Officials and staff of SRN Steel Company embarked on a massive cleansing exercise at Brufut on Sunday.
The exercise was aimed at ensuring clean neighborhood, promoting environmental sanity, good health and inculcating good environmental practices amongst the people.
Sanjay Sharma, CEO/ Managing Director of SRN Steel disclosed that the initiative was inspired by the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and one Fatou Njie, a Gambian environmentalist, who have since taken up the initiative. Sharma called on all and sundry to clean up their environment, noting that such inspiration will go a long way to ensuring cleaner environment within the neighborhood of Brufut as well motivate other companies and neighborhoodsto emulate such environmental best practices.
He continues to state that the cleansing exercise was also part of SRN Steels’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to the Gambian society, noting that the company has manufactured 10 dustbins that will be strategically placed at different junctions within the neighborhood meant to drastically reduce littering on the streets of Brufut.
SRN Steels Company MD further observed that Gambians should proactively be involved in weekly or monthly cleansing exercises within their neighborhood with the view to keeping the environment clean, noting that SRN will continue with the initiative under the theme “Clean Neighborhood Campaign” meant to inspire otherneighborhoods to emulate such a worthy initiative.
“Our mission is not only to make profit but equally to contribute to the socio-economic wellbeing of the Gambian people. We are with the conviction that if we have a clean neighborhood, the health and wellbeing of the people will be improved and Government will spend less on importedmedication,” Sanjay Sharma told this medium. He added: “We are challenging other companies, organisations and institutions to periodically clean their environment. We are also calling on all Gambians to set aside specific dates for cleaning exercises within their neighborhoods with a view to ensuring sanity and good health for the people.”
The MD of SRN Steels also expressed his company’s resolve to collect all scrap and abandoned vehicles on roadsides and street corners across the country, adding that the company have the capacity and resources to do such a work upon gaining approval from the Government. He explained that the company has a manufacturing plant for iron rods and oxygen.
Isatou Jobe, an elderly woman of the neighborhood, who participated in the exercise, hailed the initiative of SRN Steels Company, noting that clean environment is next to healthy environment and long life for the people.
She called on other neighborhoods within Brufut to embrace the initiative and work towards cleaning their environment, arguing that Government and local governments cannot do all, hence the significance in people taking ownership of thecleanliness of their neighborhoods.