Sharmila Chandra | March, 2002

One day a 12-year-old student in Varanasi went around to her neighbors and asked them not to throw their garbage onto the road. "But where can we dump it?," they asked. The local authorities hadn't provided garbage bins.

Undaunted, Gargi and her 14-year-old brother devoted several days to digging a deep pit in an open field opposite their house - and then suggested that the neighbours could dump their daily garbage into this.

The neighbourhood now bears a much cleaner appearance. Pigs and stray dogs have moved elsewhere, with fewer mosquitoes.

The cleanup idea was born in Gargi's mind during special environmental classes that she attends at Tulsi Vidya Niketan School in the holy city. The focus is pollution of the nearby River Ganga (Ganges) and how kids can really make a difference. Several students have taken the lead in cleaning up their neighbourhoods, draining accumulated rainwater, and planting saplings in fields and parks.

This Varanasi student is addressing an environmental conclave held recently at Tulsi Ghat

Says Tina Bhattacharjee, one of the two teachers who lead environmental studies classes: "These children love the Ganga and feel extremely anguished when told about the high pollution levels. We often take them to the ghats - and also give them practical training on how to test the water for pollutants, at the Swatcha Ganga Laboratory at Tulsi Ghat.

"Seeing colonies of fecal coliform, and learning about the disease- causing potential of dirty water has a huge impact on the children," says Bhattacharjee. The students then convey their new understanding about personal and social hygiene back to their homes as well as their neighbourhoods.

One group is now planning to visit dyeing operations in the city and learn about their impact on the Ganga.

A dream come true
Environmental education in schools gives new meaning to the original dream of Dr. Veer Bhadra Mishra and his friends at the Sankat Mochan Foundation (SMF). Tulsi Vidya Niketan School was established in 1970 by the Foundation. The environmental studies were introduced in 1993 at the behest of Dr. Mishra as another important factor in the campaign to clean the Ganga.

Explains Principal Tara Mehrotra: "The curriculum was drawn up in consultation with Prof. Mishra, two other engineering professors of Benaras Hindu University and other teachers of the school. Tina Bhattacharjee and Sanjukta Ratha were specially trained to teach the subject by two visiting Swedish volunteers at SMF. The response from the students and guardians has been encouraging."

The environmental curriculum consists of teaching basic concepts about personal hygiene, and a study of the environment around the child's home and school.

It then tries to tackle bigger issues like river pollution. The main activity is to spread awareness among those who depend on the Ganga either for their livelihood-from boatmen to priests of various temples along the banks; children who dive into the water to fish out coins thrown by pilgrims, as well as the pundas (religious guides) at the ghats.

Says nine-year-old Dev Mishra: "I love these classes. I used to blindly call the Ganga my mother and yet used to dirty it. When teacher told me all about it, I became very conscious and even argued with my parents not to throw rotting flowers and other wastes into the river."

Persuading the media

	Environmental workshops for students are being held regularly in Varanasi

Some students emerge with highly useful suggestions.

One idea was to persuade local media to publish articles about city environmental problems and to how to deal with them. Nikesh Anand, a senior student, took the initiative and was crowned by partial success. Says he: "We also conducted a survey on how pollutants from the sari-making industry were being discharged into the Ganga without any treatment. We have the report but the officials - notorious for their apathy - are not interested in reading it."

When Sriparna of class 12 visited a ghat recently with her parents she noticed that some poor people from a nearby village were about to consign the dead body of a relative into the Ganga. She rushed over, and asked them to cremate the body first.

They replied that they could not afford the cost of wood and other materials needed for a proper cremation. Sriparna remembered what her teacher had said about the nearby electric crematorium that charged only about eighty rupees (about two dollars). The villagers were grateful for the information and proceeded to the facility.

Another class drew up a questionnaire in which each student would obtain answers from 10 neighbours. The questions dealt with the residents' attitudes about the lack of cleanliness and hygiene in their city, and the high levels of air and water pollution. It also asked them to share ideas on how to improve the situation.

The replies were then discussed in class, and the students are implementing workable ideas. This includes trying to convince women who wash clothes in the Ganga to use 'reh'-an alkali-based oil that cleans without polluting.

The kids also participated in a human chain that marked World Water Day, organized by SMF to draw attention to the pollution of the Ganga.

So what lies ahead for Gargi, Dev Mishra and many others like them?

The young citizens of Varanasi are demanding a clean Ganga

Some teachers feel that curriculum pressures in high school and beyond will prevent most students from transforming their environmental interest into a passion or profession. The school system does not offer environmental education as a separate subject, to be graded.

Some think this might be a blessing in disguise. "As long as the study of the environment and pollution remains outside the school system, one can depend on children getting involved in public action on these issues. Such hopes might fade the moment these questions are absorbed by the system," says one commentator.

Sharmila Chandra is a freelance writer based in New Delhi