Bhubaneswar: When activists of the Congress and the BJP were burning tyres here to enforce their strike call, a group of professionals took the onus of cleaning the debris left on the roads.

A group of 35 people roamed the city and did the cleaning job on Wednesday. They doused the burning tyres as well.

"The cleanliness drive was conducted to prevent air pollution. Though police disperse the protesters, the tyres often continue to emit smoke. So, we decided to start the drive during the strike," said chairman of Sankalap, a non-governmental organisation, Santosh Sethi, who holds a masters degree in history from Utkal University.

The clean brigade included advocates, teachers and other employees of private companies. The organisation has been active since 2011 and undertake welfare programmes in the slums. However, it has recently decided to start cleanliness drive.

"At first, we had decided to conduct a cleanliness drive at the Baramunda bus terminal. But while reaching there, we found burning tyres along many stretches. So, we immediately decided to clear the mess and subsequently travelled to various major traffic intersections in the city," said Prasant Kumar Guru, a member and lawyer by profession.

The members also said they came across protesters, who threatened them not to interfere with their work. "We are threatened not to take away the flags of the political parties during the drive. But, we are thankful to the police who co-operated with us," said Asish Kumar Pani, a teacher. The organisation also claimed to have conducted similar drives in Rourkela, Sambalpur, Puri, Jharsuguda and Berhampur.

The police hailed the efforts of the group members and said it was a rare sight of volunteers working during such protests.

"Though we have deployed adequate police personnel at all major traffic intersections, our job was to control law and order. But, this group not only helped us in dousing the burning tyres, but also removed those from roads," said a police official.