Thiruvananthapuram: In a first-of-its-kind event in the world, five CEOs, including a woman, went 6m under water to the ocean bed in Kovalam to do a 20-minute conference on Monday morning. They took a pledge to protect aquatic life.
Well-equipped with scuba diving gears, CEOs - RajagopalIyer (UdayaSamudra Group of Hotels), Hema Menon (UST Global), Dinesh P Thambi (TCS), Dr Shyam Kumar (NeoLogix) and Rony Thomas Zacaria (Avon Mobility Solutions), dived in 50m off Grove Beach to reach the U-shaped conference table set on the ocean bed for the world's first 'Underwater CEO Conference'.
Titled 'Ocean Love' and conducted by Bond Safari, the event's aim was to draft a long-term plan and sustainable itinerary to protect marine life. "As the effects of marine pollution are not visible to us, awareness is the need of the hour. Swachh Bharat initiative should focus on keeping water bodies clean," said Iyer.
The event commenced at 9am, and each participant spent 30 minutes under the ocean before heading back to shore for the remaining sessions. "Our participants were trained for a day, prior to the event," said Subin, the chief dive instructor at Bond Safari.
"Over three billion people in the world are dependent on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihood. It is up to each one of us to prevent the ocean from degrading over a period of time," said Thambi.
'Ocean Love' campaign organizers are planning to form a club to be christened Beach and Marine Environment Protection Club (BMEPC). "Through this club, hotels and resorts located on the coastal belt of south India will formulate an agenda to reduce marine debris by constant routine beach and underwater cleaning," they said.