All the volunteers assembled at the Raheja Arcade near Forum mall in the morning and were assigned with various tasks. “We were assigned to visit the nearby houses, collect the waste and also come up with solutions and suggestions to keep the surroundings clean,” said Preeti, a volunteer from Jyoti Nivas College. She added, “I am sure people will be impressed by the idea of ‘clean the street’ and will join their hands for the campaigning. The event provided me the opportunity to do my bit for the society.”

A few other volunteers were busy putting up stalls for food items, games and recycled materials. Shalu and Urpeet from Alliance Business School had opened a counter for games based on patriotism. “The player has to light up 25 candles in one minute in memory of patriots; otherwise he or she will lose the game. The other two games are also based on patriots and patriotic songs,” revealed Shalu.

The event was held to create awareness among the public towards its surrounding areas. “We Indians have a bad habit of dumping the garbage on the streets itself. So I decided to approach people and educate them on civic sense. The BBMP responded very well to my idea of ‘clean street rally’, and gave all its support. With co-operation from all the sources, I succeeded in gathering youngsters and school children for a genuine cause on Republic Day,” explained Lupa Borah, the organiser. She plans to conduct many such rallies in future.
The event had a big turn out. Children from more than ten schools took part in this rally held from the BBMP office to Raheja Towers in Koramangala. The event also provided a platform for students to showcase their talent in dancing and singing. The stalls were kept open to the public till night.