Andhra Pradesh's KL Deemed-to-be University has been nationally acclaimed for its efficient Swachh Bharat programme carried out by its National Service Scheme (NSS) Cell, a government body under the Ministry of Youth Affairs. KLU students actively participated in this programme, The New Indian Express reported. Under the NSS, a total of twelve villages in the state, housing over 7,000 people, were adopted by the university with an aim to clean its public infrastructures such as bus stands, government schools and panchayat offices.
Despite the constraints of the pandemic, over 1,000 members from the university participated in the cleanliness drive along with over 900 students from the departments of MBA, BBA, CSE, Law and Agriculture. Around 100 faculty and management members also contributed to the cause. All the activities were carried out in accordance with the government-mandated COVID safety protocol.
In addition to the drive, KL NSS volunteers also conducted door-to-door awareness programmes in all the selected villages on effective waste management systems and the impact of poor plastic disposal on nature. The adopted villages include Pedapalem, Pathuru, Revendrapadu, Kolanukonda, Vaddeswaram, Gundimeda, Chirravuru, Ramachandrapuram, Srungarapuram, Mellempudi, Ippatam and Atmakur in Guntur district.
The budget for this programme was supported by the university and the Ministry of Youth Affairs under the NSS scheme. In a press release issued on March 3, Vice-Chancellor GP Saradhi Varma applauded the efforts of the volunteers towards the implementation of the project. He said, "Our main objective, under the Clean India Initiative, was aimed at improving rural sanitation, eliminating the practice of open defecation and to increase the number of households participating in consistent cleaning practices."
