Rajamahendravaram: East Godavari district joint collector Y Megha Swaroop has called for encouraging creativity among students and nurturing their interest in research from an early stage.

Addressing the gathering at the district-level science fair held at Sri Sathya Sai Gurukulam in Rajamahendravaram, he said teachers played a key role in shaping his life and career, and guided him to reach the present position. He urged students to work towards becoming future scientists and researchers right from the school level. The joint collector stressed the need for students to focus on agricultural sustainability. He said many food crops in the country are getting contaminated due to excessive use of chemicals and called for greater attention on organic farming and converting waste into wealth.

District School Education Officer Kandi Vasudeva Rao said a total of 230 projects from schools of different management across the district were displayed at the exhibition. He said 11 projects were selected for the state-level science exhibition.

Sri Sathya Sai Gurukulam Correspondent Shyam Sundar, Principal Gurraiah, Kovvur division DyEO B Dileep Kumar, District Science Officer GVNS Nehru, State Joint Secretary of the Headmasters Association Kola Satyanarayana, and others were present.