Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.
The CETAAC Winter Summit concluded on Jan 25, 2020 which is also the first get together of 2020 at the Malayalee club in Chetpet, Chennai. The key highlight of the reunion was the launch of the prestigious Clean Pallikaranai Project also known as CCP.
The Pallikaranai Marsh is a part of the vast Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem. It is one of the few natural coastal aquatic habitats that qualify as wetlands in India. The Pallikaranai Marsh is a popular bird-watching destination in Chennai with not less than 15,000 birds can be spotted in the marsh. The CPP initiative aims to preserve and restore the marsh which is getting affected the rapid urbanisation process happening in the city.
The winter summit witnessed active participation by many CETAAC members along with their families. The wonderful evening kindled the enthusiasm of our members in fostering the ecosystem and the sense of sustainable development especially in the conservation of the fragile ecosystem of the Pallikaranai Marsh.
Setting examples and inspiring minds have been the major goals of CETAAC and we are truly honored that the occasion inevitably proved to be influential in working towards this common cause of protecting and saving the Pallikaranai Marsh from depletion.
The welcome speech was delivered by Shri. Biju Abraham Thomas, Vice President (CETAAC). We were fortunate that our long term well-wisher and mentor, Shri. Rakesh Sasibhushan, Chairman and Managing director of ISRO’s commercial arm, Antrix Corp and an alumnus of CET, 1984 batch, graced the occasion with his presence and delivered the keynote address on Sustainable Development.
We were also indeed honoured to have Smt. Karunapriya IFS, the chief conservator of forests, as the chief guest at the function, who shared her critical thoughts on the conservation of the Pallikaranai Marsh as well as educated us on how we could extend our help towards the same. Both of them being familiar faces, their presence truly contributed to the charm of the spirited environment.
Shri. Sunil Varghese, the pillar of strength behind CETAAC CPP, who formally announced on the agenda behind the project, not to mention his spectacular skills in drawing the attention of the audience, rightly pointed out on the need to sensitize children as well as the community around about the impending disaster that would give a death blow to the flora and fauna of the ecosystem if not taken immediate action and also educated us on the necessity to adopt environment friendly measures to mitigate the growing threats that would engulf the area.
Shri. Sunil officially introduced the core committee behind the Pallikaranai Marsh project which is chaired by our alumnus Shri. Shaji Koshy and requested the earnest support from each one of us in the fruition of the project. His announcement was followed by the formal inauguration of the CPP by Shri. Rakesh Sasibhusan.
The inaugural became more colourful with the magical performance by Shri. Sunil Varghese which was followed by with fun and musical session by CETAAC members.
Visit: https://www.pallikaranaimarsh.org/
