Nanjangud: As part of the Kannada Rajyotsava celebrations, members of the Yuva Brigade organised a cleanliness drive along the Kapila River and at the bathing ghat beside Mallanamoole Mutt.

The drive began at 6.30 am on Sunday, with more than 30 young volunteers taking part. They first cleared the overgrown vegetation that had completely covered the stone steps leading to the river.

As the bushes and weeds were removed, nearly 50 metres of the staircase, which had remained hidden for several years, came into view. The cleaning work continued until 2 pm. Volunteers also entered the river and removed accumulated waste, including old clothes, plastic waste, broken pots, utensils and sludge. Nearly two tractor-loads of waste were cleared from the river, cleaning up both the riverbank and the bathing ghat.

Appreciating the volunteers’ efforts to restore the long-hidden stone staircase, Sri Immadi Siddalinga Swamiji of Mallanamoole Mutt arranged refreshments and meals for them on behalf of the mutt. He also visited the riverbank, blessed the volunteers and commended them for their dedication and hard work.

Yuva Brigade Co-ordinator Chandrashekhar and members Kishore, Ravi Shastri, Girish, Sunil, Rangaswamy, Prajwal, Pranam, Mohan, Lohith, Srikanth, Ravi Sadashiva, Shilpa, Kusuma, Gautham, Chandan, Shashank, Mahadeva, Ravi, Nirupam Patel, Sharath Chandra, Kushal, Vikhyath Surya, Rakesh Prajapati, Dharma, Trishika, Neelagreeva and others took part in the drive.