Doon based student activist group Making a Difference by Being the Difference (MAD) cleaned up another open garbage dump near the Convent of Jesus and Mary school near the Parade Ground here on Sunday.
Around 18 members took part in the activity which lasted for about two hours. The activity was conducted amidst slight drizzle in an area very close to the Sunday market — amidst heavy vehicular movement and pedestrian traffic.
According to the volunteers, a major challenge that the members faced during the activity was the absence of any communal dustbins in the area and the presence of large amounts of community waste just lying in the open on the roadside. The waste lying on the roadside was also partially burnt that indicated that it was common practice to burn the waste collected in that area. From vegetables to chapatis and from sugarcane waste to a variety of other items, the volunteers continued to clean up motley garbage items from the area and fill up their sacks. A special transportation team was in operation which then took the collected garbage to the nearest dustbin and inverted the same inside it.
“It was a particularly messy activity today, but it was full of fun as well, when you work with friends toward a good cause” explained Rahul guru, whose tee-shirt and pair of shorts were completely embroiled in waste and stink accruing out of the community waste that had been collected by MAD members. Comically, that was the condition of most volunteers who participated in the activity. This included those volunteers who participated in this activity that included first time volunteers from Graphic Era Hill University, Doon Business School among others were also very dirty by the end of the activity.
“Our clothes might have become dirty, but our hearts are full of a sense of satisfaction to have volunteered our free time towards a good cause,” said one of the volunteers Vivek Gupta.
Present in the activity were MAD’s founding president Abhijay Negi, members Karan, Adarsh, Sharad, Shubham, Shardul, Harshit and Sagar among several others.