For those who like to chill on the bank of the Siang river, the volunteers of Making Arunachal Green, Incredible and Clean (MAGIC) Club conducted a cleanliness drive at Komlighat here with the theme “Save Siang Ane (Save Mother Siang)” on Sunday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the drive that was a good lesson for youngsters, the East Siang district coordinator of MAGIC, Zeblun Messar, who led the team, said the basic objective of the drive was to make Arunachal Pradesh clean and green.

“We picked up and collected litter, including plastic waste, from the bank which were later carried away in a truck of the Pasighat municipality,” Messar said, adding that it was difficult to pick up the brittle glass bottles.

Bombe Kakki, a girl volunteer, said they had cleaned every nook and cranny of Komlighat and the collected waste was heaped at a particular place to ensure that visitors follow suit whatever they eat without spoiling the beauty of the site.

Some of the MAGIC members at the cleanliness drive. Picture by Maksam Tayeng

“We are participating in this drive not to earn money or incentives. We are doing it for a larger cause. Since the day I joined the MAGIC Club, I felt very satisfied. A person does not require to be in a group or an NGO to work for society,” she said.

Assistant general secretary (protocol) of the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (Aapsu), Thomas Jerang, who was among the volunteers to motivate them, said he was very impressed with the initiative of MAGIC and tourists, including those from far-flung areas, visiting the riverbank were requested to keep the river bank clean.

This was second cleanliness drive by MAGIC Club which is based in Itanagar. The first one was conducted at Jawaharlal Nehru College, Pasighat, nearly a year ago.

One of the members of MAGIC Club said: “We are determined to conduct many more cleanliness drives in the state. The volunteers need support and encouragement from people.”