Children of the Vallakkadavu Lower Primary School here gave an interesting turn to Gandhi Jayanti celebrations by organising a ‘human chain’ urging authorities to clean up the Parvathi Puthanar passing by their school and to find a solution to the street dog problem.
The children, holding banners and pictures of children bitten by dogs in different parts of the State, lined up on the road leading from Vallakkadavu to the Ponnara Sreedhar bridge from 10.15 a.m. even as a brief function to felicitate them and to take forward their demand began at the venue of their demonstration.
School headmistress M. Rasheeda and school parent-teachers’ association president Nazeer said the idea of the ‘human chain’ came because of the stench that emanated from the Parvathi Puthanar and the street dog menace in the area owing to dumping of waste, mostly from hotels, by persons from distant places.
Addressing the gathering, councillor Shajitha Nazar said the local level developments were getting hampered by absence of support from the State departments. Efforts were on to install proper drainage lines in the ward so that drains that remain open to the Parvathi Puthanar are removed.
The organisers felicitated Air India Nagar Residents’ Association president Ashiq, who had taken the initiative to clean up the road, which is one of those leading to the international airport, and install lights in the area to prevent dumping of waste in the area during night.
Responding to the felicitation, Mr. Ashiq said he and other members of the residents’ association had a tough time checking waste dumping as this happened mostly under the cover of darkness. They had to maintain night time vigil and could check the menace only after catching many who brought auto loads of waste.
Vallakkadavu LP School manager Ismail Kutty and Vallakkadavu Jama-Ath managing committee president Saifudeen Haji offered felicitations.
