100 'smart citizens of Ludhiana' start cleanliness campaign

Ludhiana: A city can become smart if its citizens are smart. Holding this belief, almost 100 volunteers joined hands to take up the responsibility of maintaining cleanliness in their localities instead of leaving it upon authorities. Under the banner of ‘smart citizens of Ludhiana’, people from various streams of life have started a campaign to look after the cleanliness of a pocket of market in Model Town Extension.

Since three weeks, they have been continuously cleaning the market every Sunday.

The founder of this group Sumit Sharma, a businessman, who resides in Model Town describing the aim of the campaign said, “If you have any problem with the working of the civic authorities, or have been dealing with issues of cleanliness in your vicnity, then instead of waiting for officials to show up, take up the matters in your own hands.” He said they have adopted a pocket in the market where four vacant plots had been lying overflowing of garbage since the past six months; they have started cleaning the same. He said now they will create awareness among shopkeepers around for taking care of the cleanliness in their surroundings and along with this they have planned to get dustbins installed in the market.

Another member of the group Kajal Arora, a homemaker and resident of Kidwai Nagar, said, “We being residents are also responsible for taking care of the environment around us.” She said that even if 10 people are inspired to take the initiative of cleaning their respective areas, then their drive would be considered successful. She claimed that they will meet the area councillors and civic officials for further support.

Meanwhile, a social activist and resident of Aggar Nagar Tanya Garg said there are so many issues in the market, including cleanliness, lack of street lights and even fire safety arrangements. She said when fire tragedy had taken place in Surat they had decided to adopt this market because it has many tuition centres with poor infrastructre in terms of fire safety. She said they will ask the shopkeepers to get required market arrangements done. “The city will become smart only when everything will become smart,” she said adding that they have started putting efforts with a hope that others will follow suit.

This group was formed in December 2018 and they had started their activities with a study on illegal vegetation on the banks of Buddha Nullah and its impact on health of those people who eat such vegetables. Then they started scraping off the election posters pasted in May this year. They also started cleanliness drive at the banks of Satluj. Various plantation drives are also carried out by them and almost 2,500 trees have been planted at various locations.