CHENNAI:In a novel bid to address the rights of consumers and to increase awareness of the same, The Citizen Consumer Club (CCC) of Chevalier T Thomas Elizabeth College for Women conducted a National Consumer Rights Day — IMPCON 2017, at their campus in Sembium, Perambur on Wednesday.
Organised in association with the Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection (CS & CP) Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, the event included a series of lectures by industry stalwarts over the course of the day. The chief guest was Dr T Venkatapathy Reddiyar, horticulturist and the first person from the field of agriculture to be awarded the Padmashri, who gave an engaging speech on his work in developing varieties of disease resistant plants. The inaugural function was presided over by L Palamalai IAS (retd), managing trustee and correspondent of the college, along with dignitaries from the CS & CP Department.
The event marked the first time the occassion was celebrated in a college in Chennai, with the institution getting `1.5 lakh from the government for the function. Close to 20 stalls were set up by various government departments and colleges like the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Department of Welfare and Differently Abled, Public Welfare Department, Civil Supplies and Bureau of Indian Standards, Hallmark and many more. The lectures during the day included consumer laws, importance of sustainable consumption, yoga, as well as the role of youth in creating social awareness. The function also included other events for school and college students such as elocution, poster painting, junk art and skits related to consumer cases.
The CCC won the first place in the Citizen Consumer Club District (Chennai City North) awards, and prizes were handed over to members of the team, after which they released a Consumer Awareness Villupattu DVD. The keynote address was by Dhanya Menon, Avanzo Cyber Security Solutions, Thrissur. Dr Hanifa Ghosh, college principal, vice principal R Meenakshi and dignitaries were present.