SHILLONG: Even as Shillong, proudly referred to as the ‘Scotland of the East’, seems to be losing some of its old charm, the Jiva team has, over the past six years, been silently working towards keeping the city clean and green.
Besides Khyndai Lad, the Jiva team, even in the midst of a pandemic, is spreading its wings to other parts of the city, cleaning the road leading to the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium and places like the Shillong Golf Course.
The man behind the initiative is a prominent city businessman and owner of Jiva Hospitality, Jiwat Vasvani, fondly called Bablu.
While Bablu’s love for nature and plants since childhood has driven him to kick-start the endeavour, the man has interestingly created the Jiva team from the staff who are working with him in his business venture.
The cleaning drill was completed at Khyndai Lad on Thursday morning as well, with the team also catering to the plants at the junction.
Talking about his initiative, Bablu said that he started the campaign after he felt the need to maintain the beauty of the city and keep it clean.
“We are not doing this out of compulsion. It is a call from within, which is why we are doing this,” he said.
Asked if the team faced any issues during the pandemic, he said that despite encountering challenges, we are fortunate that people have come forward to support the initiative.
“But my team members are the main force for continuing this initiative,” he said.
Even though the team is yet to get any financial assistance from the government, Bablu said he was grateful to the team of the Shillong Municipal Board and the Deputy Commissioner’s Office for their support.
Meanwhile, he also suggested hoteliers in the city to come forward and take the responsibility of cleaning and maintaining the greenery of their particular lane where their hotels are situated.
It may be mentioned that the East Khasi Hills district administration had felicitated Bablu for his role in keeping Khyndai Lad clean.