12th DEC: CSA, in collaboration with DRIK India, Kolkata and with the support of Fredskorpset(‘FK’ Norway), held a two-day national level seminar on “INTERLINKING OF RIVERS- PRIORITY OR CHALLENGE ” on 12th & 13th December ‘07 at Christ College. 120 delegates from various parts of the country took part in this programme.
The seminar aimed at:
· Bringing together scholars, experts, college students and teachers in higher education along with organisations in concerned and related fields in order to facilitate thinking and discussion on this issue which is of national concern, and
· Looking into both sides of the debate and exploring the possibilities of initiating constructive discussions on the issue.
Mr. H K Patil, leader of opposition and former minister of water resources, Government of Karnataka was the Chief Guest at the inauguration, which was held at the Christ College auditorium.
A number of eminent personalities including
Ø Prof. Jayanto Bandhopadhyay, Centre for Development and Environment Policy, IIM Kolkotta;
Ø Mr. Yellappareddy IFS, Chairman: Bio-Diversity Board, Bangalore Mahanagara Palike and Former Secretary- Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Government of Karnataka, and
Ø Mr. Parthiv Shah, Director of Centre for Media and Alternative Communication (CMAC), New Delhi presented their papers.
Apart from the sessions, a number of films were screened in the campuses of Christ College, Jyothi Nivas College and St. Joseph’s College on 12 and 13 December to bring about an awareness on the importance of interlinking of rivers. The films screened were:
1. Our Liquid Assets
2. Everybody Lives Downstream
3. To Dam Or Not To Dam
While around 120 students turned up for the film screening at Jyothi Nivas College on the 12th, 189 students attended the screening at St. Joseph’s on the 13th.
Another film ‘The Story of a Golden River’ was screened on 13th December exclusively for the participants of the seminar.
An international photography exhibition on the theme of Interlinking of Rivers was also organised in Christ College on the same dates by DRIK India, Kolkata also a part of the Fredskorps India Partner Network. The photographs depicted the varied aspects of life on banks of rivers. MSW students of the College worked on this exhibition.
Another highlight of the seminar was the cultural evening called Tirtha Yatra: ‘A Tribute to water’, a multimedia and musical show by Ms. Vijaylakshmi and team (Heritage, Bangalore).
csablog.christuniversity.in 