Modi praises Delhi resident for plogging campaign in country

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hailed the efforts of a Delhi resident for starting an initiative to pick up litter while jogging in a bid to make the country litter-free.

In his Mann ki Baat radio programme, Modi made a special mention about 31-year-old Ripu Daman Bevli, a Delhi resident, who had started a nationwide campaign on collecting garbage while running or jogging – or plogging.

The campaign, “Run to Make India Litter Free”, has prompted Modi to call upon people to plog for 2km on October 2, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

PM Modi called Bevli, while he is on his way to covering 50 cities in 60 days to spread awareness, and sought to know more about plogging.

Bevli told the PM about how he developed the technique and incorporated it as a cool-down activity after a workout. This will be a holistic workout in which one is also running and bending, thereby doing more exercises while also cleaning, he said.

The PM sought to know his experience so far over the 22 cities covered in a month. Bevli is currently in Hyderabad.

Modi said that the ministry of youth affairs and sports is also organising the Fit India Plogging Run on October 2. In this, people can participate in 2km plogging drives throughout the country .

“When I used to go for running or jogging in the morning, all that I could see was trash and garbage. It was more clearly visible because there was no traffic then. So, that’s when I thought of this idea of running and collecting trash. Slowly, I also got this idea into my running groups,” Bevli said.

“Generally, when people see garbage on the streets, they get agitated and crib about it. However, instead I would urge them to bring the change and not litter. This is what I want people to do. I would now ask the people to join in to run to make India litter free,” he added.

RIPU DAMAN BEVLI, Delhi resident