WB: Plogger Ripu Daman Bevli comes to Kolkata under 'Run to Make India Litter Free' mission

Country's first plogger, Ripu Daman Bevli, is in Kolkata today under his mission 'Run To Make India Litter Free' to clean up the city. The young plogger will be running and cleaning as many as 50 cities across India.

Speaking to ANI, Daman said, "We chose Kolkata for this month because during the festivity, people after offering prayers to Goddess Durga litter while having food. We are cleaning up the pandals to send out a message among the people to stop littering."

"Tomorrow, we are going to Kharagpur and will culminate our run in Delhi on November 3. We do not want people to clean up, we want people to be so responsible that they stop littering. Let us not crib, we all are also responsible for the litter," he added.

Plogging is a combination of jogging with picking up litter. As a workout, it provides variation in body movements by adding bending, squatting and stretching to the main action of running, hiking, or walking.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat' also lauded Bevli for his unique effort to clean up the country and creating awareness about the importance of sanitation among the masses. "Ripu Daman Bevli is taking a unique initiative. He is doing plogging. It was a new word for me when I first heard it. Plogging has been used in foreign countries but in India, Ripu Daman ji has made it quite popular."

The Prime Minister had also urged Daman and to explain the concept of ploggoing to the listeners during the radio show.