndoor, Kundapur, Shankarnarayana, Udupi, Karkala, Hebri, Moodabidri, and Venoor. There will be three prizes in each category besides two consolation prizes. The prizes will be presented on October 6, at a function to conclude the public awareness campaign and “Wildlife Week” celebration.

Sand sculpture

Competitions in sand sculpture-making and sculpture will be held on the Marvanthe beach, near Kundapur, on October 5. Topics for sand sculpture are: Kurmavatara, life-cycle of a turtle, and relationship between man and turtle; topics for sculpture are: Kurmavatara, life-cycle of a turtle, environment-friendly activities of a turtle, and reasons for destruction of turtles.

Prizes

The winners of first, second and third prizes will get Rs. 25,000, Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 5,000, respectively.

For further details, the respective offices of the department may be contacted, Mr. Satish said.