Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: Dept. of Social Work Students Clean Their Entire Department

President Pranab Mukherjee in his address to the Parliament in June 2014, said: “For ensuring hygiene, waste management and sanitation across the nation, a Swachh Bharat Mission will be launched. This will be our tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150^th birth anniversary to be celebrated in the year 2019.”

“Emphasising ‘Clean India’ on 15th August 2014 in his Independence Day speech, the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, said that this movement is associated with the economic activity of the country. The Narendra Modi government will soon launch the “Swachh Bharat” movement on 2^nd October 2014, to solve the sanitation problem in India, the problem of waste management and make India a clean country, ensuring hygiene all across the country.”

In response to the movement, Jamia observed the ‘’Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” from 22^nd September  to 2^nd October 2014 across all schools and departments on campus.

The Department of Social Work was at the forefront of this “Clean India Drive” from day one. A variety of programs had been designed to keep students as well as the teaching and non-teaching staff involved and be a part of this mission.

Day 1 began with the Head of the Department, Prof. N.U.Khan introducing the mission and illustrating the day-to day activities to be performed as well as brainstorming about ways of developing sustainable plans for cleaning. This was followed by students of Bachelors in Social Work, Masters in Social Work and M.A.( Human Resource Management) 1^st Semester cleaning their respective classrooms under the guidance of their respective class teacher in-charge. Not only did this activity turn out to be fun and amusing in its own way, classrooms were spic and span at the end of it.

Day 2 was Faculty Cubicle Cleaning and turned out to be even more enjoyable as all students were given the task of cleaning their field work supervisors’ rooms. Students worked along with their supervisors and dusted, broomed, mopped and cleared out unnecessary files and papers from their respective offices.

Day 3 involved students getting together in groups and brainstorming about the different street plays/parodies/group songs and poems to be performed under the theme of ‘’cleanliness’’. Students were seen practicing after classes under the guidance of Dr.Ushwinder Kaur Popli and Dr. Rubina Nusrat.

On Day 4, a debate was held under the guidance of Dr. Neelam Sukhramani and Mr. Sanjay Ingole with the topic being “Sustainable Cleanliness – An occupational responsibility of the Service Staff”. Students of M.A. (Human Resource Management) 1^ST Semester participated actively and spoke strongly both for and against the motion. It was judged by Dr. Ashwini Kumar Singh and Dr. V.B.Shahare, and also presided over by other faculty members; Dr. Vani Narula.

The winners were adjudged as Shree, student of Masters in Human Rights Development securing the first position and Tarishi Bahlwal, and Md. Afzal  coming second and third respectively, both being students of 1^st semester in M.A.( Human Resource Management).

Day 5 was set aside for cleaning of the department office area and pantry under the guidance of Dr.Jyoti Kakkar, Dr.Vani Narula, Dr. Sigamani P. and Mr. Mujaddidi. Non-teaching staff too worked alongside the students in this activity.

Day 6 of the Drive involved all students of Bachelors in Social Work, Masters in Social Work and M.A. (Human Resource Management) 1^st Semester making puppets, posters and grassroots comics on the theme of cleanliness. Students showcased their artistic talents through sketching, painting and making models on the theme. This activity was held in the Seminar Room of the Department under the guidance of Prof. S.M.Sajid and Dr. Rashmi Jain.

Day 7 involved cleaning of other areas like the corridors, washrooms, and library and terrace areas. This was the final cleaning activity to be performed under the drive and each student worked diligently and contributed towards the cleanliness of these other areas. Students of Bachelors in Social Work, Masters in Social Work and M.A. (Human Resource Management) 1^st Semester were guided by Dr. Ashwini Kumar Singh, Dr. Asiya Nasreen and Mr. Mohd. Nadeem.

Day 8 was the presentation of the street play and parody by the students of Bachelors in Social Work, Masters in Social Work and M.A. (Human Resource Management) 1^st Semester at different locations in the campus as well as in the department. Dr Intezar Khan and Ms. Noshin Nizam helped students throughout the preparations and presentations of the street play/parody/group songs/poems.

Day 9 was the last day of the ‘’Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” and included an extension lecture and screening of the documentary film on ‘’Whose waste is it anyway?’’ by Ms. Sharmila Sinha, Deputy Programme Manager, Education and Training, Centre for Science and Environment at 10:30 am in the Seminar Room of the Department. This was attended by all students and faculty members of the Department and was followed by showcasing of the posters, slogans, puppets, comics etc. made by students previously.

With this the nine-day long cleanliness drive under “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” came to an end.

However,”Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” should not be a mere one-time exercise. This drive also highlighted that change starts at the ground level and only if each citizen of the country thinks of ensuring basic cleanliness and hygiene as his/her duty and responsibility rather than waiting for the government to make this plan successful, will we be able to achieve the objectives of “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan”. The drive should be a combined effort of both the people as well as the government. This principle has been rightly imbibed by each student of the Department of Social Work who was a part of the Cleanliness Drive. Moreover, the Department of Social Work has been a pioneer of sorts in implementing this campaign through fun and innovative activities which involved both students and teachers alike.

[Editor’s Note: If you would like to share your department events on Jamia Journal, send a short report and relevant photos of the event to editor[@]jamiajournal.com]

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(All photos are by Javed, received courtesy Nargis Akhtar)

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