Around 75 boys and girls -- many in green t-shirts, others wearing karate Gi -- gathered at Bangabandhu Chattar in Savar’s Muktimor area, that too on a Friday morning. For the average Joe, yesterday was just another regular Friday. No classes, no work, a day for people to ignore their problems and relax. Not for them.

Why were these youngsters sacrificing their peaceful sleep, that too on a holiday? To clean up Savar.

These young people, mostly students, are members of the voluntary organisation BD Clean’s Savar unit, and they are on a mission to make their surroundings spotless.

They started off by organising a rally to inform citizens about how to get a pollution free Savar, and requested residents not to  litter.

But they were not all talk and no action. Setting a commendable example, these youngsters cleaned up 800-metre stretch of a road from Muktirmor to Thana Ghat area, starting at 9:15am and finishing at 12:15pm.

“We are mainly doing this to raise awareness among people to keep Savar clean,” said Alamin Mridha, member of BD Clean’s (Savar unit) team panel and a student of Dhamrai Govt College.

“We have been conducting these cleaning drives every Friday since October 18, and we will continue to do so,” Alamin said.

“We are getting a great response from people of all walks of life, including local representatives. Savar municipal authority provides us with a garbage dumping vehicle every week,” he said.

Parvin Islam, environment affairs secretary of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, who was present during the cleaning drive, said Savar is quite polluted as people dump garbage here and there. Seeing such an initiative will incentivise everyone to be more aware about garbage dumping.

Contacted, Abdul Goni, Savar municipality mayor, said, “It is a great initiative. I was surprised when they shared their views and ideas with me, and we are supporting them. The drives will surely raise awareness among people.”