Maharashtra: Youths of Badlapur take up initiative to clean river Ulhas

BADLAPUR: Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised cleaning of river Ganga in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, not much has been done in last five years. However, setting an example in this direction, the youngsters of Badlapur have vowed to clean river Ulhas in their area.

The banks of Ulhas river were highly polluted because of industrial waste from nearby areas. Venu Kamble who stays in Satkarm Ashram near the river banks told Pooja Tanksalkar about this problem.

Pooja Tanksalkar, an MBA pass out, decided to do something regarding this problem and started a social media campaign to clean the river.

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The campaign 'My trash, My responsibility' received wide response from the youths across the city.

Every Sunday, youth of Badlapur assemble on the river banks and clean the trash. Almost two tonnes of waste have been removed till now. The number of volunteers has been increasing each week, said Pooja.

A large number of empty alcohol bottles were found on the banks. Pooja posted about these bottles on social media that these would be sold and the money would be used to paint the walls along the river bank.

Meanwhile, some miscreants broke these bottles and spread the glass pieces across the bank. "If you cannot help us please don't create problems for us," said Pooja.