Braving the extreme cold temperatures in the city, about 20 members from I-Clean Nagpur cleaned and beautified the walls and precincts of Ramnagar square, in the lane leading towards Shivaji Nagar Park this Sunday morning. This spot had been cleaned a couple of years back by the same team but had become dirty over time, also due to some construction activity in its vicinity. Many local residents from nearby apartments and bungalows joined the team, and constructively participated in the activity spontaneously. They also served fruits, tea and snacks to all the volunteers.
Team members collected about eight bagfuls of garbage from the sidewalks. Sri Sanjay Bangale, Corporator visited the spot and assured all his assistance to keep the spot clean. The clean-up drives have not only got support from the general public, but are also backed by NMC, which actively participates in these drives and supports the team, by providing necessary equipment and manpower for removal and disposal of the collected garbage.
Age is no barrier for this group. They have volunteers ranging from 8 to 65+ year-olds who contribute in their own ways, towards the cleanliness and beautification of our city. Members include persons from many vocations, including students, housewives, young children, CA, doctors, lawyers, business persons, IT professionals, retired persons, and others. Anyone with a sincere will to clean and beautify our city, is welcome to join this voluntary organisation. Earlier spots done by this team include railway stations, bus stops, schools, colleges, old age homes, Mokshadham, busy squares, and other places of public interest.
The I-Clean group specialises in cleaning the area and then painting the walls with cleanliness-related messages and attractive Warli designs, which are native to this region. This is their 189th spot in the region. The group has completed five years of their formation in the year 2014, and were recognised for their activities at the recent Annual Global Nagpur Summit 2019, held at Chitnavis Center.
The aim of the I-Clean movement is not only to clean dirty spots, but also to make people aware and make them contribute towards Swachhta in every possible way. With the aim of spreading the message of clean living to every Nagpurian, the I-Clean team also encourages people to use cloth bags for their daily shopping.
To fund their activities, each volunteer makes a minimum contribution of ₹50 every month. Some voluntary contributions are also received from citizens at each spot.It is the group’s vision that every city in India should have an I-Clean team and each citizen should follow the cleanliness regime.With I-clean, it is ‘I’ before ‘You’. It is in the name – I should do it rather than asking you to do it.
The group has made an appeal to all the like-minded people of Nagpur to join them in their zest for cleaning and beautifying the city. They also requested residents to help maintain the cleanliness of the beautified spot by adopting proper methods of garbage disposal as also through continuous vigil. People of all ages and vocations can voluntarily be a part of these efforts. You can call on 8421930862 / 7743994550 to be a part of this selfless group that is making efforts to make Nagpur really a clean and smart city.