Amrita University’s Coimbatore campus bags ‘One District One Green Champion’ Award for 2020-21

18 years of hard work by a dedicated team of environmental scientists, landscape artists, gardeners, staff and students has greatly helped the green cover and brought down the average temperature of Amrita University's campus.


Coimbatore: Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Amrita University), one of India’s leading multi-disciplinary teaching and research institutions has won the ‘One District One Green Champion’ award for 2020-21, for its clean and sanitized Coimbatore campus. The award was instituted by the Mahatma Gandhi National Council of Rural Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India, to promote cleanliness in campuses of higher education institutions across the country.

The annual award takes into account various parameters of hygiene such as student-toilet ratio, hostel hygiene, hostel kitchen hygiene, availability of clean water and administrative responsibility for hygiene.

On behalf of Dr. G S Sameeran, District Collector, Coimbatore, Leela Alex, District Revenue Officer presented the e-certificate of the award to Dr. S Mahadevan, Deputy Dean, Amrita University in an online workshop held recently. Taking part in the workshop, Dr. Prashant R Nair, Vice-Chairman, IQAC, Amrita University made a detailed presentation on the best practices of the institution in keeping its campus green and clean.

Dr. S. Mahadevan said, "The award has come as a recognition of the measures taken by the University under its Swachhtha action plan in an elaborate, accountable and sustained manner to realise the Swachh Bharat vision of the Prime Minister and Gandhiji's dream. Sadhguru Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi(Amma), a world-renowned spiritual leader and the Chancellor of Amrita University is a great believer in the cleanliness and hygiene of the country. She launched Amala Bharatam Campaign in 2010 that aims at cleaning India’s public places and national highways. Following her guidance, we have always accorded a high priority to campus hygiene, cleanliness, and sustainability. Swami Abhayamritananda Puri, our Pro-Chancellor and a senior disciple of Amma himself personally oversees these initiatives at our Coimbatore Campus," he added.

It is to be noted that Amrita’s Coimbatore campus was ranked first amongst the cleanest higher education institutions in India by the Swachh Campus Rankings in 2017 as well as 2018. The carbon-positive Coimbatore campus of Amrita University is located in a sprawling 450-acre land. It has recently crossed the milestone of adding two lakh trees to its green cover of over 7 lakh square meter. A barren and deserted land in 1998, when the university acquired it, the area at the foothills of Western Ghats now boasts of thick vegetation and is rich in biodiversity with trees and medicinal plants of over 200 species. As a result of 18 years of hard work by a dedicated team of environmental scientists, landscape artists, gardeners, staff and students, the green cover has brought down the average temperature of the campus and the extensive rainwater harvesting initiatives have also increased the level of the ground water table.

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