Pune youth take oath and celebrate Green Diwali

To make people aware that Diwali festival is not just about bursting noisy firecrackers, Pune-based youth organisation ‘Youth to Youth’ organised a ‘Go Green’ campaign on the Fergusson College (FC) Road during the festive days in Pune.

The organisation aims to help recognise the true spirit of youth and direct young energy towards constructive and creative social projects that leads to individual growth and enrichment. 

One of the key people behind the campaign, Ameya Jagtap, said, “We created awareness among the youth through the sign up campaign, word-of-mouth and a film based on the theme. The sign up campaign was about leaving your colourful palm impression on the ‘Green Wall’ and take a commitment to celebrate a clean, green and pollution-free Diwali.”   

A student of Symbiosis High School, Tanaya Joshi, who took a pledge, said, “I got to know about this campaign from my friend who is a member of Youth to Youth. I made sure to not burst fire crackers this Diwali in order to do some good to the environment from my side.”

“We gave away plants to the pedestrians and briefed them about our initiative and requested them to join us by leaving their colourful imprint on the wall. I have designed t-shirts and banners for this campaign and I have tried to get the point across to people in the most simplified way,” said Rucha Bhandare,  co-coordinator and graphic designer for the campaign.

Another city student, Alpana Kulkarni, who also attended the sign up said, “It’s a very good initiative and it’s more meaningful because it is by youngsters. I hope to see more such initiatives from the organisation so that we can make our city more eco-friendly.”

As part of the campaign, Kaustubh Jambholkar and Sagar Mujumdar played guitars on the city streets to develop enthusiasm among the people. “Our aim was to get people together and develop a spirit of togetherness because only then we can tackle such issues effectively.”