When we think of five star hotels, the luxurious buildings, beautiful fountains, huge lobbies, spacious restaurants, pleasing music and of course the huge cost come rushing to our mind. But, the Rain Tree in Chennai is unique. One immediately associates this hotel with its environmental responsibility.

This hotel, South India�s first and only Ecotel hotel received yet another award for their eco-friendly, energy-saving and water conservation measures-Exnora Green Hotel Award, instituted by Exnora International.

N. Suresh Rajan, Minister for Tourism, Government of Tamil Nadu, presented the award to C. Subba Reddy, Managing Director, Ceebros Hotels. The Rain Tree is a constituent member of the Ceebros Hotel group.

M. B. Nirmal, Founder, Exnora International said that the award was conferred on The Rain Tree to let other hotels follow its footsteps. He appreciated its initiative in creating an Ecotel.

Referring to Al Gore�s message in the movie Inconvenient Truth about global warming he said that Chennai is very vulnerable and lauded the Rain Tree for its various measures including energy conservation and waste water recycling. �The function was in recognition of a person, who is a responsible child of mother earth�, he added. Suresh Rajan said that every citizen must come forward in transforming Chennai into a clean city, like what foreign countries are doing. In this, waste management plays a vital role. . The Minister wanted more such Ecotels to be set up in Chennai.

The Minister for Tourism also requested Exnora International to focus its attention on his home district, Kanyakumari, in order to make it a clean district. M. Chidambaram, General Secretary, Exnora International, responded positively to the Minister�s request.

In his welcome address, S. Sivakumaran, Chairman, Exnora International, said that the award is very apt for the Rain Tree as they follow the motto of Exnora International, the three Rs-Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

Sulochana Ramaseshan, President, Exnora International, listed the various harmful effects of environmental pollution and said that quality is the watchword for Subba Reddy.

Let us pay a visit to the Rain Tree and learn how we could live an eco-friendly life, in order to protect the environment for the next generation.

U. Bakialakshmi