A plogging marathon by Balasabha, a neighbourhood network of children, will kick off the Kudumbashree mission’s State-level cleanliness campaign ‘Suchitvotsavam’ next week. Plogging is a combination of jogging and picking up litter.
Suchitvotsavam is a push for effective waste management in the State by creating strong social consciousness through the 3.9 lakh members in 2,387 Kudumbashree Balasabhas. Besides an attempt to overcome some of the challenges faced by the State in the area of waste management, it aims at taking the message of cleanliness to the children’s families and further to society.
After the formal inauguration of Suchitvotsavam in Thrissur on April 23, a series of activities will get under way in all wards of the State beginning with a plogging marathon on April 24 evening. As part of plogging marathon, children in a ward can converge at a spot and start jogging while picking up litter on their way or they can start from their locations picking up litter to reach a predetermined spot. They will be given gloves and paper bags to put the litter in.
The waste collected by the children will be segregated at the finishing point under the leadership of the Haritha Karma Sena members and handed over to them. This will be followed by a Suchitvotsavam announcement.
Green cards will be given to each child to record the exact quantity of waste generated in their homes and collect data of plastic, biodegradable, and non-biodegradable waste.
On April 29, house visits will be conducted where the children will convey how to manage domestic waste and the dos and don’ts through notices. They will carry a form for collecting information and on its basis the houses will be categorised according to the effectiveness of their waste management.
Preparation of report
On May 6, the children will visit as a group water bodies, public spaces, farmland, residential areas, hillocks and so on in their area to understand their current condition and the waste pollution there to prepare a report.
‘Suchitwa parliament’ and poster exhibition will be held in all wards on May 13 to ensure the participation of children in waste management activities in their local area and create a waste management culture for the future. Panchayat-level parliaments will be held on May 27. On May 20, a photography contest will be held in each Balasabha, in which photographs of best source-level waste management activities and models can be submitted.
During April and May, the children will germinate seeds of fruit-bearing trees and on June 4 plant one of the germinated seeds at a spot. On June 11, a review of the house visits made earlier will be done to ascertain the progress made by the households. Discussions on the children’s findings will be held on June 18 with participation of the children, people’s representatives, subject experts, and other stakeholders.
The Kudumbashree mission plans year-long activities as part of Suchitvotsavam, and regular Balasabha meetings will be held to discuss and plan the activities to be conducted.