The negligence by humans towards the environment and lack of awareness about the plight about mother Earth, are the biggest threats for human race. Adverse climate change, increase in number of natural catastrophes, rising human afflictions are some of many disastrous outcomes that possess the potential to decimate us completely if we do not take dire steps to counter them and require our attention at the most basic level.

We should be thankful to handful of ascetic people who possess acute environmental awareness and are working to counter forthcoming threats. These visionaries are fighting against all odds to safeguard our Alma-mater and in-turn, the very crux of our society.

With a strong motivation to raise awareness among the youth, Lemon school of Entrepreneurship took an initiative to collect Nirmalyas on the occasion of Ganesh Visarjan at Futala Lake, Nagpur. A Lemon team of 15 newly joined cohorts, who aspire to become successful entrepreneurs, extended support to a renowned environment NGO, Green Vigil on Thursday, 15^th September. These volunteers fervently requested the citizens to immerse their Lord Ganesha idols in the artificial ponds created by Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC). I, being one among the 15 fresh lemon seeds also got the opportunity to co-ordinate this drive under the guidance of Mr. Kaustav Chatterjee. We tried to learn the entire process under Green Vigil’s guidance on 14^th so as to carry out this social drive smoothly on the concluding day. All of us gave the best attempt to convince the citizens not to pollute the vicinity and celebrate the festivals in an eco-friendly manner. Some of my colleagues even explained a few resilient citizens, how are these traditions generating pollution and how is traditional recycling done to rejig the traditions.

Apart from keeping the Lake and it’s surrounding ecosystem clean, we have learnt quite a few lessons in life. This ground-breaking experience has inculcated not only a sense of social responsibility but also the motivation to break the conventional beliefs of the society that are hampering its development. It has also helped us improve our communication skills and develop a strong perception on how to approach people. I have personally learnt a big lesson, on being polite and keeping composure while convincing others to follow the right path and not just blindly follow the improper traditions that are destroying the balance. Many of my colleagues even found several business opportunities as well as innovative solutions to further enhance the entire process. Ultimately, this initiative has helped us develop the most important attribute of empathy to become a successful entrepreneur. Having taken the first successful leap, we are now confident to take strides and work with full motivation for the betterment of the society.