KOLLAM: The Mata Amritanandamayi Math launched a series of humanitarian initiatives, including a low-cost networking solution that provides internet connectivity to commercial fishermen at sea (OceanNet), on Monday to mark the second day of the 63rd birth anniversary celebrations of the spiritual leader.
A UNESCO Chair at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham was also established by the Math to mark the celebrations. Inaugurating the initiatives, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar lauded the Math for taking up causes for society’s greater good.
“Nothing is nobler than creating centres of excellence in education, and Amrita University is among the best in the country. The UNESCO Chair for gender equality and women empowerment will play a vital role in future. It also takes care of all Millennium Development Goals, as they are directly or indirectly linked to health, welfare and uplift of women,” he said. Hailing OceanNet as a ‘unique innovation’, he added, “Such technology doesn’t exist anywhere in the world. It will not only save lives of fishermen but also strengthen national security by enabling them to inform authorities about any suspicious activities in the sea.” State Fisheries Minister J Mercykutty Amma, too, lauded OceanNet, saying it would help fishermen stay in touch with their families and communicate with authorities during distress.
According to Maneesha Sudheer, Director of Amrita Centre for Wireless Networks and Applications, OceanNet would allow concerned government agencies to inform fishing vessels about imminent emergencies caused by dynamic changes in weather and assist them in locating or tracking the vessels. The project is co-funded by Amrita University and Information Technology Research Academy of the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
Meanwhile, the UNESCO Chair for gender equality and women empowerment would focus on mapping women’s vulnerabilities to allow a holistic approach in designing necessary solutions. The Math also disbursed an amount of Rs 1 lakh to 85 families of the deceased in the Puttingal Devi Temple fire incident and Rs 50,000 to 40 people who were seriously injured in the April 11 tragedy.
TNIE special focus on Mata released
Kollam: ‘The New Indian Express’ on Monday released an eight-page special focus ‘Amrithavarsham 63’ on Mata Amritanandamayi to commemorate her 63rd birthday. The spiritual leader herself graced the occasion. TNIE senior vice-president Lakshmi Menon handed over a special copy of the focus to Amritanandamayi, in the presence of general manager, TNIE (Kerala), P Suresh Kumar, deputy GM (sales) Vishnu Kumar P, production manager Roy Varghese, senior sales manager Nandu Kalesh and others. This marked the fourth time that ‘The New Indian Express’ dedicated an additional supplement in accordance with the birth anniversary celebrations of the spiritual leader. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to address a gathering at the celebrations on Tuesday via video-conferencing. It would be followed by Amrithanandamayi’s annual birthday address. Governor P Sathasivam, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P J Kurien and others would also attend the event.