A group of ploggers who have been cleaning the ghats in Kanpur for several years now have captured Prime Minister Narendra Modi's attention for their diligent work to keep the environment clean.

Modi, in his 'Mann Ki Baat' address on Sunday, said the Kanpur Ploggers Group's work was a unique initiative where morning walkers collect plastic and other waste from the Ganga ghats. It was a "remarkable example of dedication", he said in the radio programme.

The group has been diligently plogging -- jogging while picking up litter -- for the last 183 weeks.

Dr. Sanjeevani Sharma, a dentist who founded the group on March 6, 2021, said she believes that those who pick up others’ waste are unlikely to litter themselves, a philosophy that drives their mission. They stopped work only for a period during the Covid pandemic.

To involve more people in the cleanliness initiative, a WhatsApp group was created with 850 members. They are also present on other social media platforms.

Members receive messages about the location and timing of the next cleanup, and 40-200 people gather each Sunday to participate.

Sharma, also the plogging group's president said she created the group after being inspired by a prime minister's post on X, in which he shared that he combined his morning walk with picking up litter during a visit to a beach in Kerala. Sharma thought, "Why can't I do the same?” The group has participants ranging from seven-year-olds to senior citizens aged 65, members of the group said. In addition to waste collection, members of the group also install tree guards, made from the collected garbage, around plants at the ghats.

Kanpur Municipal Corporation has played a significant role in supporting this initiative, which is in line with the Yogi Adityanath government's programmes on cleanliness. Municipal corporations across the state are now actively participating in similar campaigns.

Sharma said that the group collaborates with a plastic recycling factory in Rania, where hundreds of volunteers from the group have been sending plastic waste for the past three years.

Even vendors at 'Maggie points' near the Ganga Barrage contribute by giving used packets to the group, which are then sent for recycling.

Remarkably, 3,750 plastic packets have been melted and transformed into tree guards. This way, plastic waste that once polluted the environment is now being used to protect trees.

The plogging initiative to clean Ganga ghats in the city has grown to include local representatives, administrators and people of all ages and backgrounds and it has helped foster a sense of responsibility towards the environment.

During plogging drives, the corporation provides trucks to ensure waste is not left unattended. The collected waste is handed over to the corporation by the group, which transports it to waste plants for proper disposal.

In his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ address, Prime Minister Modi also lauded the efforts of Lucknow resident Virendra who assists elderly citizens with obtaining Digital Life Certificates.

Until 2014, pensioners had to go through a cumbersome process in the banks to submit their life certificates annually, according to a statement by the Uttar Pradesh government.

Virendra's work for the elderly has made the process simpler, made them tech-savvy and has freed them from unnecessary visits to banks, it said.

The number of people who have received digital life certificates has crossed 80 lakhs, out of which more than two lakh are above 80 years of age, the statement said.

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