Although playing with crackers can be fun, they do pose some problems.  Every year during holidays and festivals, people get hurt from cracker incidents.  What's more, cracker wrappers are usually not disposed of and  pollute our environment.  LEADer Anuj Kulkarni of Nutan College wanted to do his part in reducing cracker pollution.  He conducted "anti-cracker awareness" programs in 15 schools of Harihar, Davangere, and Chitradurga.  During these sessions he collected signatures from students who had pledged to not burst crackers during festival time.  Approximately 5, 600 student signatures were collected.  He even collaborated with the Karnataka Pollution Control Board to host an anti-crackers awareness program in his college.

Studies show that there has been a 10% decrease in pollution after festivals in Davangere.   His project received lots of local media attention. 

Anuj deserves special recognition for capitalizing on the opportunities presented in his project.  Whenever he visited schools to conduct anti-cracker awareness programs, he also collected old clothes and books from the students to redistribute to needy children. 

Anuj's project was showcased at Yuva Summit 2014.