Amid severe waste management issues, three students, who recently cleared their Class XII (Indian School Certificate) exams, today set an example as they hit the streets of Kalimpong town and went on a cleaning spree.

The development comes at a time when the town is stinking, even as the municipality has not been able to lift garbage even since the dumping grounds at Bhalukhop near the town caught fire on 12 April. Villagers living near the grounds have barred the civic body from disposing of further waste there.

On the other hand, the common people are concerned about the garbage that has been piling up for a long time without a permanent solution in sight. The Municipality has assured solution in the form of an incinerator, which, however, is yet to see the light of day.

Shreya Sharon, Karma Tashi, and Sadhvawana Chettri, the trio, who will soon be leaving the town to pursue their higher studies in big cities, said they thought they would “do something” for society before they left.

They released a message in social networking sites and managed to gather more than 30 people who joined the clean-up drive today. “After our examinations, we wanted to do something for the town before we left for our college outside town, and the garbage in Kalimpong town was the best thing that we could do something about,” said Sharon, while Tashi added that they immediately uploaded the proposal in their personal social media pages.

“We did not expect such good response. We thought there would be around 10-15 people, but more than 30 showed up today, and we are very grateful to them,” Tashi said.

The team assembled at Mela Ground by 8 am and started the clean-up drive, while people joined in between at various locations. They wanted to clean three spots, but happened to clean around 10-13 such spots around the 10th Mile area up to the Main Road.

“The municipality supported us and provided us with gloves and masks, and most of the people from the town showed interest and supported us, as they provided with the necessary tools. We are so glad that it was a success. We would like to do a follow up soon,” said Sadhvawana Chettri.

The neatly packed garbage collected today will be taken away by the Municipality tomorrow to be dumped somewhere, it is learnt.