Mangaluru: The NSS unit of Car Street Government First Grade College has adopted two wards in Konaje Gram Panchayat limits and is striving to create a model village in the next three years.

Be it cultivating paddy on the fields that have been left fallow or creating awareness on conservation of water, the ill effects of plastic or use of solar energy, the students have been visiting the households to create awareness.

In the first phase, the students had initiated paddy cultivation on fields that were left fallow for the last 20 years. The paddy fields of Annarepalu Dharanendra Shettigar, Chandra Shettigar, Padmanabha Shettigar and Venkateshwara Bhat at Purushakodi, Bakimaru and Gattimoole had remained unused for the last several years.

As a part of NSS activities for the academic year, 140 NSS students of the college decided to cultivate paddy on the fields that were left fallow, under the guidance of lecturers, Guddapalu residents and Manohar Shetty of Raitha Sangha.

The paddy saplings were planted in the month of October.

After planting, the students were visiting the field every week to remove the weeds, and spray insecticides.

Now, as a part of seven-day special NSS camp from December 28 to January 3, the students have harvested the paddy cultivated by them. They will complete the process of threshing the paddy soon.

In addition to paddy cultivation, the students are engaged in creating awareness on vermi compost unit and pipe compost units at Annarepalu, Bakimaru, Purushakodi and Gattimoole.

On a pilot basis, about 25 pipe compost units will be installed in the households.

The NSS wing of the college wishes to install vermi compost and pipe compost units in each and every household in the two adopted wards, to ensure that the waste is converted into manure and not dumped haphazardly, thus leading to a menace.

The students have also planted 150 fruit-bearing plants on two acres of land under Social Forestry programme at Koppala.The students have watered the plants every week. Further, SHGs have been formed in the adopted villages.

60 percolation pits to conserve water and increase the groundwater table.

Jana Shikshana Trust directors Sheena Shetty and Krishna Moolya have motivated the NSS students to create awareness on the ill effects of the use of plastics, use of solar energy and also on the conservation of water among the villagers.

The trust has initiated a move to urge the residents not to dump plastic waste, instead clean and store it for recycling.

The NSS unit has also identified three lakes and Madaga for rejuvenation in the future. The activities are being carried out under the guidance of camp officer Prof Jeffry Rodrigues and Dr Naveen.

Dr Naveen said, “Paddy has been cultivated on four-and-a-half acres of land. It gave a new experience for the students as well. The community-based activities of the NSS unit will be continued for three years. The students have visited 200 houses and have created awareness on ill effects of plastic use, consumption of alcohol, the uses of solar energy and so on.”