Kendrapara: Inspired by Swachha Bharat Abhiyan, the girls of the coastal village of Babakarpur in Mahakalapada block have launched a cleanliness drive to provide a healthy atmosphere to fellow villagers.
Around 70 families, most of them farmers, stay in Babakarpur which comes under the Alailo gram panchayat.
Mama Mishra, a college girl of Babakarpur, said that girls of the village, most of them studying in colleges, had been implementing Swachha Bharat Abhiyan in their village on the first Sunday of every month through ‘Punya Utkal Kanya Ratna Parisad’ to ensure their village remains clean.
“Earlier, piles of garbage used to be seen on our streets for days together. So we girls decided to launch a cleanliness drive on the first Sunday of every month. We organised a meeting of our villagers and college going girls and they okayed our proposal. We set up the Punya Utkal Kanya Ratna Parisad to implement Swachha Bharat Abhiyan,” said Gitanjali Ojha, the President of Punya Utkal Kanya Ratna Parisad.
On the first Sunday of every month around 30 girls of the village collect at the Babakarpur-Kalidas Temple with broomsticks, spades and baskets and they clean up the road, said Rupali Guru, a member of the Punya Utkal Kanya Ratna Parishad.
They collect Re 1 from every household on the first Sunday of every month to use it for purchasing broomsticks and baskets. The girls sometimes spend their own money to repair street lights etc, said Shantilata Jena, a woman of Babakarpur.
“We really find satisfaction by participating in the cleanliness drive. Our drive has enabled the villagers to get rid of vector borne diseases,” said Snehaprava Patra, the Secretary of Punya Utkal Kanya Ratna Parisad.
The noble work of the girls of Babakarpur would definitely encourage neighbouring villages to start their own cleanliness drives, the villagers said.
PNN