15 September
It was a day well spent in cleaning the beach adjacent to our college.
It all started with a teleconference call from the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi. He addressed schools, colleges, self-help groups which had participated in cleanup drives and listened to their experiences. Eminent personalities like Mr. Amitabh Bacchan and Mr. Ratan Tata also spoke to the Prime Minister. Our Chancellor, Amma, who also spoke to the Prime Minister decided to organize a clean-up drive at the beach as a part of the “Swachhata hi Seva – 2018”.
The Clean-up
The students were sorted into groups and given different spots on the beach. Everyone, including the co-ordinators, participated enthusiastically in the drive. We worked hard and collected about 10 trucks of waste, which would later be sorted by the students in the sorting group. Foreigners who lived at the ashram also stepped in to support us. We sorted the waste collected and sent it for recycling.
My Experience
I was part of the sorting group. I was shocked to see the amount of waste that came in, there were different types of waste that we sorted for four long hours. I realized how negligent we were towards nature. The clean-up drive was undoubtedly an eye-opener for all of us. I think it will certainly bring about a change in the way all the students of our university in terms of waste management and make proper use of the waste management system that is in our Ashram.
Kudos to all the seniors and coordinators who took up the initiative of organizing this event and making us aware of our responsibilities that we were being negligent of. I look forward to participating in many more activities of this sort….