KOTTAYAM:In an attempt to regain the sanctity of the holy town of Erumeli, the joint cleaning campaign by various institutions and organisations led by T K A Nair, advisor to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, began on Friday.
The drive is organised by the Citizens India Foundation (CIF) as a follow-up to their three-phase cleaning campaigns conducted last month.
It aims to clean up Erumeli, severely polluted after the recent Sabarimala pilgrim season.
Emphasising on the need of religious coexistence and the importance of preserving the sanctity of pilgrim destinations that are part of a secular social setting, Nair administered the pledge to the participants.
The cleaning activities began from the Sree Dharmashastha Temple.
He told the participants that the town does not have a proper waste management system.
“The garbage menace is so grave that the panchayat alone cannot handle it. There are no overnight solutions for the issue. The authorities do not even possess statistics of devotees coming here every year. It is high time an eco-development plant is set up to address waste management and sanitation.”
As many as 150 students from MES College, Erumeli, under their NSS Unit, took part in the programme along with the representatives of the Erumeli grama panchayat and the volunteers of CIF.
A blood donation camp was also held.
The cleaning activities were conducted in 10 locations, including the town and premises after dividing the participants into ten teams. The drive will continue on Saturday also.