Fifty promising artists from different parts of the State enthusiastically took part in a ‘State-level Painting Competition on Energy Conservation-2009’, organised by the NHPC under the auspices of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Union Ministry of Power.
“As the energy resources like coal and oil are depleting day by day, it is imperative on our part to create mass awareness for energy conservation. We will have to shift back to the primitive age if the current degree of energy waste is not reduced. The motto of the painting competition is to create awareness among the people for conservative and judicious use of energy,” S Murugappan, chief geophysicist of NHPC and the Nodal Officer for Energy Conservation Campaign-2009, told media persons on the sidelines of the painting competition.
Murugappan said that to stop misuse of electricity, the Ministry of Power had in 2005 launched the national awareness campaign in order to promote energy conservation. The painting competition for students at school, State and national level has been included as one of the its activities.
Of the 50 participants, picked for the State-level event, three of them – Laxmi Bangsia of Ramakrishna Sarada Mission School, Khonsa, Tomsai Nayam of Government Secondary School, Doimukh and Tajum Soki of Donyi Polo Mission School for the Hearing Impaired, Chimpu – were adjudged first, second and third winners for cash prizes of Rs 10,000, Rs 8,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively.
The trio will now represent the State in the national-level competition to be held in Delhi on December 12. The winners of the national-level event will win Rs 1 lakh for first prize, Rs 50,000 for second prize (two numbers) and Rs 25,000 for third prize (eight) and they will be given the prizes on the occasion of National Energy Conservation Day on December 14.