Campaign afoot to keep public places clean

Hyderabad: The cleanliness campaign by Team Bakrid, which was launched about 4 years ago by a collective of NGOs based in the city, has now spread out across not only Telangana but in neighbouring States as well, including Karnataka, Maharashtra and also Tamil Nadu.

The elders who initiated the movement have now passed on the baton to young men from the Muslim community who have taken up the cause to next level in close coordination with different departments like municipality and police. They strive to ensure that no animal wastage remains in public view.

Following their successful drive so far, the centrally controlled campaign has now slowly got decentralised, where youth at local level not only generate awareness in their localities but also approach authorities for hassle-free drive during the three days (starting from August 12) during which sacrifice of animals is offered. The number of NGOs working in this area has now touched 100 in Telangana, including 32 in the city.

The number of mosques covered under the campaign has risen from 300 to 1,500 in the State. Volunteers are roped in with the help of mosque committees.

"This time the number of volunteers who would be working towards cleanliness will be around 1000 to 1200," said Ilyas Shamshi, the promoter of the campaign.

Speaking to The Hans India, Mohammed Zia-ur-Rahman, the campaign convenor, said that as part of the campaign, volunteers had already started meeting with officials both at local and city levels.

"They are meeting officials and discussing about requirement of vehicles like tipper and heavy machinery like JCBs and also about logistics support and disinfectant materials bleaching powder. We hope that this time this engagement with officials would be more streamlined than before," he noted.

On the day of Bakrid which will be celebrated on August 12, the volunteers would spread out in their respective, ensuring the streets are kept clean. "We hope that with this kind of coordination, the NGOs will spread across the entire nation towards ensuring cleanliness," hoped Md Faheem, the convenor for Telangana.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, a team led by Saber Yamani, the convenor for Hyderabad, met Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali and briefed him on this endeavour.