Over 60,000 to attend universal prayer in Ooty

More than 60,000 people from across the country are expected to participate in a universal prayer on December 12 to mark Universal Peace Day at Ooty.

Addressing a press conference, the chairperson of the event, V Venkatesan, said the purpose of the event, which was organised by Uniramm Trust, was to create awareness among people on the ill effects of alcoholism and consumption of tobacco, besides protecting children from malnutrition.

He said the event, which would be held in Breek Ground near the Botanical Garden, would also focus on the importance of World Peace, besides conservation of biodiversity. The organisers highlighted importance of the date on which the event was being organised and said the numerical occurrence 12.12.2012 was unique and the next numerical occurrence would happen after eighty nine years (01.01.2101) in the next century.

“We want everyone to pause for a moment to remember where we are as a generation and make a prayer and an oath to make our Earth a better place for the generation to come,” he said.

He said besides India, the event would be marked in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore in Asia and Ghana, Niger and Mali in Africa. “We are also trying to reach NGOs in other countries through the social media,” he said. The basic idea was to light a lamp and pray for one minute to make the earth a better place to live in, said Venkatesh.

“We are spending `4.20 lakh crore on consumption of alcohol and if we can cut the habit by at least 50 per cent, we can fight unemployment,” said Venkatesh.