Lets Clean Ludhiana Foundation Trust (LCLF)
Lets Clean Ludhiana Foundation was established in 2014 by few aware residents living around Sidhwan Canal. They are industrialist, professionals, defense personals and housewives who decided to join hands and take up the mission to clean 16 kms stretch of Sidhwan Canal passing through the city which was gradually becoming a nullah. It was a dump yard for meat shops, construction companies, industrial waste, rags and waste products, colony garbage, astrological remedies and what not. The once beautiful canal started stinking and it was difficult to drive along or live in the nearby colonies.
When the administration couldn’t do much to resolve the issue these 8 residents started the mission bare handed and got down in the canal to clean it. In no time hundreds of nearby residents joined the movement and it was finally noticed by Times of India who extended support to take it to a conclusive end. A series of news coverage started on the bad state of affairs and the efforts of the volunteers to clean it when finally the Irrigation department got the heat and sanctioned a grant of 22 lacs to clean the canal bed. Tons of garbage was removed but soon thereafter the same practice started by public due to which it was decided that all bridges on the canal will be barricaded so that commuters can’t easily throw the garbage in the water. Volunteers of LCLF started patrolling the canal and use to photograph the miscreants who attempted to pollute the canal.
One by one 11 industrial houses of Ludhiana came forward to sponsor the barricading of bridges and in no time a grant of Rs. 50 lacs was received. Oswal Foundation, Bharti Foundation, Avon Cycles, Ludhiana Peddlers Club etc sponsored the barricading of all the 11 bridges on Sidhwan Canal and the garbage reduced significantly. Thereafter, the slums on one of the bridge side were shifted to a new accommodation, awareness was generated and a significant difference was observed.
There was another turning point when Mamta Ashoo the prominent councilor of Ludhiana Municipal Corporation took the lead and planned a green belt project of 4 kms with a cycling track along the canal. In this project even the sides of the canal were barricading, landscaping was done and a beautiful cycle track has been made. On the other side of the canal in BRS Nagar a beautiful long stretch of landscaping was done.
LCLF Team
1. Mridula Jain
2. Radhika Jaitwani
3. Maneet Dewan
4. Col J.S.Gill
5. Gulshan Arora
6. Dr Amandeep Singh Bains
7. Rakesh Singal
8. Deepinder Chahl