LUCKNOW: Narendra Dev was a leprosy patient who would beg for money to survive through the day. Sitting at odd corners of the city, he would consider the disease and his begging, the way of life chosen for him from God.Sunday was, however, different for him as D ev along with 16 other people, all of whom used to be beggars , volunteered to clean a section of the river Gomti.The group of 17 beggars took out around 10 quintals of plastic waste from the river at the Chhath puja ghat along Laxman Mela ground and will continue to clean the river every Sunday.The group is part of a programme aimed to end beggary run by research scholar Sharad Patel. Known as Badlaav, it works on rehabilitation of beggars to provide them livelihood and bring them into the mainstream.On Sunday, the group of 17 formed a human chain, dug out waste from the river with shovels, brooms and wicker baskets and piled the dump of garbage for Lucknow Municipal Corporation to clear on Monday."It is our endeavour to clean the river and since we have formed a rehabilitation service for beggars, we made a proper line-up of service for the river's cleanliness. Once we are able to completely clear the ghat's mess, we will take to some other section of the ghats that require cleaning and make those who used to beg out on the streets realise what part they play in society," said Patel.