Several hundreds of people in Ukhrul district who returned home during the nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic conducted mass cleanliness drive on Saturday in the town.
Making good use of their stay at their hometown, around 500 returnees took part in the cleanliness drive from Dungrei junction till Kharasom Junction which is about 5 kilometre stretch in Ukhrul town.
Initiated by leaders of Tangkhul communities residing in various states in the country, the cleanliness drive with the theme ‘Our town, our responsibility’ was conducted to create an awareness of having a responsibility for making the Ukhrul town clean.
Speaking exclusively to the Imphal Free Press, one of the returnee Sorinthan Haorei said, “People who stay outside the State would talk about the backwardness of their native place or State but when they return home they do nothing and and contribute little to their native place’
Sorinthan also said, people from Ukhrul town who stayed outside the state would normally return to their native place usually in the festive and most of them did not get the opportunity to do such work or take part in such initiative in the town.
However, due to the pandemic, different Tangkhul leaders from many mainland states have the opportunity to get together and urged for the cleanliness drive. He said, “Though we are forced to return home due to the pandemic, we took it as privilege to serve our community”.
Sorinkhan said, “We do not want to stay in the town and do nothing. As a stakeholder of the town, we want to take the responsibility to make the town neat and clean”.
The returnee informed that cleanliness drive began around 5.30 in the morning and it continued till 4 in the evening. He said that they could collect around 14 trips of truck which indicates that Ukhrul town is in a mess.
Sorinkhan also said that few of the locals also turned up and helped them in the drive. He further said that the district commissioner and ADC also extended financial help for the cleanliness drive.
Every individual should contribute and collectively take up works for the good of the society he said while adding that one main reason for the cleanliness drive was to instil the idea of taking self-responsibility for development of the town.
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