Calcutta, Jan. 29: An evening dedicated to the ?VVIPs in uniform?. That was the award ceremony of the Better Calcutta Contest 2004-05.

The adults saluted the efforts of school students doing their bit to make Calcutta a better place at the climax of another edition of the contest sponsored by the Indian Chamber of Commerce Calcutta Foundation and The Telegraph.

Union minister for sports and youth affairs Sunil Dutt to cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, the line-up of elders waiting to congratulate the young crusaders for their range of campaigns was long.

HIV/AIDS awareness, malaria, thalassaemia, civic problems, issues of the handicapped, child rights, gender discrimination, literacy, the culture, tradition and heritage of Calcutta ? it was all on the yearlong agenda. And the methods of the 100,000 youngsters were just as varied, from dance and music to plays and art.

The highest praise came from Dutt, who flew in from the capital for just an hour. He came, he said, to ?congratulate? the youths on a ?beautiful job?. He added: ?When you grow up, the world will look up to you? That is what we parents want ? for our children to be better than us.?

To his question of ?are you proud of it?? regarding their efforts, there was a resounding ?yes? from the young audience. Dutt left with the words: ?This is the city of knowledge. It inspires you. I am going back inspired.?

When the Team India skipper turned up at the Science City auditorium, he was given a standing ovation in the midst of a performance, leaving him ?touched?. Sourav?s advice to the children: ?There?s no mantra for success. Each one has special abilities? Keep working hard, success will come your way. Hard work never goes unrewarded.?

Each of the award-winning schools have a plethora of projects to make Calcutta better. If GD Birla Centre for Education controls the traffic in front of its school every morning, the students of the Centre for Special Education (IICP) have come up with a play on the ills of TV advertising.

All 1,700 students of Loreto Day School Sealdah put up a play on life in the city through the eyes of street and platform children, winning over the judges, while Mentaid staged Rajar Chheler Ki Holo, based on the experiences of one of its students.

Aditya Academy donated an ambulance to a village.

Many were pleasantly surprised by the number of toddlers (from Montessoris) and special children participating in the contest.

As chamber of commerce president Anup Singh said: ?It humbles us, an older generation, who have perhaps not been so careful in protecting Calcutta?s environment.?

In its seventh year, Better Calcutta Contest introduced three new categories ? creative writing, performing arts and visual arts.

?Creativity knows no bounds,? said Rakhi Sarkar, trustee and honorary general secretary, Indian Chamber of Commerce Calcutta Foundation, urging schools to let ?the creative process flow?.