Sisters lead fight in H'bag, mobilise locals to clean reservoirs
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Hazaribag: On July 16, 2023, Anjali Neeraj (28) and her sister Ruchi (24) formed Vasudha Kalyan Foundation, a non-profit organization aimed at mobilising citizens to fight the growing plastic menace in Hazaribag.
Nearly two years later, the sisters have removed 50,000 kg plastic waste from different reservoirs of the city.
The sisters said their objective is to connect with the youth, educate them and raise awareness on a green mission which includes turning the city's tourist spots and reservoirs plastic free and initiating a plantation drive.
Anjali is a lecturer of English at Inter Science College, Jabra, whereas her sister Ruchi is pursuing a master's in Botany from St.
Xavier's College in Ranchi. "We began our initiative with seven volunteers in 2023, and the number has now reached 200. All of our volunteers are college students from Hazaribag and other neighbouring districts," they said.
"People pollute surroundings with plastic but hesitate to clean it. So, every Sunday, we hold drive to clean and collect plastic from water bodies, tourist spots. The majority waste we often find are plastic bottles, wrappers of different eatables, chips packets, and empty liquor bottles," Anjali said.
Through such campaigns, the waste collected is sold to kabadiwalas, and the amount generated is used for procurement of protective gears for volunteers during their drives. "Through this mission, we are trying to generate awareness regarding environmental changes and call for people's participation," she said, adding that slowly people of all age groups are slowly joining them in weekly drives.
Their first initiative was to clean Lara River, a popular tourist spot 20 km away from Hazaribag.
Then, the drive was held at Canary Hill, and so on.
A native of Bakagaon block and presently living in Baba Path mohalla of the city, Anjali said they have freed six places, including reservoirs, from plastic waste, including Chhath Talab, Hurhuru Talab, Budhwa Mahadev Talab, Hazaribag Jheel, Canary Hill, and Lara River. "We keep cleaning all these places again and again by including them in our list of Sunday campaigns," she added.
Last year, during World Environment Day, the United Nations Environment Program praised their work at a program in Ranchi by awarding a certificate of appreciation. Anjali said, "We are a youth-driven action team for the environment, which is essential for ecological balance, improves air quality, and promotes biodiversity."
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