|
10th Foundation Day celebration of NCAOR |
|
Ten years before on April 5th 2000; National Centre for Antarctic & Ocean Research (NCAOR) was dedicated to the nation by the then Minister of Department of Ocean Development. To commemorate ten years of NCAOR’s service to the nation, 10th Foundation Day Celebrations were organized on 5th April 2010 at our premises. H’ble Chief Minister of Goa, Shri Digambar Kamat presided over the function and appreciated the role of NCAOR in putting Goa on the world’s scientific map. The Guest of Honour, Sri Pratap Singh Rane, H’ble Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly reminisced the time when the construction of building of the Centre, at Headland Sada, was initiated during his period as CM of Goa. He lauded the achievement made by the Centre in such a short span of time. Dr. Sailesh Nayak the Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, congratulated NCAOR for its rapid achievements in Polar Sciences in Antarctica and Arctic. He also felicitated the Chief Minister, H’ble Speaker, former Secretary, Prof. Harsh K. Gupta, and the former Director of NCAOR, Dr. P.C. Pandey. Recounting the support NCAOR has been receiving from the state Government, Dr. Nayak thanked the state administration for its co-operation in all the spheres. Recalling the services of founder members, the Director recalled the significant contribution made by the founder Director, Dr. P.C. Pandey and the scientists deputed from the erstwhile, Department of Ocean Development in putting the Centre on sound foundation. The dignitaries released several publications that included the Technical report on 23rd Indian Antarctic Expedition, Bathymetry chart of the area of grounding of the Ship ‘River Princess’ among others. The Foundation Day Lecture was delivered by Prof. Harsh K. Gupta, Pannikar Professor and President of the Geological Society of India on: Antarctica – Then, Now and in Future. He presented a lucid account of the history of India’s endeavors in Antarctica narrating some of his personal experiences. He also described Antarctica’s role in global climate and how the present Global warming may alter its delicate balance that can have serious implications in terms of sea level rise & ocean-atmosphere interactions. The Foundation day lecture was followed by debriefing function of the 27th, 28th & 29th Indian Antarctic Expedition teams. The leaders and voyage leaders of three expeditions, namely Shri Arun Chaturvedi (Leader 27th Expedition), Dr P. Malhotra (Leader 28th Expedition), Shri Ajay Dhar (Voyage Leader 27th and 28th Expedition) and Shri Rajesh Asthana (Voyage Leader 29th Expedition) presented the activities and significant findings of their team members, which were highly appreciated by the audience.
|
