In a bid to create awareness about rising marine pollution and global warming, top honchos of five IT firms held an underwater conference in the Arabian Sea on Monday, first of its kind in the world. Clad with scuba gear and other gadgets, CEOs dived into the water some 50 metres off a beach in Kerala’s Kovalam, where they pledged to protect the ocean and marine life.
CEOs – Raja Gopal Iyer (Udaya Samudra Group of Hotels), Hema Menon (UST Global), Dinesh P Thampi (TCS), Dr Shyam Kumar (Neologix) and Rony Thomas (Avon Mobility Solutions), went 6 metres under water to the ocean bed to reach the U-shaped table set on the ocean bed for their brief conference. The meeting went on for 20 minutes where they pledged to create awareness among masses about the consequences of marine pollution and global warming.
“Just go into the sea and you can make out how the corals are bleaching. Something like Swachh Bharat Mission has to be included for our water bodies too,” said Vice President of TCS Dhinesh P Thambi told NDTV.
Hema Menon, who picked up plastic waste while coming out of sea after the meet, said “These wrappers and plastics around should not be inside the sea. But it’s all over and has to stop.”
“Through this unique event, we also wanted to bring the attention of international and national policy makers on the increased risks and consequences of global warming and marine pollution on the mother planet,” Times of India quoted Jackson Peter, the managing director of Bond Safari, as saying. Notedly, Bond Safari gave all the technical support for this unique event.
