Mangaluru: Ramakrishna Mission, that has successfully completed three phases of Swachh Mangaluru Abhiyan, is geared up to launch the fourth involving 110 gram panchayats in Mangaluru and Bantwal taluks from November first week.

Besides expanding the abhiyan out of Mangaluru, the Mission will also conduct Swachh Manas (clean mind) programme in 100 schools in the city to create awareness among children, Mission secretary and Mangaluru Ramakrishna Mutt president Swami Jitakamanandaji told presspersons here on Wednesday.

He said that an one-day workshop was conducted on Wednesday for the representatives of gram panchayats in the Mutt as a prelude to launching the initiative starting November 3. Being conducted in association with the Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, the drive involves holding at least 1,000 cleanliness drives in the next 10 months by about 100 volunteers in each village.

He said Swachh Manas planned in 100 schools involving 100 students each will cover 10,000 in all. It aims at making them responsible citizens of the future, he said. Five monthly programmes of one hour each will be conducted in five months starting with talks on cleanliness, competitions on cleanliness, cleanliness drive, brainstorming session on cleanliness, involving bringing out workbooks, and finally valedictory wherein students will write down their experiences. There will also be weekly Sunday cleanliness drives in Mangaluru wherein about 200 volunteers will take up cleanliness work. They will also clean drains, distribute handbills, clean public toilets, renovate bus shelters, among others.

In addition to all these, about 60 groups will visit at least 50,000 houses in 10 months to undertake door-to-door awareness campaign on cleanliness. These groups, in turn, will visit households in the evenings and create awareness about garbage disposal, segregation of waste at source, home composting, among others. Union Minister of State for Drinking Water and Rural Sanitation Ramesh Jigajinagi will inaugurate Swachh Dakshina Kannada on November 3, while Ramakrishna Mutt Trustee Swami Muktidanandaji will inaugurate Swachh Manas programme on November 4. Also, Union Minister of State for Skill Development Anantkumar Hegde will flag off Swachh Mangaluru Abhiyan on November 5 at the auditorium of the Mutt in Mangaladevi. Abhiyan Convenor Swami Ekagamyananda, Zilla Panchayat Deputy Secretary N.R. Umesh, Mangaluru International Airport retired director M.R. Vasudeva, and others were present.

Mangaluru Ramakrishna Mission will launch an ambitious project of home composting covering 1,000 households around the Mutt located in Mangaladevi. Coinciding with Mission’s fourth phase of Swachh Mangaluru Abhiyan, the home composting mission aims at preventing any wet waste coming out of households. “We have set apart required budget for the project and have placed orders for earthen pots to be distributed to households,” said Swami Ekagamyananda, Convenor of Swachh Mangaluru.

He told that households participating in the initiative will pay Rs.500 to have a sense of responsibility and the Mission the balance Rs.1,000 for pots.

Households in Mangalanagar, Mulihithlu, Bolara, and Subhashnagar surrounding the Mutt will be involved in the initiative.