9-km human chain for a cleaner Gomti
LUCKNOW: Over 10,000 students f rom various educational institutions across the city along with the volunteers of Lok Adhikar Manch formed a nine-km-long human chain from Hanuman Setu to Daliganj bridge and pledged for a clean Gomti here on Tuesday.
The human chain, said to be the longest one to be witnessed in the state capital so far, was formed in the presence of union home minister Rajnath Singh and union water resource minister Uma Bharti.
Senior BJP leaders appreciated the initiative and said the gathering was much beyond their expectation. “Such a huge strength during morning hours was not expected,” said Rajnath Singh while taking part in the event, which took off at 8:30am.
Students, armed with placards and banners, began pouring in since morning. “We were the first to arrive on the spot and to form the human chain,” said Dr Farzana, a teacher from Islamia Degree College while leading a group of 60 students. “Gomti is our river and it’s our responsibility to keep it clean,” said BQ Azha, another teacher from the institution.
Students of Karamat Hussain
WE CLEANED THE OLD HANUMAN TEMPLE, JHULELAL PARK AREA AND THE MANKAMESHWAR TEMPLE. BJP LEADERS RAJNATH SINGH AND UMA BHARTI TOO JOINED US. ANIL SINGH, president, Lok Adhikar Manch
Muslim Girls’ PG College too pitched in for the initiative and said it was their duty to save the Gomti. “I am sure the initiative help change the grim picture,” said Akta Awasthi, a student of the college.
Similarly, students from Rana PG College (Chinhat), Bora Institute of Management Sciences, Lucknow University and other institutions too joined the chain. The event was followed by a cleanliness drive that was launched on the banks of Gomti.
“We cleaned the old Hanuman temple, Jhulelal Park area and also the Mankameshwar temple. BJP leaders Rajnath Singh and Uma Bharti too joined us in cleaning the silt from selected areas,” said Anil Singh, president, Lok Adhikar Manch.
The programme concluded at 11am