KOCHI: The flood had deposited around four tonnes of plastic waste on the walkway on the banks of the Muvattupuzha River. The entire waste would have made its way back into the river if the students of Govt Vocational Higher Secondary School, East Maradi, hadn’t come forward and taken up the task of disposing of the trash.
The task was taken up by the members of the National Service Scheme (NSS) unit of the school in association with Green People. The walkway built near the river was restored to its former glory after a concerted effort by the students and the volunteers of the green organisation.
Over four tonnes of wastes like diapers, hospital waste, clothes, waste from the shops and decaying vegetation had got entangled on the handrails of the walkway after the river breached its banks. According to the residents, the residents’ associations and various clubs had promised to clean the walkway. “But all of them got frightened by the size of the waste pile,” said a resident. It was at this juncture the students came to the rescue.
The District Collector has issued a strict directive against disposal of waste in the water bodies in the flood-hit areas. After cleaning the walkway, the students also staged a protest march against the disposal of waste into the river.
‘Snehaksharam’ scheme
Besides, waste management, a drive to collect and distribute books, pencils and other stationery items has been undertaken by the NSS unit under the ‘Snehaksharam’ scheme. Around 3,000 books have been collected under the project. “The books thus collected have been distributed among the students of the school. Books were also given to other schools located along the banks of the river,” said Sameer Siddiqui, programme officer, NSS unit, Govt VHSS, East Maradi.