RKM’s 5th phase of Swacchata Abhiyan Completes 11 Shramadans
Mangaluru: 11th Shramadan of 5th phase of Ramakrishna Mission Swacchata Abhiyan was carried out in the Service Bus Stand near State Bank & surrounding areas from 7.30 am to 11.30 am on 17th February. The Shramadan was jointly flagged off at 7.30 am by Dinesh Holla, Environmentalist & MCC Health inspector Bharath Kumar.
Speaking on the occasion, Dinesh Holla said, “For the past few years Swacchata Abhiyan guided by the monks of Ramakrishna Mission has brought a positive change in the mindset of the Manglaoreans. Inspired by this, Sahyadri Sanchaya has initiated Swacchata Abhiyan in the Western Ghats too. A clean mind is the first step towards cleaner surroundings. If everyone feels that this environment belongs to him and he has to preserve it, we can see cleanliness everywhere. I am glad and thankful to the efforts of Ramakrishna Mission in sowing such seeds in the minds of people.” Captain Ganesh Karnik, mentor of the Abhiyan welcomed the gathering. Flagging off was preceded by offering silent prayer as a mark of respect to the martyred soldiers in Pulwama. Subhadra Bhat, Saritha Shetty, Vasanthi Nayak, Yashoda Rai, Rajeshwari, Dr Subhashchandra Rai and other volunteers were present.
The cleanliness drive taken up on last Sunday could not be finished due to time constraints and hence it was resumed in the same spot today. Hence it was decided to clean and paint the pillars & railings in the bus stand. Two volunteers were allotted for each pillar. Likewise, 40 pillars were cleaned & painted by the volunteers. Vittaldas Prabhu, Kamalaksha Pai, Usha Amrit Kumar & many others joined hands in this.
Swami Ekagamyanandaji led the group of volunteers in cleaning the bus stand by sweeping with the broom. Volunteers picked up the trash littered and cleaned. Heaps of garbage lying were removed and were replaced with flowering plants in pots. Students of Nitte Physiotherapy College & Nivedita Balaga joined hands.
Several old seats in the bus stand were broken down and were of no use. Passengers had difficulty in using them or simply sit on the ground while waiting for the buses. Hence volunteers of the Abhiyan decided to provide concrete seats in the bus stand. Last Sunday about 15 seats were fixed. This Sunday 25 more seats were fixed. The ground was drilled and the seats were fixed followed by painting. Dilraj Alva guided the team of volunteers in this work.
Compound walls of Canara College facing M G Road were favourite spots for the illegal & cinema posters. Many attempts to remove them had gone in vain. Last year, the walls were cleaned and a portion of them was painted with artworks conveying message of cleanliness. The remaining portion of the wall was painted with Several artworks & graffiti works related to the art & cultural forms of Tulunadu like Yakshagana, Daivaradhane, Kambala, Koli Anka, Huli Kunita etc. this week. Artists of Aditattwa Arts, Vikram Shetty, Sandeep, Shivaranjan & others have done these artworks for the past few days.
Subhoday Alva, Akshith Attavara, Shishir Amin, Punith Poojary, MCC cleanliness superintendent Dinesh, Lokesh Kottary, Masa Hiro, Jagan Kodikal, Anand Adyar and many other volunteers took part in this Abhiyan. MRPL is sponsoring these drives.
Swami Chidambarananda, Chief Convener
Swami Ekagamyananda, convener
Ramakrishna Mission Swacchata Abhiyan
Contact – 9448353162