CANACONA
With the local panchayat accused of having failed to clean water bodies and drains in the village, some local youth took up the challenge in Loliem.
Environmentalist and social worker Dennis Fernandes led a few like-minded residents of Loliem to clean and clear the drains and gutters in the village.
“Ponds, Khazan lands and other water bodies were all engulfed in unwanted dumps and were not cleaned for years together. We have also cleared three Nullahs across the Loliem Church, besides Paskal-voll in Ward 8 and Khandle-Voll in Ward 9 and some paddy fields, which were filled with unwanted growth and bushes,” said Fernandes.
A mini-JCB was engaged for the drive, while volunteers picked-up broken glass-bottles from floodgate drainages and other water bodies.
“The idea and the purpose of doing this is to awaken public conscience to maintain cleanliness in the village and stop dumping personal garbage and glass bottles in the fields and other water bodes. It's high time people understand the importance of these water bodies, marshy land and the paddy fields since these are the only source of survival for the future generations,” said Fernandes.
Fernandes hoped that the cleanliness drive would inspire others to carry on similar drives in the village.
