Youth group in Shopian area launches initiative to keep environment clean

Keegan ( Shopian), July 4: In the nondescript Keegam village, some 7 kms from south Kashmir’s Shopian town, a group of youth have come together to clean water bodies and surroundings in their area.

A group of young men from the village have formed Keegam Youth Trust to keep the water bodies clean and eliminate the non-biodegradable waste.

The initiative has not only elicited an overwhelming response from the residents but is also inducing a behavioural change among the residents.

Since its inception in May this year, the volunteers have launched more or less a dozen drives.

" We have cleaned up at least 4 springs during this period", said Irfan Ahmad.

Irfan said that they also removed plastic and other non-biodegradable waste from the irrigation canals and drains to ensure the seamless flow of water.

Over the past one month, the volunteers spruced up their surroundings and conducted a flurry of activities to induce behavioural change among the local residents vis-à-vis the environment.

In a short span of time, at least 180 from the area have joined the initiative and are actively participating in various programmes.

Dr Aftab Ahmad, who heads the initiative told Greater Kashmir that severe impacts of climate change spurred them to launch this initiative.

“ Now the impacts of climate change are becoming visible even in the outlying villages of Kashmir”, he said.

Aftab said that over the last few years people witnessed a significant rise in temperatures and unusual weather patterns.

He said that "socialisation of people as per environment norms to evoke a positive change was crucial."

“A considerable number of people rely on horticulture and agriculture for their livelihood, but now we discover plastic in our farmlands, which adversely impacts the quality of soil”, he said.

According to him, their initiative had received an overwhelming response from the residents who fully cooperated with them.

The volunteers are pooling their resources to carry out pro-environment activities. They have identified various locations where they are planning to install the dustbins. “ Soon we will install dustbins at some designated points in the village”, Aftab said.

He said that they were also intending to purchase a garbage van to collect the household waste.

"We also hope to extend this initiative to other villages as well", he said.