The 11th Daan Utsav takes off in Kolkata with a bouquet of “Giving” events

Daan Utsav, a people's initiative, is organised across India by individuals, establishments and non-government organisations, to involve society at large in donating for a cause or getting involved to spread awareness about various issues.

Some people donate money, some their time, some materials and some just love.

One can celebrate Daan Utsav the way one wants. Individuals do small acts of giving across the country. Corporate Houses organize volunteering and ‘Giving’ activities, with their employees and customers, NGOs organize awareness or fund-raising events, housing societies visit or invite orphanages or elderly homes or throw a party for their drivers, maids and watchmen. Schools and colleges encourage students to volunteer and many individuals, including celebrities, do their little bit in whatever way they can.

The early morning run organised in the heart of Kolkata was to sensitize the people about the harmful effects of the use of plastics and our need to dispose of the waste responsibly.

Later in the day, 1,350 children from various non-government organisations in  Kolkata and its suburbs visited Nicco Park for the Fun Day at Nicco Park.

Fifty differently-abled children were the special guests for the day.

Most of the children, who have never visited Kolkata, were from NGOs operating in the suburbs of Kolkata.

All the children pledged to collect plastic from around the area they lived in and bring it to Nicco Park to be disposed of by Garbage Free India (GFI).

On Thursday, Priyamvada Birla Aravind Eye Hospital organized a Free Eye Camp at Bansberia (Sampreeti Bhawan, Rudra Gali, Bansberia Municipality, Bansberia, Hooghly), where they conducted a Clinic.

One hundred patients had free cataract surgery at the hospital in Kolkata.

Same day, 600 children (from various NGOs) paid a visit to MP Birla Planetarium to catch a show.

On Friday, more than 400 handbags will be distributed among women, who, perhaps, cannot afford to buy one.

The ‘Bagful of Smiles’ event is expected to bring smiles and joy to women. 

The bags will be filled with hygiene and beauty products to make their Puja a beautiful occasion.

On Friday, a collection drive for the Bengal Network of People Living with AIDS will be held.

Under the Fistful of Joy programme, donors will be asked to contribute a fistful of rice/dal.

The aim this year will be to collect and distribute at least 10,000 kgs of rice and dal to people living with AIDS.

Further, new garments are being collected for distribution among them for Pujas.

On Saturday, 5 October 2019, rice, dal, provisions, clothes and hygiene products will be distributed among children and young adults of the Sree Guaranga Gaudiya Mission Sevasram.

The Sevasram takes care of 60 girls (6  to18 years of age) and provides them with shelter, education and an opportunity to learn vocational skills.

During the week, participating schools and building complexes, in association with Garbage Free India,  will work towards sensitizing people against plastic carry bags.

Plastic waste will be collected and recycled and disposed of responsibly.

Environment-friendly cloth bags will be distributed at various markets to encourage people to shift from plastic carry bags. 

The event is expected to reach out to at least 3,000 people.

The students of Anando  have planned out a week-long celebration of Daan Utsav.

The children will distribute saplings among their neighbours.

They will also sensitise their families and neighbours about the harmful effect of the use of plastic by distributing cloth bags to replace plastic bags.

Anando takes care of the education and activities of more than 40 children who live in slums around the school.

Various schools will celebrate Daan Utsav by collecting and distributing clothes, planting trees and conducting cleanliness drives around their schools.

Nearly 25 NGOs from the suburbs of Kolkata have also pledged to celebrate the Festival of Giving in their own way.

They will be organizing visits to hospitals to spend time with the elderly patients, planting trees around their institution, talking to their neighbors about the problems related to use of plastics, cleaning their neighborhood and conducting street plays to highlight the preservation of our environment and talk about communal harmony.

Daan Utsav Samman, an initiative by Birla Corporation Limited, will honor the significant ‘Giving’ initiatives among those organized by schools, housing societies and organizations in and around Kolkata, in the areas of Health & Hygiene, Education, Environment and Social Development.

More than 35 schools and 90 housing societies, apart from many NGOs and individuals, took part in last year’s celebration of Daan Utsav.