Ventures

                  GOKARNA 2017

SHIVARATRI

We have organized an outreach program, aiming to reduce the general waste and the discarded plastic bottles with the following actions:

  • distributing handbills, posters, pamphlets

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Pamphlet

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bottle statue GK

  • conceiving and fixing “emergency bins” to collect plastic bottles
  • requesting temples to do not distribute, nor accept, plastic bags on their premises

 

RAMANAVAMI

Rama navami

After the failure for a clean Gokarna Utsava and a clean Shivaratri, we decided to try a Rama navami clean this year.

As we all know, this event leaves behind an extremely heavy load of plastics (bags, cups, wrappers, straws, etc).

Since it is a circumscribed event, in a circumscribed area we requested the GP President to involve the Gram Panchayat members of that ward to be present and orally explain in advance, and during that day, to the vendors around and on the way to the temple, that plastic bags are not allowed and that GP will seize all, that some ngo will call the police for the nuisance (KPA, section 92), that there are fines for trashing, and that the trashers will not be allowed to show next year.

We requested her also to provide for the occasion some emergency bins  for that stretch of the road.

As earlier, our President did not reply. She did not show there, nor none of the elected members contributed in any way for the Clean Rama Navami.

However the nice welcome to this venture from Shri Ambekar and his son Prajwal, pujaris responsible for Rama Temple, granted a good starting.

There were some supporters and helpers waging for a change.

Khushi Parisara provided posters, handbills, bins, flags, that were profusely fixed around the Temple and on the road leading to the temple.

The bins

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The emergency bin for plastic bottles ready

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Laxmi preparing the posters

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Fixing some cleanliness prayers

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The plastic bottles bin at its final place

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The posters on the road

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Another emergency bin for collecting plastic bottles

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Shri Ram, Jay Ram, Jay Ram

Cleanliness is the root of Dharma

Keep clean and get God’s blessings

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The vendors got installed

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Visitors have come, still few with the puja items on plastic carry bags

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But despite the intense movement, still at night, the next day early morning, the place appeared to be like this:

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The waste was properly kept on the dustbins provided

Even the sugar cane vendor left his place clean:

sugarcane juice

The same as the ice cream stall, that usually produces a disgusting amount of trash all around:

icecream place