Mangaluru: APD Foundation gets ‘MSME Best Social Enterprise Award 2018’

Media Release

November 7, 2018

Mangalore, Nov 7: City Based APD Foundation has been conferred with the ‘MSME Best Social Enterprise Award 2018’ during NITTE-KBL Conclave and Business Excellence Awards - 2018', a programme jointly organized by K S Hegde Institute of Management, Nitte and Karnataka Bank Limited, at Hotel Ocean Pearl, Mangalore on Saturday, November 3.

MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise) Awards are a platform to acknowledge, recognize, inspire and reward the MSMEs that have showcased the potential to be world class enterprises, according to the programme organizers. It selects the most distinguished achievers from among the state's MSME enterprises to recognise and honour their outstanding contribution to society.

APDF team lead by Founder-Chief Abdullah A. Rehman and comprising Karl D’Cunha and Dhanush Desai received the award from Mr. Ramakrishna Achar, Managing Director of SKF Boilers and Dr. Ashalatha from Nitte University. APD Foundation received the Award under the category ‘Best Social Enterprise’ for its various pioneering interventions in improving the solid waste management profile in the city. “We are grateful to NITTE-KBL for recognizing the efforts of a small organization like ours along with many other much larger organizations. This is truly uplifting and motivates us to increase our commitment to strive for public health and welfare,” said an excited Abdullah A. Rehman.

Anti Pollution Drive (APD) Foundation is a nonprofit organization that works towards mitigating air pollution, facilitating sanitation of the environment and thereby help improve public health and the economic profile of Indian cities. Since 2016 APDF has partnered with Manglauru City Corporation and Antony Waste Handling Cell for organizing continuous and sustained IEC campaigns on solid waste management for Mangaluru city. On an average 15-20 such outreach programmes are held each month.

APD has also conducted ‘Shudda Gaali’, the city’s first Air Quality Assessment and Health Impact Assessment and an aggressive campaign against smoke emitting vehicles. In order to reduce the waste from reaching the landfills APDF has driven various on ground activities and used technology by proving solutions through a one-of-its-kind ready reference website recycleindia.org. APDF has also developed 10 toolkits for waste generators to learn on how to achieve zero waste lifestyle. In the past three years since its inception APD Foundation has successfully completed about 25 projects for Mangaluru city.

APDF has earlier been recognized prestigious awards like UN-Habitat & NSF, Mumbai (2015), Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), Mangalore (2016) and Skoch Order of Merit, New Delhi (2018).

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

QR-code tips power Mangaluru's major drug bust: 25 arrested in 2 weeks

News Network

December 16,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 16: The Mangaluru City police have significantly escalated their campaign against drug trafficking, arresting 25 individuals and booking 12 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act between November 30 and December 13. The crackdown resulted in the seizure of a substantial quantity of illicit substances, including 685.6 grams of MDMA and 1.5 kg of ganja.

The success of this recent drive has been significantly boosted by the city’s innovative, QR code-based anonymous reporting system.

"The anonymous reporting system has received an encouraging response. Several recent arrests were made based on inputs received through this system, helping police tighten the noose around drug peddlers," said the City Police Commissioner.

The latest arrests contribute to a robust year-to-date record, underscoring the police's relentless commitment to combating the drug menace.

Up to December 14 this year, the police have registered a total of 107 cases of drug peddling, leading to the arrest of 219 peddlers. Furthermore, they have booked 562 cases of drug consumption, resulting in the arrest of 671 individuals.

The scale of the seizure for the year reflects the magnitude of the problem being tackled: police have seized 320.6 kg of ganja worth ₹88.7 lakh and 1.4 kg of MDMA valued at ₹1.2 crore. Other significant seizures include hydro-weed ganja worth ₹94.7 lakh and cocaine worth ₹1.9 lakh, among others.

The Commissioner emphasized a policy of rigorous enforcement: "We ensure that peddlers are caught red-handed so that they cannot later dispute the case or claim innocence."

To counter the rising trend of substance abuse among youth, the Mangaluru City police have rolled out uniform guidelines for random drug testing across educational institutions.

As part of the drive, tests were conducted in approximately 100 institutions, screening an estimated 5,500 to 6,000 students in the first phase. 20 students tested positive for drug consumption during the initial screening.

Students who tested positive have been provided counselling and are scheduled for re-testing in the second quarter. The testing will also be expanded to students not covered in the first phase. In a move to ensure strict implementation, police personnel were deployed in mufti in some institutions. Reiterating a zero-tolerance stance, the Commissioner confirmed that random testing will continue, and colleges have also been instructed to conduct drug tests at the time of admission to deter substance abuse from an early stage.

Comments