As part of the Mela with a Message, Swachh Kanwad Mela initiative, blessed, inspired and led by HH Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, carried out with the dedication of GIWA, GAP and DSF volunteers coming together, there were regular puppet and street theatre shows being performed to raise awareness on keeping our sacred pilgrimage sites, our villages and our communities free from open defecation and pollution. DSF offered regular medical camps and threated hundreds of yatris along the yatra route with basic medical counseling, treatment and care. DSF also offered many messages on public health such as the use of toilets, washing hands, cutting our finger nails, adequate personal dental care, etc to spread and share the message of public health and hygiene with the masses of yatris, a vast majority who travel from remote and rural parts of Northern India to offer sacred Ganga water to Lord Shiva at the famous Neelkanth temple.
DSF also inspired pledges for tree plantation and watershed creation, such as ponds and lakes, so that each pilgrim was reminded that if they had come to Nature, the beautiful, lush forests of the Himalayas, and the banks of Mother Ganga, they should ensure they do their part to protect and preserve it.