A day spent well in Hosabettu Beach!
The western part of Karnataka is famous for its coastline. So instead of calling it West Karnataka, it is more called Coastal Karnataka. The beautiful beaches, the temples, the cuisine, the food are all world famous. I spent this morning with my college friends and my teacher at a place called Hosabettu in this beautiful coastal area!
The National Service Scheme (NSS) camp is going on in the college for the last 5 days. As a part of this, a cleanliness program was held today at Hosabettu beach in the joint association of NSS Unit, Sahyadri Engineering and Management College and Swachh Surathkal team.I was very excited to reach college at 6 am. I was very happy that I am going to do the good work of cleaning the environment! We reached the Hosabettu Government Senior Primary School premises at 7 am and were welcomed by members of the Swachh Suratkal team. They had great hopes in the students of our college and gave us proper guidance.A batch of 200 students had arrived for the cleanliness program today. So 5 teams were made like 1 team of 40 people. Each team was given necessary tools and taken to the places to be cleaned. I was in the second team. Our team was given task of cleaning both sides of the link road along the sea coast.We started work at 8 in the morning and walked along the road for about 500-600 meters. Other teams were also assigned to work in different parts of Hosabettu beach. We collected around 11-12 bags of trash along the way!
Don't ask what garbage is! Indignation rises as soon as I say it! This is what we got along the road: Vimal, Maruti pan masala packets, packets of cigarettes and alcohol bottles! A little bit of firecracker garbage, chocolate cover, plastic covers! A team of 40 was divided into small teams of 5-6. All the 5 friends who were with me got packets of pan masala and alcohol bottles! Nothing but that! Disgusting just looking at it! And indignation rose.Man is ruining such a beautiful environment given by God! We held those bottles of alcohol and joked about which brand they were, loudly talking so that people nearby can hear and making them feel ashamed and protested and cleaned up!
According to the experience of Swachh Suratkal team, the share of the local people, who have little education, is small in doing this garbage disposal. The well educated, those who are working in big positions are littering the surrounding environment! Remember well-educated! Seeing all this, I felt how much Mother Earth would be upset.We finished the cleaning work around 9 am. I felt grateful to be a part of this noble work. Then we rested for a while at the beach, played and came to the school premises, had breakfast and returned to the college.
A few years ago, under the guidance of Ramakrishna Mission, Mangalore, a "Swachha Puttur" program was held every Sunday in Puttur under the leadership of Shri Shrikrishna Upadhyaya. My mother used to participate in this program.I was also going with my mother. I used to participate in the cleanliness drive with great pleasure and create awareness among the people. Besides, there were programs to create awareness about cleanliness in every school on behalf of Ramakrishna Mission. I was also a "Swacchatha Warrior" from my school.A famous magician Shri Kudroli Ganesh came to our school and did a magic show to spread awareness about cleanliness. All this reminded me again today. But I felt that I should write this article looking at those liquor bottles, pans and cigarette packets.If every person inculcates the awareness of cleanliness in their children from childhood, will they continue littering everywhere on the road? Will we see garbage everywhere?Will a cleaning program be required? If every person thinks that he/she is responsible for the environment around him/her, the village he/she lives in, the city he/she lives in, the land that gives him/her shelter, the land that gives him/her rice, will the environment not be clean? Just think! Accusing that collecting garbage is the work of civic workers and someone else's job, we throw garbage wherever we are, saying that if we put garbage here, someone will pic it tomorrow.Because of this the environment is getting polluted, don't the diseases stick to us? Just think! Ever since I became a "Swacchatha warrior", I have vowed that I will only throw garbage in the dustbin and not anywhere else. Can you do the same? Can you alert someone when they make a mistake?
You will all read what I wrote today. Those who really know the importance of this, think about it and ask yourself what can I do? Go out to do what you can. The rest may be polluting the same old ways.But in the end the gain is ours and the loss is ours. Just remember that when Mother Earth can't bear the sin made by us, then our end has come!
Having said that, I will put full stop for this article,
Shreekara B
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