Students made human formation of flower pot cracker

TRICHY: About 3,000 students of CSI Methodist girls higher secondary school in Trichy joined hands to spread the message of an eco-friendly Deepavali celebration by making a human formation of a flower pot cracker on Friday. The attempt was to spread the message of a cracker-free celebration by embracing traditional and eco-friendly practices.

Organised by YUGAA, a city-based social service organization, the children pledged to ensure a safe Deepavali and spread the message among others and celebrate the festival of prosperity in its real sense. Holding a clay pot lamp (agal vilakku), S Divya, a student of class 9, an avid animal lover, said that she had given up cracker bursting for the harm it caused to animals. She had come to know that the “festival of lights” could be celebrated with such traditional lamps too.

“The students’ formation of a flower pot brought out the importance of purity of the planet and safety for the younger generations to grow well in their lives,” said Allirani Balaji, president of YUGAA. She said that eradication of crackers might not happen overnight. But it could be achieved by sowing the seeds of environmental conservation in young minds. Students were also made to take part in slogan-writing and poster competition. This exposed them to various information related to pollution, making them more aware of its implication. R Soumya, another student, said that she wasn’t aware of the harm cracker smoke could do to elders. Welcoming the move from the court to regulate the bursting of crackers, she said people could gradually minimise their use considering the harm that they caused to others.

Since trees are the natural regulators of pollution, students and teachers were offered saplings at the end of the event to grow them at their place. Praising the students for their enthusiasm, the chief guest, city deputy commissioner of police, law and order, N S Nisha, asked them to spread the message in their neighbourhood.

