A man was seen standing for more than three hours everyday with a placard on the Mangaluru- Kochi National Highway near Nethravathi Bridge to raise awareness against dumping waste into the river. Nagaraj Raghav Anchan, 43 who is the coordinator of ocean plastic recycling of Hasira Dala. positive changes have unfolded after his efforts.
A survey was done for Anti Pollution Drive (APD) Foundation and Hasiru Dala, along with Vanishree for an ocean plastic recycling project 2 months ago that recognised areas near Kallapu bus stand as hotspots for dumping garbage. Anchan opines that people who travel to and from Mangalore find this a convenient place to dump waste as they pass by in their vehicles. This practice has een continuing since many decades in this area. So he watched people doing this and tried to understand why the practice is so rampant. He then made them understand at home wet waste disposal methods.
A six -day awareness campaign was conducted by APD Foundation in association with Hasiru Dala from January 18-23 at the Nethravathi Bridge to encourage people to abstain from throwing waste into the Netravathi. Anchan continued this campaign in his own way, that was by standing near the bridge every day for stipulated hours of three between 5:30am to 9:00 am.
Under his guidance and the support and aid of the urban local body, a cleanliness drive will be organised on February 28,2021. Anchan says that the city corporation has promised to provide men for aod as well as a vehicle to complete the work. He also mentions that atleast during the time he stays at the bridge, people abstain from polluting into the river, however, those who throw waste at night still pollute. He has suggested to the urban local body to install CCTV cameras as a solution for the same. Other spots of pollution have also been spotted and he plans on creating awareness at Kulur bridge next.
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