Broom in hand, US official cleans up Kolkata streets

Kolkata: An 11-year-old boy, Sujit Kumar, learnt the importance of keeping his city clean from US Consul-General Beth Payne on Saturday. Payne was seen cleaning up one of Kolkata’s busiest streets, where Kumar’s father Ravindra Kumar Singh runs a stall. Armed with a broom, Payne along with members of Calcutta Cleanup Campaign, including school students…

Calcutta CleanUp Campaign Day 2 !!!

“These protected buildings are at the mercy of callous citizens and an apathetic administration,” said Iftekhar Ahsan of Calcutta Walks, which takes tourists around the heritage zones, flanked by students from St Joseph’s College and some friends. “I saw the invite on Facebook. It’s about time something like this happened here,” said Kunal Lunawat, 21, down for his summer break from Yale.

Calcutta CleanUp Campaign Day 1

“We had feared resistance but were overwhelmed by the reaction of the residents. They supplied us ladders and knives whenever required. One resident said ‘Thank you bhai’,” said Iftekhar Ahsan of Calcutta Walks, who has planned to clean up the heritage areas next.