Mangaluru: For nine days, Nagaraj Raghav Anchan will walk nearly 110 km along the highway from Sampaje to BC Road, picking up waste in the area, speak to communities and understand why garbage continues to find its way onto the highway.Anchan, project manager with Hasiru Dala, will undertake the Swachha Dandayatre, an environmental awareness walk from Oct 9 to 17. The initiative aims to promote responsible waste management, cleaner roads and greater community participation in keeping public spaces clean.Beginning each day at 6am, walking and cleaning until 7pm, Anchan will carry bags and gloves for waste collection. People will be encouraged to join the cleanup drive. The collected waste will be segregated and handed over to the respective gram panchayats for disposal.“This is not just a cleanliness drive. We are seeing waste being dumped along the national highway and want to understand why this is happening. I will interact with local residents and shopkeepers and try to identify practical solutions. He will also be distributing cloth bags prepared by women through Sooji Mallige programme of Hasiru Dala,” Anchan said.The campaign, supported by the SBI Foundation, will involve local communities, students, voluntary organisations and public. The Dakshina Kannada ZP is also supporting the initiative.Each day, from 1pm to 3pm, has been set aside for visits to gram panchayats along the route. Anchan will document the activities, including the quantity of waste collected, through a Google Form. The data is expected to help build a clearer picture of roadside waste generation and disposal practices.He said the focus will be on both sides of the highway. “Though the walking distance is about 110 km, I will be cleaning both stretches of the road. The initiative has already received support from the Lions Club, JCI, Sanjeevini Okkootas, Vishwa Tulu Sangha and gram panchayats. We hope school and college students will join us,” he said.This is not Anchan’s first long-distance environmental walk. Last Oct, in an effort to understand waste-management systems in coastal Karnataka, he undertook a solo walk from Karwar to Mangaluru, covering around 300 km along the national highway and coastline. This time, he hopes the nine-day journey will go beyond collecting garbage and help identify gaps in the waste-management system. If time permits, Anchan said, he may extend the walk up to Mulki.BoxSwacch Dandayatra routeOct 9: Sampaje to AranthoduOct 10: Aranthodu to SulliaOct 11: Sullia to JalsoorOct 12: Jalsoor to KavuOct 13: Kavu to PutturOct 14: Puttur to ManiOct 15: Mani to KalladkaOct 16: Kalladka to BC RoadOct 17: BC Road to Mangaluru