JOIN USDoing their mite to keep the city clean
Garbage piles and ill-kept bus-stands are an eyesore, especially in a tourist destination like Mysore.
To address these issues, Lets Do it!, Mysore, an non-governmental organisation recently took up steps to clean and beautify several parts of the city with the help of volunteers.
Sugarcane juice vendors near the Amba Vilas Palace, had a habit of dumping their waste near Gun House. Several bus-stands in the city had paints peeling off their walls and several posters were pasted on them, spoiling their looks. Lets Do it!,
Mysore launched a campaign, during the first week of June, and made efforts to keep over 40 places in the city clean.
Speaking to Deccan Herald, K S Shivashanker, one of the main volunteers, said, volunteers took up activities in some of the ill-kept areas in the city, such as Kalidasa Road, Ballal Circle, the stretch behind Lakshmipuram police station, near Sa Ra Convention Hall and others.
Volunteers from the BGS NSS unit, Badriprasad PU College, Jayalakshmi PU College, SDM-MMK College, employees of Safe Wheels, Dominos Pizza and others participated in this novel endeavour.
He said, while the Mysore City Corporation assisted the NGO in transporting the waste dumped in public places, Mysore Paints and Varnishes Limited sponsored paints to beautify a few bus-stands.
On a question on whether the efforts of the NGO has borne any fruits, he replied in the affirmative. “We educated the vendors near the Palace on how it sends a bad message to the people visiting the city. They have understood our concern and the region is now comparatively clean,” he said.
Sumanth C V, a diploma student at Vidyavardaka Polytechnic College, said, he has been a volunteer for the past one year.
“Earlier, even my friends were skeptical of what the organisation could achieve. Considering the works we have done in the past one year, they too have understood the significance of our efforts and are eager to join us,” he said. He added that school and college students have been active in these efforts.
According to Shivashanker, there are about 60,000 people registered as volunteers for the NGO. However, a few hundred respond when we seek volunteers for such activities.
“About 2,000 people participated in our recent campaign in 40 places around the city,” he added.