Manorama bags National Environment Award

New Delhi, May 26 (UNI) The popular "Pala Thulli" ( many drops ) campaign of leading daily Malayala Manorama has been awarded the "Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Award" for 2004.

The award, instituted by the Union Forests and Environment Ministry, carries a cash prize of Rs five lakhs, a silver trophy and citation.

Malaya Manorama was selected for the honour by a seven-member jury headed by Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

The award will be presented here on June 5 to coincide with the World Environment Day.

Pala Thulli campaign was launched by the newspaper in May 2004 when Kerala was reeling under a severe drought. Its efforts over a period of 35 months had resulted in the creation of a new water culture taking root among the state's 30 milliion people.

Under the impact of the campaign, rainwater harvesting units have been set up in hundreds of schools, colleges, religious institutions, industrial units and government offices in Kerala.

The campaign had earlier won an international honour when it was conferred UNESCO prize for rural communication which carries 20,000 US dollars.

UNI