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Owning the city: good deed after the bad ones

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September 24 2012

 

 

 

Civil Society members, students and other citizens of federal capital launched ‘Project clean up for peace’ campaign on Sunday and removed all the shells, stones and other waste material, which was thrown on the roads and green belts, during the protests.

Students of different educational institutions and civil society members reached different areas around the three cities of Pakistan (Islamabad, Karachi and  Lahore). They started collecting empty tear gas shells, stones, bottles, wrappers and other things.

Participants started their campaign from Khayaban-e-Suhrawardy at Aabpara and then started moving towards diplomatic enclave. They collected all kinds of garbage and litter.

Participants of the campaign also went inside the green belt and collected the garbage, especially plastic commodities because plastic doesn’t   decompose, even after hundreds of years.

They also went on the Service Road West of Sector G-5 and collected waste material.

Participants of the campaign reached a police check post which was burnt by the protesters near a five start hotel in G-5 and painted it. That place was one of the most effected area, because protesters spent over six hours there.

Organiser of the campaign, Farhan Rafi informed media persons that he was disappointed because protesters were damaging their own property.

Civil society activist and students undertook similar tasks demonstrating civic responsibility in major cities, including Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.–Photo by PPI

“I and my friends decided to launch a campaign to clean the city and for that we used social media to invite people. In just a few hours dozens of persons assured us that they will take part in the ‘Project clean up for peace’ campaign,” he said.

“We arranged buckets, brushes, gloves and other things for cleaning and reached different areas of the city and collected the garbage, etc,” he said.Riaz Ahmed another student said: “Islamabad is our city and we have to make sure that it should be clean and look beautiful. Our campaign might give awareness to the people who became violent and destroyed public property.”

“Every Muslim was angry and annoyed over making of the blasphemous movie but we should understand that by damaging property and closing the markets, we do our own loss and makers of the movie were not affected at all,” he said.

Spokesman of Traffic Police, Shams Gill while talking to Dawn said that students and civil society did a great job.

“I visited the area and observed that all the roads were clean. They also repaired the police check post and painted it, which the police department appreciated.

“If every person would realise his or her responsibility and follow the rules, there will be no problem in society,” he said.

Originally published by Dawn Pakistan

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