According to civic officials, many volunteers from Dr Nanasaheb Dharmadhikari Pratishthan, Revdanda, joined hands with NMMC sanitation workers, NSS students, NGOs, and local residents
The drive began at 7 am, even as steady downpours soaked the participants. Pic/Special Arrangement by Amarjeet Singh
Incessant rain on Sunday morning did not deter a large number of citizens, volunteers, and municipal staff from stepping onto the Sion-Panvel Highway and the Thane-Belapur Road to take part in a mega cleanliness drive. The effort, part of the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ campaign, turned the city’s busiest highways into corridors of civic action and community participation.
The drive began at 7 am, even as steady downpours soaked the participants.
According to civic officials, many volunteers from Dr Nanasaheb Dharmadhikari Pratishthan, Revdanda, joined hands with NMMC sanitation workers, NSS students, NGOs, and local residents. Armed with brooms, bin bags, and even umbrellas and raincoats, the groups cleared stretches of both arterial highways of litter, plastic bottles, wrappers, and wild overgrowth.
Additional Commissioner Sunil Pawar, who joined volunteers at Uran Phata, lauded the turnout. “Cleanliness requires both personal responsibility and collective action. Seeing thousands of citizens, especially Dharmadhikari Pratishthan members, work selflessly despite heavy rain reflects the commitment of Navi Mumbai residents,” he said.
The work was systematic: volunteers were divided into groups and allotted specific stretches from Vashi through Turbhe, Sanpada, Juinagar, Nerul, and Belapur along the Sion-Panvel Highway, as well as Turbhe to Digha on the Thane-Belapur Road. Teams trimmed roadside shrubs, removed silt from stormwater inlets, and cleared plastic waste around bus stops --spots where littering is rampant.
“The idea is not just to clean but to set an example. If so many people can come out in heavy rain, citizens should think twice before throwing a wrapper on the road,” said a civic official.
Civic Commissioner Dr Kailas Shinde said the turnout demonstrated the city’s collective willpower.
“Navi Mumbai has consistently ranked among the cleanest cities in the country. This is not possible without people’s involvement. Such drives reaffirm that citizens are partners in maintaining this reputation,” he said, urging more residents to join the concluding cleanliness activities on October 2.
Despite heavy rainfall, the mega drive underscored a growing civic movement -- that cleanliness is not just an official responsibility, but a shared cultural value.
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