A call to instil better civic awareness
K.S. SUDHI
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It’s time to clean up the environment.
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It was a clarion call to the schoolchildren of the city for a clean and healthy future and also a chance to inculcate a culture of keeping ones environs neat and tidy. More than preaching, those at the helm of affairs of Clarion, an NGO, working in association with the Chavara Cultural Centre, Kochi, decided to lead by example. They set up 10 vermi compost units in 10 schools in the city.
The target was to take the message across to 20,000 school students in 10 city schools on the issue of managing the waste generated by the society.
The initiative was a timely one as the removal of garbage was affected for weeks together. The target of Clarion is to reach to 20,000 families in the city and support them in managing the waste generated by them on their own, explained the organisers.
In a function held at Mata Nagar School, Gandhi Nagar, for installing the unit, K.P. Radhakrishna Menon, former ombudsman for local bodies, called upon the students to channel their words and deeds for the benefit of others.
Civic duties
During his tenure as Ombudsman, Mr. Menon had adopted a tough stand against the lethargic approach of the administrators to the issues concerning the public.
Elaborating on the need for maintaining a better civic sense, Mr. Menon called upon the students of the school to strive for the betterment of the society.
“It was with the idea that students should take home the message of cleanliness that the organisation took up the project”, said Fr. Robi Kannanchira, chairman of Clarion.
In each class of the selected schools, there will be one Health Inspector and Health Assistants. These students will take care of the cleanliness drive and waste management in their schools. At a later stage, the 20,000 students will become the ambassadors of the mission in their homes. Each unit set up in the school costs Rs. 500. Vermi compost bins are accessories were provided free of cost to the schools.
The financial aspects of the implementation of the vermi compost units at home are being worked out and the agency is looking out for support for the implementation of the project.
The financial status of the families will also have to be taken into account while formulating the project for the households, Clarion officials said.
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