Keep Korang Clean 2022

SATURDAY, 26th FEBRUARY 2022

The pollution of Korang River 22 kms in length is of continuing concern as it flows into Rawal Lake, it is contaminated by effluent from abbadis and factories without septic tanks along its course. The water principal in Rawal Lake is the source of drinking water for the population of Rawalpindi.

According to Rawalpindi Medical University, in 2019, Pakistan was the second worse affected hepatitis country in the world, and thousands of patients are added every year with waterborne diseases.

Concerned with the pollution of the water and waste along the shore of Korang River, a group of environmentalists, KKAWF initiated a clean-up drive of the Korang River in 2015. Keep Korang Clean 2 was organized in 2020 with over 200 students from many public and private schools.

In continuation of their efforts to draw attention to the quality of water flowing into Rawal Dam, KKAWF together with students of various schools from Islamabad, Banigala, and the local community once again joined hands to clean up the portion of the River just before its entry into Rawal Lake.

The aim was to keep the environment clean and to be able to promote water sports e.g. rowing – to engage youth living in the vicinity.

The event held at Banigala along the river, on Saturday, February 26, 2022, (10 am till 1-30 pm).

With the help of 40 volunteers supervisors and 240 students, accompanied by teachers / Tutors, local community, and the media, the participants will be collecting trash along two sides, 500 meters of the river bank. This 500 Meters area is located in a secure compound.

The objective was to create environment consciousness in girls and boys from Public and Private Schools with different social background to interact and share the common goal, which is to keep waters clean and not to litter.

The volunteers aged between 12 to 19 years. Each team will consist of 10 students, who picked garbage with sticks and gloves supplied by KKAWF, and put in garbage bags, and the cleaning operation lasted for two hour. It followed by brief speeches by Mrs. Cristina von Sperling Afridi (Chairperson KKAWF), Malik Amin Aslam (Federal Minister of Climate Change) who graced the occasion as Guest of Honour and Mr. Asad Hayauddin (Federal Secretary, Economic Affair Division). The Guest of Honour distributed the certificates and prizes to the winning team and also distributed prizes among the runner up team and the participants. Pehli Kiran School won the first prize while Ali Trust College was runner-up.

KKAWF distributed caps, T-shirts, gloves, spikes, masks and refreshments amongst the competitors. Walls provided ice cream while Tapal provided tea for all the participants. Tents and chairs were available for the comfort and protection of the participants. The CDA Staff and the sanitation staff also participated in the cleaning activity.

VENUE:

The participating school will gather at their designated places among the 12 stations on the venue. Each school will carry out cleaning activities around its allotted boundaries. Each station will be divided into 12 students, one supervisor, one teacher and a sanitary worker.