UDUPI: What do Pradeep Sangwan from Gurugram; Haryana and Anudeep Hegde-Minusha Kanchan couple from Baindoor in Udupi have in common? Although located miles apart, the common thread linking them is their concern for the environment. It is this singular essence of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan that gave Pradeep and Anudeep-Minusha a place in the last edition of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann Ki Baat for 2020 on Sunday.
A 100 second mention of their efforts in the 32.20 minute long address put these selfless cleanliness warriors in the national limelight. If Pradeep’s Healing Himalaya initiative that he is running since 2016 grabbed PM Modi’s attention, the fact that the newly wed couples gave up their honeymoon period to clean up Someshwar beach in the district saw the PM narrate their effort in a cleanliness paean which he said was the essence of clean India.
Leading to their effort with his own effort at plogging, PM Modi said Pradeep and his team of dedicated volunteers have cleared tonnes of plastic from the pristine Himalayas since 2016. Likewise, the wedding resolve that Anudeep-Minusha took to clean up the beach and subsequent social media post by Anudeep drawing in like-minded youths to join them in an effort that saw them collectively clean up 800-kgs of waste saw Modi praise them heartily.
In lauding the efforts of Pradeep and Anudeep-Minusha, PM Modi also sought to tickle the cleanliness nerve in every individual by asking if one wonder’s how this waste ends up on our mountain ranges or on our beaches. The Prime Minister reminded the nation that waste ends up in these pristine natural spots when people litter and need of the hour is also to put an effective end to single use plastic across India and save the environment.
An obviously overawed Anudeep-Minusha couple busying themselves for another round of Clean Kundapur campaign on Kodi beach later in the day told TOI that PM mentioning them in Mann Ki Baat seems surreal. “I first heard about it from my relative,” Anudeep said, adding he believed it only after going through the address on YouTube. “Prime Minister Modi is our inspiration for the campaign we undertook at Someshwar beach,” he said.