Creativity alongside cleanliness

Neha Saini

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 20

Using art as a tool to draw attention towards social causes, young volunteers from ‘I Responsible’, a group of students from Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) and city colleges, are taking small steps towards cleaning out the city spots.

Adding some life into the social work, volunteers are painting the city spots clean and colourful. Carrying out cleanliness drives across the city, at spots that are considered among the filthiest, the volunteers are leaving behind a message by painting or drawing graffitis and wall art. “We cleaned up a bus stand at Verka bypass and later painted graffiti to leave a message of clean and green surroundings. It was appreciated by the residents of nearby colonies and also by other social organisations,” informs Jasmine Kaur, a member of ‘’I Responsible’’ and a student of French at the Guru Nanak Dev University .

The self-funded group of students, who take up one social cause at a time, have been collaborating with some NGOs to carry out their campaigns. “Most of the spots we identify are located in areas that suffer from sanitation issues. Using art as a tool to attract immediate attention of locals as well as authorities concerned has worked out well for us,” she says.

The group had earlier carried out a similar campaign on the Jamun Wali road. Cleaning up a spot outside a residential colony’s gate that turned into a dumping ground, a graffiti was made with a message — Be The Change. The campign was carried out in collaboration with Eco Amritsar.

Mehakdeep Singh, president of ‘I Responsible’ who studies in BA (Social Sciences) third year, says more such places will be identified and included in the campaign. “We are also planning to expand our campaign to focus on issues like traffic management, environment etc,” he said.