For a long time now, Bangalore University has been making concerted efforts towards involving students in green projects, the main aim being to sensitise them to various environmental concerns plaguing the city. Recently, in yet another initiative introduced by the University, over 200 students from various colleges in the state as well as from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, galvanised into action by planting over 500 saplings at the Biopark in the University campus. The three-day campaign, aimed to underscore the message of “a clean and green environment and the importance of sustainable practices,” according to R Srinivas, University coordinator of NSS.
Vani S, Jyothi Nivas College, Bangalore, has been an NSS volunteer for the past three years. But she took part in the National Integration Camp only recently. She says it was an eye-opening experience. “We usually have annual camps conducted along with four other colleges from the city. But this was different. Here we met students from different states and got a chance to share our ideas with them.” At the camp, Vani teamed up with 17 other students and managed to plant over 90 saplings. They also took part in a session on bee-keeping, which was held as part of the celebrations.
Called the ‘National Integration Camp,’ the event was held to commemorate the 46th anniversary of NSS Day which, under the aegis of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, was first launched in 1969 during Mahatma Gandhi’s birth centenary.
But this green drive doesn’t stop here. On October 2, the NSS wing launched a 20-day campaign in the city involving over 20 colleges. The focus of the programme was to initiate a dialogue with the community on the benefits of water harvesting and the perils of improper waste management, starting with areas in Rajarajeshwari Nagar. “We engaged with University-affiliated colleges for this programme. The first step in this regard was to create awareness about segregating dry waste and wet waste and proper disposal,” says Srinivas.
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