The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Youth Association, Odisha held a cleanliness drive in river Kuakhai on Sunday.
Association members said that huge quantities of used puja items are lying near the riverbank and polluting the water after the immersion ceremony of Goddess Durga recently. Many people are dependent on the river water in their day-to-day life; and due to the pollution, problems are being faced by the locals, they added.
The association also held an awareness drive to make the Kuakhai plastic-free and requested the Government to take steps towards it.
Among others, Pritish Ranjan Das, Amit Kumar Sahu, Naveen Panda, Prem Thatoi, Keshav Pradhan, Kishan Kumar Sathua, Subash Das, Nalinikant Mahapatra, Laxmipriya Rout and Ipsita Das were present.