KOLLAM: On the second day of the 63 birth anniversary celebrations of spiritual leader Mata Amritanandamayi, the Math had launched a series of humanitarian initiatives including a low-cost networking solution to provide internet connectivity to commercial fishermen at sea (OceanNet), establishing of a UNESCO Chair at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham and the disbursement of financial aid to victims of the Puttingal Devi Temple fire tragedy. Inaugurating the OceanNet and UNESCO Chair of gender equality, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar lauded the math for taking up initiatives for the greater good of the society.
“Nothing is nobler than creating centers 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. OceanNet is a unique innovation. Such technology doesn’t exist anywhere in the world. It will not only help save lives of fishermen but also strengthen national security by allowing them to inform the authorities about any suspicious activity in the sea,” said Javadekar in his inaugural address.
Fisheries Minister J Mercykutty Amma, who attended the inaugural address, said that the OceanNet initiative will help fishermen stay in touch with their families and communicate with authorities if in distress. The project is co-funded by Amrita University and Information Technology Research Academy (ITRA), Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India. The other initiative, the UNESCO Chair for Gender Equality and Women Empowerment will focus on mapping vulnerabilities of women for a holistic approach to designing necessary solutions.
The Math also disbursed an amount of Rs one lakh to the 85 families of the deceased and Rs. 50,000 to the 40 people seriously injured in the Puttingal Devi Temple firework tragedy on April 11. The programme was attended by Oommen Chandy, former Chief Minister, R Ramachandran MLA, P Saleena, president, Alappad Panchayath.