Kadri-Mallikatta area gets new look

The 18th Shramadaan under Phase 5 of Ramakrishna Mission Swacchata Abhiyan was carried out at Kadri – Mallikatta area on Sunday.

The Shramadaan was jointly inaugurated by Dr Shantaram Shetty, managing director of Tejaswini Hospital, and Dr K Bhaskar Shetty, managing director of City Hospital, in the presence of Swami Prakashananda, president of Ramakrishna Vivekananda Ashrama, Ranebennur.

Swami Prakashananda, addressing the gathering, said, “The Swacch Mangaluru Abhiyaan has become a model movement. Cleanliness is a virtue not only to be inculcated but also to be insisted on others to follow. Sr Nivedita, the disciple of Swami Vivekananda, initiated this movement in Kolkata a century ago.”

Swami Ekagamyananda laid the blueprint about the cleanliness drive, he added.

Stretches

Students of Tejaswini Nursing and Physiotherapy College, under the guidance of Dr Shantharam Shetty, cleaned the area from Kadri Entrance till City Hospital as well as a portion of the Tejaswini Hospital and the nearby footpaths.

IMA doctors cleaned the area from Kadri Circle till Shivbagh. Students of the City Hospital Physiotherapy College, under the guidance of Vittaldas Prabhu, cleaned the road leading to the Kadri Temple. Volunteers of the Swacch Mangaluru Abhiyan cleaned the surroundings of the Kadri Circle.

In addition, the direction boards of the ‘Kadri Temple Road’ and ‘Lobo Lane’ were repainted.

Suresh Shetty led a team of volunteers and distributed handbills against littering to over 200 shopowners.

Facelift

A bus shelter near Kadri Mallikatta had been filled with dirt and filth. It had also become a den of illegal activities and used to be frequented by alcoholics. The volunteers of the Swacch Mangaluru Abhiyan, led by artist Vikram Shetty and other artists of Aditattwa Arts, gave a much-needed facelift to the shelter, with beautiful paintings.

Similarly, a park in front of the library that had looked like a dumping ground, was cleaned by volunteers. Heaps of garbage and debris near the Kadri Temple entrance were also removed. The garbage lying in front of the Sri Krishna Kalyana Mantapa was cleared and replaced with flower plants to beautify the place.

On the occasion of World Health Day, members of the Mangaluru branch of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) actively participated in the Shramadan. Roads and dividers between Kadri Circle and Shivbagh Circle were cleaned by them.