Mangaluru : Volunteers of Swachh Mangaluru, a campaign being undertaken every Sunday by Ramakrishna Mission, Mangaluru, cleaned the surroundings of Mangaladevi Temple.

Mangaladevi Temple committee managing trustee Ramanath Hegde inaugurated the drive in the presence of Ramakrishna Mission, Mangaluru head Swami Jitakamananda, Ganesh Karnik, MLC, and Sriram Transport Finance official Sharat Chandra.

Employees of Sriram Transport Finance, members of Yuva Brigade, devotees of the Mission and other volunteers participated in the drive. The volunteers initially cleaned Mangaladevi Temple Road and thereafter ventured into the temple premises. Garbage heaped in a corner of the temple was cleared. The name board of the temple put up by Archaeological Survey of India was repainted along with name boards of several roads and places in the locality.

They also cleaned the footpath along Mangaladevi Temple Road which was littered and also had logs of fallen trees. Direction and sign boards, which were not serving the purpose, were cleaned and repainted before placing them at proper locations.

The volunteers distributed handbills to the public to create awareness about cleanliness.

Ramakrishna Mission would give the Swachh Mangaluru mission a break for about eight weeks due to the onset of monsoon. During this time, the ashram would focus more on conducting competitions for school and college students thus creating awareness among the younger generation about Swachh Bharath.

The drive is a part of the 40 weeks cleanliness drive being organised by the Ramakrishna Mission and initiated on February 1.