SRIKAKULAM: The Zilla Parishad High School in the remote village of Loddaputti in Ichchapuram mandal has been chosen for the national green award for the clean and environment-friendly maintenance of the premises. As many as 2,860 schools from across the country took part in a competition organised by the National Green Corps in New Delhi as part of the Green School Programme. The Loddaputti school is among the 54 institutions chosen for the award which will be presented in New Delhi on February 7.
Apart from the Loddaputti school, two more schools from the State—the ones in Pattokonda and KV Puram of Chittoor district—have also been selected for the honour. In total, 547 schools from Andhra Pradesh took part in the competition that continued for three years. The Green School Programme was conducted by the Centre for Science and Environment, in technical collaboration with National Green Corps of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, across the country.
“A Central team visited the participating schools twice—in November 2016 and May 2017—prior to finalising the list for the award. Several parameters, including the extent of green cover on the premises, kitchen garden, toilet maintenance, practice of handwash, waste water and waste food management, students participation in science programmes among others were taken into consideration,” said in-charge headmaster of the school Sahukari Krishna Murthy, who is also a programme coordinator for the National Green Corps.
School headmaster Janardhan said that several initiatives were undertaken to make the campus clean and green. “Special teams comprising students were formed to ensure safe and hygienic practices at the school. The teams monitored the green aspects on a daily basis. Further, the villagers of Loddaputti engaged a watchman and a gardener for the school by paying them salaries.