This Pune Plogger is leading the way in promoting cleanliness in Pune
It all started in 2019, when Vivek Gurav, a software engineer, and a campaigner of active cleaning along with his friends undertook 10 plogging drives.
Waste management remains an issue to be addressed in various urban areas, where not only the civic bodies but also the citizens are equally responsible to oversee that waste is disposed of in the right way. Twenty-four-year-old Vivek Gurav from Pune decided to take matters into his own hands by dealing with waste with the help of plogging.
Just like jogging, Vivek organises plogging, a technique where runners collect trash on their run. It all started in 2019, when Vivek, a software engineer by profession, and an active cleaning campaigner for six years, along with his friends undertook ten plogging drives.
Vivek Gurav (Image: NDTV, Youth Ki Awaaz)
Pleased with the outcome, in September 2019, Vivek officially launched Pune Ploggers. The team works every weekend from 6 am to 9 am.
Speaking to NDTV on the operations, Vivek said,
“While on Saturday volunteers plog at around six random locations, close to their residence like some bus stop, Sunday plogging is fixed at a place with special importance. We initially started with hills around the city. In the last four months, we have already covered Baner Hills and Dighi Hills and have been successful in cleaning 80 percent of the trash at these spots, says Vivek, founder of Pune Ploggers.”
Recently, the team led by Vivek conducted a plogging run on JM Road in Pune, which covered two kilometres. Besides plogging, the they also conduct awareness campaigns, on the effects of single-use plastic in the city via PMPML buses, and according to Hindustan Times, volunteers covered 50 buses last weekend and reached out to 10,000 citizens in the last few weeks.
Vivek’s activities have received praise from PMC officials and the Joint Commissioner and Head of PMC’s Solid Waste Management, Dnyaneshwar Molak.
Speaking to Youth Ki Awaaz, Vivek said,
“Recent floods in Pune were studied, and we observed that blocked drainages due to plastic bottles and plastic garbage added to the issue. Heavy rains forced the floodwater to flow into residential areas. We are trying to address this issue, and such campaigns will be conducted every weekend. We request citizens to join us in this mega mission to fight the plastic menace.”
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