Kids power Bangalore clean-up drive

Kids power Bangalore clean-up drive
CNN-IBN

Bangalore: 'Garden city', 'India's Silicon Valley', 'pensioner's paradise'- Bangalore has been given many flattering titles.

Yet, some Bangaloreans prefer to call it 'garbage city' for all the litter that has polluted the place.

A group of 100 children belonging to the Art of Living's Youth Empowerment Seminar or YES club have embarked on a clean-up drive on Sunday.

With a mission to rid the city of its dirt and the dubious title, the children have taken to the city's streets. "It is our city right to keep Bangalore clean. It must look glittering, always," said a student who paticipated in the campaign.

Students began the drive from the busy Banashankari area, picking up the litter that included mango skins, coconut shells and other household garbage.

The kids trudged along a kilometer-long stretch of the Kanakapura Road amidst busy markets, all while keeping their enthusiasm intact.

But it was not all spic and span in a day's work. It took more than a day to make a visible difference, but the students remained undeterred.

"I want to keep Bangalore clean, I need to do that," said Radhika Rastogi, student.

"I think all of us should get together and clean up every week or something," said Isha Arora, another student.

Planning more of such cleaning drive is now on the club's agenda. "Basically, we are planning to take this through out Banglaore. There are north, south, west and east zones in the city, which are filthy and filled with litter.

So we are planning to hold such activities every month or once if 45 days," said a student, adding, "We will hold similar drives in all states so we take it as a movement," she added.

The active participation of the youngsters in the drive came as an eye-opener for the city's residents as well.

They hope it will not take much time for the city to regain its fast-deteriorating reputation.