Green Group Introduces Varanasi to an Eco Friendly Diwali

Residents of Sonarpura locality in Varanasi were in for a surprise when a band of rural women, all clad in green distributed earthen lamps on Thursday and earnestly appealed to the public to celebrate an eco-friendly Diwali. Meena Devi, the leader of the team of 15, all natives of Ramsipur village urged people to celebrate Diwali in an eco-friendly way with traditional earthen lamps as it not only will help keep the environment healthy but also generate employment in rural areas. The women also go from door to door and convince residents to stop using high decibel crackers as it not only pollutes the environment but also adversely affect children and elders. They also took an oath from children to celebrate eco-friendly Diwali. The women are the members of 'Green Group', an initiative undertaken by a group of students of Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith and other academic institutions, who formed -Hope Welfare Trust for the social cause with their own pocket money.   They encouraged rural women to come forward and form groups to fight social evils. Subsequently, Green Groups emerged which took up causes from making their village drug and liquor-free, to curbing the use of polythene bags as well as beautifying the villages and keeping them clean.