E-Paper
National Science Day:First denied entry, day-long activities later held for public at IUCAA
Denying allegations that there were no proper preparations made for National Science Day on Tuesday, IUCAA Pune issued a statement stating that celebrations were held over the course of a few weeks
When Tushar Karale and his friends visited the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) campus Tuesday morning on the occasion of National Science Day, they were surprised to be initially denied entry only to be later allowed inside along with thousands of other students and parents who had come to the campus for the same purpose.
Karale said, “Today morning at around 10.15 am when we arrived at the IUCAA gate, we were told by the security and other people that there were no programmes arranged this year as they had already been held on Sunday, February 26. But as Tuesday was National Science Day, they should have allowed people to visit the institution. Hence, later on when the crowd swelled, they made arrangements for us to go inside the campus.”
Denying allegations that there were no proper preparations made for National Science Day on Tuesday, IUCAA Pune issued a statement which read, “As per our tradition of the last two decades, the National Science Day celebrations of IUCAA are held over the course of a few weeks. Like every year, this year too, celebrations began with various science-themed competitions in Pune district rural schools and Pune city schools. Over 70 schools participated in these day-long events. The winners were declared over two days, with a special visit to IUCAA arranged for rural school students. The occasion was also celebrated on Sunday, February 26, with a prior announcement since it was a special event. This saw a large visitor turnout, especially from families who usually miss out on the programmes on a weekday. The highlights included a discussion on ‘Inspiring the future women of science’ and a public interaction with solar astrophysicists on ‘Studying the Sun with Aditya-L1’, a highly anticipated Indian space observatory, in which IUCAA has played a major role.”
An official from IUCAA on condition of anonymity said, “Various parts of IUCAA were kept open for the public on National Science Day. Various scientists, engineers and scientific staff interacted with young students, teachers, parents etc. The IUCAA always expects many visitors on National Science Day. Hence, exciting talks, posters, demonstrations and live solar viewing were conducted. The IUCAA welcomed many groups from outside Pune namely Purandar, Satara, Solapur, Parbhani etc. Visitors expressed happiness with their experience and large groups of children could be seen leaving the campus with a twinkle in their eye. In all, this year, IUCAA attained a reach of about 10,000 visitors and had a successful and satisfying celebration of this national event.”
