So after some thorough ground work, we zeroed in on 5th of May as the day to call for a ‘surgical strike on waste’! It was decided to begin early as the temperatures rise quickly during summer. The day had come! My husband Dr. Pranav Nagarsenkar and I briefed the residents of our society and friends from outside the society at 6.30am. We commenced the cleanliness drive with great enthusiasm and fervor.
Of course this was bound to happen because we were celebrating cleanliness! We discussed our plan and immediately went to the point of commencement which was the Old Goa circle at the end of the bypass road. We divided ourselves into 3 groups, one on either side of the road and one along the divider and started the herculean task of cleaning. We managed to clean a considerable stretch of the road in a matter of two hours.
A member from our team educated the slum dwellers (who reside along this stretch) about garbage disposal. The garbage mainly consisted of plastic bags and bottles, gutka packets, cigarette hubs and cloth rags. Our team comprised of Mr. Silverio Dias, Mr. Vinod Kumar, Mrs. Gouri Joshi, Mrs. Amita Kamat, Mrs. Shilpa, Mrs. Smita Blaggan, Mr. Henry D’Souza, Mrs. Sarita D’Souza, Mr. Sandeep Naik, Mr. Ladu Fadte, Mrs. Rohini Fadte and Mr. Norden. My colleagues Dr. Saumyata Neeraj, Akanksha Parrikar and Mrs. Manish Shanbhag joined us too.
The next generation group of Abhir, Nayantara, Hemanshini, Lasya, Deeva and Vishnu worked hand in hand. Last but not the least my support system, my husband Dr. Pranav Nagarsenkar motivated all of us throughout the drive. Amidst the clean up drive an interesting event occurred. A gentleman named Capt. Ashok Chauhan who was travelling on this stretch, took cognizance of our drive and arranged some refreshments for us! He also promised us that he would be there with refreshments in future whenever we planned such activities.
At 9am we called it a day and clicked some group photos. Every drop of sweat shed today was worth a million. There was no better feeling in this world and words fell short to describe the immense satisfaction this clean up gave all of us. With twice the zeal and enthusiasm, the entire group decided to meet next Sunday to continue the drive. We were grateful to receive help from our Panch Mr. Prakash Amonkar who arranged a vehicle for disposal of the collected garbage. We all eagerly look forward to next Sunday and the Sundays to come till the day we clean the entire bypass! I urge all the readers to come forward and help us in this noble cause because ‘How’s the Josh’… ‘High Sir’!!!
