BENGALURU: Hundreds of children stepped out of their classrooms on Friday to sweep the streets and create awareness about garbage disposal among the public.
They cleaned the streets, enacted street plays, painted walls, carried out a door-to-door campaign, all for keeping the city clean. Parents, teachers, NGOs, the public and elected representatives joined hands with the children for Janaagraha’s initiative ‘I Change My Street’.
Around 50 Class 8 students of Shantiniketan High School, Viveknagar, helped repair a road and beautify the 8th and 9th Main roads at Viveknagar.
Mary T K, the school headmistress, told Express that the 8th Main Road had been dug up to lay pipes and left unattended. “On Friday, BBMP authorities came to plaster it. Our students, along with parents, teachers, Janaagraha staff and employees of HSBC and Dell located nearby joined hands to sweep the road and footpath. They painted the wall and decorated it with flower pots. Now, the road looks new and beautiful,” she said.
Viveknagar councillor Vijayan also joined the initiative. Later, students conducted a door-to-door campaign on segregation of waste at source and urged the public not to litter public places.
At Little Flower Public School, Hosakerehalli, around 50 students of Class 8 swept the roads in and around their school premises. Gayathri Devi, the school principal, said, “Our students enacted a street play on keeping the roads clean. They also spread awareness by reminding people not to spit, litter public places or dirty the road while taking their pets on a walk. The teachers accompanied them in this initiative.”
Lakshmidevi, the headmistress of Narendra High School in Deepanjali Nagar, said around 45 students from Class 9 and 10 participated.
“Our students swept the 1st and 2nd Main Roads and surrounding areas. They also removed posters pasted on the walls. Students also went to vendors and told them to keep their premises clean,” she said.
“If a similar programme is organised four times a year, we can instill habits of cleanliness among children which will help them when they grow up,” she added.