THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:Youngsters are always keen to be the change. One of volunteers who have joined together through an 80,000-member Facebook group called ‘Trivandrum-let’s make our city the best’ and are undertaking green initiatives in the capital city.
Their programmes include planting trees, clearing garbage sites and converting them into beautiful gardens, growing plants in the dividers of highways. As part of their green initiative, they have already cleaned almost 500 metres of the divider on the Karamana-Kaliyakkavilai highway starting from Karamana Bridge.
The group which was formed some three months back is moving to its next phase and they have come up with a ‘Clean & Green Trivandrum’ group. This group is trying to convert a 1,000 sq. ft area filled with garbage, adjacent to Karamana Bridge into a beautiful garden at 8 am on Vishu day which falls on April 15.
“Our have been continuously cleaning up the dumping sites. This time again the area near the Karamana region will be cleaned with the help of the Corporation,” said Premjith, one of the members of the ‘Clean & Green Trivandrum’.
Besides clearing up the waste in Karamana Bridge, they are planning to distribute around 500 plant saplings to the public on Vishu day, spreading the message on the importance of planting trees. The programme will be inaugurated by Shashi Tharoor MP. A group of 250 volunteers will take part in the cleaning of waste.
An installation made with used beer and mineral bottles will be instituted in the Karamana region to create awareness on protecting nature. Premjith says, “Earlier a cleaning activity was carried out in Karamana area which was clogged with all kinds of waste such as poultry, plastic and domestic waste. We have turned dumpsites into gardens, in Fort Kochi and on highway dividers in Thiruvananthapuram. It took around five days to clean these areas.”
The major challenge before this group is to water these plants frequently. Earlier, the volunteers used to water the plants. Now in this 1,000 sq ft area, they are planning to set up a water tank so that the plants can be regularly watered. Councillor Karamana Ajith has extended his support to the initiative.