KL Report
SRINAGAR
Badamwari Park in Srinagar’s Old City Wednesday was all about splash of colours and fun for over five hundred school kids who painted their concern over food wastage during the J&K Bank’s ‘Food for All’ campaign. The children’s painting competition organized by the bank coincided with the World Environment Day celebrations.
As part of its Platinum Jubilee Celebrations, the Bank organised the event under the theme of ‘Think. Eat. Save. Reduce Your Food-print’: anti-wastage campaign led by the United Nations (UN).
Mushtaq Ahmad, Chairman and CEO J&K Bank, was the Chief Guest on the occasion. The Bank’s Executive Presidents Abdul Hamid Banday and O P Sharma, Presidents R K Shah, Abdul Rauf Bhat, S K Bhat, Mohammad Amin, Mohammad Syed Wani and P K Tickoo along with other senior officers of the Bank were present.
The contest began with prayers recited by the participant kids. The amphitheatre at the park was filled with imagination and energy as children in the age group of (9-12) kept exploring ways to express the theme of ‘Think. Eat. Save’ through colours for more than an hour.
The Jury comprising of valley’s eminent artists Masood Hussain, Iftikhar Jaffar and Arshad Sualeh had a tough time selecting the winners of the contest. The jury appreciated the conception and spirit of competition among the kids.
Faheem Nabi from Green Valley Education Institute was adjudged as the winner of contest. Sadaf Ahad of JK Public School and Shezan Malik from Iqbal Memorial School (Girls) were awarded 2nd and 3rd position respectively.
CEO presented ‘Trophy’ and ‘Certificate of Excellence’ to the winners on the occasion. Three differently abled participants were also awarded with special consolation prizes.
Girls from Iqbal Memorial swept four out of five consolation prizes while as the fifth prize went to a student from Oasis Public School.
Mushtaq Ahmad expressed happiness over the keen and whole-hearted participation of every child in the painting contest translating their innocent and original thoughts into unique colourful patterns.
In his brief remarks on the occasion, he said, “Participation is more important than winning. The objective of the contest is to sensitize our children early about the dangerous global implications of food-wastage and impress upon them the urgency of serious response from every individual including children.”
“Education is to a child what fragrance is to a flower. The essence of education is to build strong character. It must produce a concerned human being, responsible citizen and sensitive soul besides degrees and other qualifications”, he observed.
Social and cultural issues including environment have been on top of the Bank’s CSR agenda and we shall further contribute in our own humble way to raise the levels of awareness about all these issues including eco-conservation in its varied dimensions including non-wastage of food, he added.
Earlier Chairman launched the Bank’s ‘Webpage dedicated for Green Banking’ where all the green initiatives of the Bank have been spelt out.
Participant schools were conferred with a ‘Participation Trophy’ along with ‘Certificate of Participation’ for each student.
Notably, the bank kick started its platinum jubilee celebration with plantation drive of 75000 trees across the state on the occasion on the World Arbor Day.
