Breath fresh: An Awareness campaign by BA Journalism students
For almost 1.5 years the residents of Hennur, Narayanapura and Kothanur have been witnessing road menace in their localities. The roads have turned into a dust bowl. The dug up roads to lay pipes haven’t been repaired and the prolonged exposure to dust and pollution has invited a lot of health concerns. The Jayantians’ decided to take a step to create awareness. Final year BA JPENG students organized a voluntary ‘free mask distribution campaign’ to create awareness on the seriousness of the issue on February 7, 2020; in the tri-junction of K.Narayanapura Cross. The news about the campaign was published in 15 newspapers and TV channels in Kannada, English, Malayalam, Marathi and Hindi for seven continuous days.
During this initiative students interacted with shopkeepers, vegetable vendors and bakery owners. Majority of them reported a drop in their business due to dust and the inability to display the products due to dusty air. Security guards of the nearby apartments and other offices were on the view that a single mask is insufficient to them and such initiatives by students are highly beneficial to them due to the nature of their job.
The campaign also intended to build a positive attitude towards wearing a mask, this awareness campaign aimed by students enhanced a positive attitude. Students of Journalism from Kristu Jayanti College, Autonomous saved their pocket money to help people around K.Narayanapura beat air pollution by supplying masks. Their independent efforts are really commendable to empower the pedestrians, students, auto drivers and the shopkeepers who are exposed to air pollution.
The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little Extra!!! And Kristu Jayanti College always goes the extra mile to make its students into socially responsible citizens and this initiative is proof of it.