DOON-BASED HERITAGE GROUP ORGANIZES WORKSHOPS ON RIVERS ON WORLD HERITAGE DAY

Dehradun based heritage walks group Been There, Doon That? marked the World Heritage Day today by organizing unique workshops in schools of Haridwar and Rishikesh.

The workshops, attended by over 600 students of classes VIth-IXth used innovative communication strategies like puppetry and storytelling to raise awareness about water pollution and natural heritage. Puppeteer Ramlal Bhatt engaged the students of DSB School, Rishikesh in a conversation over the river Ganga and asked them their opinions on its cleanliness. While interacting with the students of Whizzkid International School at Haridwar, he used a giant puppet to suggest the dangers of water pollution and discussed the ways in which the students can prevent this.

“Rivers are a part of our heritage and very small steps like giving up the use of polythene bags can save our rivers in the long rub”, Mr. Bhatt said.

Been There, Doon That? founder Lokesh Ohri said that such activities go a long way in educating students about natural heritage and one must begin efforts towards river regeneration and heritage preservation by reaching out to students at a young age. “One must catch the students young and make them a party to heritage conservation and make them more aware about tangible and intangible heritage”, he said.