By IANS,
Agatti (Lakshadweep) : The Indian Army here Sunday flagged off the Bison Blue Waters Expedition aimed at educating the citizens of the island about the importance of conservation of coral reefs and other ecological concerns threatening these islands, a statement issued here said.
The local population turned out in large numbers for the event which was flagged off by Major General Rajesh Singh, general officer commanding, Bison Division.
The event started with a beach marathon that saw the participation of school children, who ran along with soldiers on the beach.
B. Mohammed, the principal of the local higher secondary school said: “I am proud to be associated with such a noble cause and all the students of my school are being taught the importance of preserving our environment”.
Vinod, an expert from World Wide Fund-India chapter, was all praise for the initiative taken by the Indian Army.
“Coral reef is a very sensitive eco-system and we need to preserve it to mitigate the effects of global warming,” Vinod said.
According to the expedition team leader Col Vivek Jaswal, the team has been trained at premier training institutes of the Indian Army and over the next six weeks would bring to the fore vital ecological concerns threatening these islands and the coral reef.
The adventure team consists of six officers and 54 other ranks of the Bison Division.