Most display their patriotic sentiments on occasions like the Republic Day or Independence Day. Mostly this is done by stocking up and displaying colourful tricolours.
But after the festivities are over, the flags are strewn across roads and some are dumped in gutters and dustbins - this is gross disrespect to national sentiment.
In the aftermath of the recent Republic Day celebrations, Mangesh Fadale, 25, a third year student of the Bachelor of Commerce course at Elphinstone College took it upon himself to do the clean up job.
Fadale went about with the task of collecting the discarded flags and stickers, which were scattered on the roads of Mumbai.
In all he collected more than 1,500 flags while walking with five bags from Gateway of India to Siddhivinayak Temple.
He started this practice after the Independence Day festivities in 2003 and has carried on the tradition ever since. “In 2003, after the celebrations in college, I saw flags strewn across the road and even in the dustbin. I felt disgusted at the sight,” said Fadale.
After reading up on the facts about the Indian flag, Fadale teamed up with college students and started a campaign called ‘Flag Respect Rally’. “We went to BMC schools and colleges, where we gave lectures about the meaning of a flag and how to respect it. Later we formed a group Vande Mataram Rashtra Pratham League in 2006,” added Fadale.
Initially the idealist zeal made many of Fadale’s friends join him in the drive, but slowly the zeal began to wear out. “This year, there were few volunteers, but I had to carry out the drive. However, due to these limitations I couldn’t collect all the flags. Secondly even after a ban on plastic flags, they are manufactured by industrial units. The government must look into this matter seriously,” added
Fadale.
He has preserved all the flags that he has duly collected this January.Besides spreading awareness about the tricolour, he is also working to spread the message of preventing sexually transmitted diseases and discouraging female foeticide.
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