Mahseer is a renowned freshwater fish whose numbers have dwindled in the recent past because of increasing water pollution and loss of habitats. Recognising the immense value that schools and school children can bring to the Act for Mahseer movement, and taking due consideration of the urgent need to preserve freshwater bodies, Tata Power organised the swimming competition to effectively propagate the message of interdependence of various environmental elements.
Through this initiative, Tata Power wishes to encourage the children to become Fish Knights and sensitise their immediate families and societies, thereby, bringing about a chain reaction. Till date, more than 1.5 million online impressions have been garnered and more than 2,814 people have pledged from various locations like Mumbai, Bengaluru, New Delhi, Switzerland, Belgium, Norway, USA, Italy, Poland, Spain, United Kingdom, Portugal, Russia, Germany, Denmark, Australia, Austria, Sweden, Greece, Canada, Mexico, France, UAE, Argentina, Serbia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Dominican Republic.
About a 150 Club Enerji students from 6th to 8th standard from 15 schools participated in the competition held in Trombay, which has an 8 lane Olympic standard swimming pool, the participants were divided into 2 categories – 50 m freestyle, and 4×50 M freestyle relay. Prasad Naik (Parle Tilak Vidyalaya – English Medium), Aayush Vast (Parle Tilak Vidyalaya – English Medium) and Kunal Daphale (Sri Ma Balniketan) were crowned as the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd winner of the 50 m freestyle in boy’s category respectively. Iqra Shaikh (Christ Church High School), Ria Tanna (Nalanda Public School) and Neermita Bhattacharya (Queen Mary High School) were crowned as the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd winner of the 50 m freestyle in girl’s category respectively.
DAV Public School – Thane, Sri Ma Balniketan and Seven Square Academy were crowned as the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd winners of 4X50 m freestyle relay in boy’s category respectively. Nalanda Public School, Queen Mary High School and Universal High School – Malad were crowned as the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd winners of 4X50 m Freestyle Relay in Girl’s category respectively.
Commenting on the initiative Anil Sardana, CEO and managing director, Tata Power, said, “Tata Power, under its movement ‘Act for Mahseer’, has organised various initiatives at a national level to help preserve the fish species. At Tata Power, our efforts at nation building are not just limited to lighting up lives by providing energy to the nation, but also includes caring for the community and flora and fauna near our areas of operations. Since, children are the future of our nation and, I believe, educating and sensitising one child is equivalent to sensitising four adults, we believe they will carry our messaging of ‘Save Mahseer’ widely. As always, we will continue to undertake similar initiatives in the future.”
The survival of the magnificent Mahseer – one of the 20 mega fishes of the world – is important for, with its success, we will have taken one more step towards preserving our eco-system. Tata Power has taken up the conservancy programme of the Mahseer in the right earnest and has trained about 300 fishery scientists till date to further continue conservation efforts. With its ‘Act for Mahseer! Pledge’, the company gives citizens an opportunity to join the national conservation movement and making a difference through their individual efforts by signing up here.
