School students craft rakhis with social messages

Siliguri: This year’s Rakhi Bandhan festival in Siliguri is being marked by a unique and environmentally conscious initiative. A social organisation has engaged local school students in crafting rakhis from various household materials as a means of spreading environmental awareness.

The rakhis, made from items like art paper, cardboard, dal and paddy, are designed to convey important messages such as plant trees, save lives, donate blood, stop child marriage, women empowerment, among others.

These handmade rakhis will be worn by the public on the day of Rakhi Bandhan, celebrating not only the traditional bond of brotherhood but also reinforcing the message of environmental stewardship.

Rakesh Dutta, president of the organisation, said: “Students have been working on these rakhis for the past month during their free time.

We helped them in making these rakhis. We want to spread social messages through the new generation, therefore, we have chosen school students for this work. They were happy after making these rakhis.”

There are about 50 students who have crafted around 500 rakhis within a month near Hatiyadanga area adjacent to Siliguri. Anima Mandal, a student of Class IX, said: “I loved to craft these rakhis.

We wrote different messages and we will tie these rakhis to pedestrians in different areas of the city.”

Srabanti Dev, a student of class V highlighted specific messages such as ‘one tree is one life’ and ‘always let the ambulance go first.’

Priya Saha, a student of class VI reflected personal satisfaction of making these rakhis, expressing joy in

participating in this

meaningful initiative.

The project not only fosters creativity among the students but also promotes critical awareness of environmental issues through the festival.