Students, businessmen and citizens initiated a unique cleaning drive here on Wednesday by educating street vendors and hawkers about keeping the city spic-and-span and distributed garbage bins to help them out.
Nearly 50 colourful bins and vats were distributed among hawkers at the Camac Street section as part of the 'Porishkar Kolkata' campaign, an extension of the Clean City-Green City initiative of the West Bengal government.
School children carried placards to involve the people and generate awareness.
"Though there is a lot of buzz on cleanliness and hygiene, there is a lack of awareness on an individual basis, especially among communities such as the hawkers."
"We are educating them on the basics and making sure they also ensure their customers keep the surrounding area clean," Bhupesh Kapoor, president of the Rotary Club of Calcutta Midtown, told IANS.
Organised in collaboration with Indian steel producing giant SAIL and the active support of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, the Rotary Club of Calcutta Midtown aims to roll out more such programmes in phases, targeting various zones and communities.
Street vendors were also taught proper ways to dispose waste.
