From a BBMP clean-up run to a battalion of troops who cleared plastics from RT Nagar, to citizen marches in support of a cleaner India, the city marked Gandhi Jayanti with a host of public service events.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) conducted a city-wide plog run on Wednesday. Ploggers would pick up plastic waste while jogging.
While it is unclear how much jogging was done, the BBMP reported that it and other voluntary organisations started their clean-up efforts at Jayarum Slums on HMT Main Road in Mathikere ward on Wednesday morning.
Deputy Chief Minister
C N Ashwath Narayan said the cleaning up of the slum area would help raise awareness among the locals, as well as promote Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of keeping the country clean.
The day also witnessed a pronouncement by the central government, which banned single-use plastics. The Palike claimed that it collected 7.5 tonnes of plastic across 43 different areas of the city, with 8,000 plog runners taking part. This contrasts with the 1 lakh plog runners who took part in clean-up efforts across the country.
The day, however, was not without pomp and symbolism. At MG Park in the city, the Palike had a statue of Gandhi draped in a garland of flowers, while schoolchildren hurled baskets of flowers upon a smaller statue of the Mahatma using a spinning wheel.
Students and citizen volunteers also participated in ‘Namma Vision 150’, a walk to promote awareness on a ‘Clean and Green Bengaluru’, which ran its course on MG Road in the central business district. Meanwhile, in RT Nagar, residents were joined by over 1,000 army troops and officers, coupled with 200 civilians and 100 cyclists who helped clear trash and plant over 200 native tree saplings, including 20 different varieties of fruit trees.
The cyclists also spread the message “recycle today for a better tomorrow,” according to a resident. The ploggers collected more than 100 kg of plastic waste in the area.
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