A mossy sidewalk full of rocks, dirt, waste and unruly vegetation, unsurprisingly, turns into a site for people to dump more waste. And not too long ago, one such sidewalk existed in 8th cross road of ST Bed Layout in Koramangala, Bengaluru. Not anymore though – the area was cleaned up and beautified on September 15 under the ‘Adopt-a-Street' campaign.
An ongoing initiative by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in collaboration with citizen collective The Ugly Indian (TUI), it encourages people, organisations and corporates to take responsibility and clean up their own neighbourhood.
In ST Bed Layout for instance, over 40 residents and 15 pourakarmikas cleaned up the street under guidance of BBMP and TUI.
Adopt-a-Street ACTION today!
— theugly indian (@theuglyindian) September 15, 2019
Over 40 ST Bed residents + 15 BBMP staff cleaned 8th Cross ST Bed Koramangala, Blr today, protected 40 trees and fixed one HUGE chronic open garbage dump. All from 9-11am. A fun, productive morning. WELL DONE!@Randeep_Dev @BBMPCOMM #AdoptaStreetBBMP pic.twitter.com/OQOJZHsQ1s
What’s Adopt-a-Street?
A TUI representative said that the idea behind Adopt-a-Street was to shift the discourse from 'Citizens vs BBMP' to citizens supplementing the BBMP in its work.
Started in August, TUI has already worked with residents in Indiranagar, Richmond Town and Sadashivnagar Park. But it was only on September 14 that Randeep D, Additional Commissioner of BBMP, formally asked for residents to apply to participate in the initiative on Twitter.
If you are interested in being a part of #AdoptAStreetBBMP initiative, pls email at adoptastreetbbmp@gmail.com in the prescribed application format and you will hear from us. @BBMPCOMM @BBMP_MAYOR @theuglyindian pic.twitter.com/sIxgKoZkrp
— Randeep D (@Randeep_Dev) September 14, 2019
“Bengaluru belongs to all of us. We hope that more groups and organisations come forward and start participating in this initiative,” Randeep tells TNM.
The activities to be undertaken under Adopt-a-Street, in collaboration with relevant BBMP departments, are:
a) Regular clean-up drives including removal of illegal flexes and banners; elimination and transformation of ‘Garbage Vulnerable Points’, and supporting an additional daily shift for cleaning the street with own staff.
b) Planting saplings and shrubs on the footpath and median, and protecting the existing flora.
c) Making the street more walkable by undertaking minor repairs, removing minor obstructions, preventing waterlogging.
d) Supporting street furniture like waste bins, benches, with prior approval from requisite departments.
A unifying experience
ST Bed Residents reported that they were thrilled to be taking part in this collective exercise.
Geeta, a resident who coordinated the drive on September 15, says that she came across the campaign on Twitter. “We informed the other residents, and they came in big numbers. We had senior citizens, children, and adults all of whom were keen on joining in. On the day of the clean-up, within 20 minutes we had gathered 10 to 15 kgs of garbage by just picking up the litter.”
“I was so enthusiastic and thrilled about the clean-up,” recounts Vikram, a photographer and ST Bed resident. “There were these fairly large rocks. I ordinarily wouldn’t have lifted them, but I was just so driven to clean up the street that I felt like Superman, and did it anyway.”
Kalyani, who helped Geeta organise the clean-up, adds that one of the intangible benefits of this initiative has been in bringing people together.
Nitin, president of locality's Mantri Classic apartment complex, agreed. “Inevitably this initiative brought us all together. All of us met, and in doing this together, got familiar with each other. Now, the moment you enter ST bed you feel like home.”
Empathy for pourakarmikas
The exercise not only sensitised people to waste collection, but also towards the labour that pourakarmikas put in to keep the streets clean.
“When I was cleaning the site, the stench and the dirt, I almost puked,” Vikram admits. “I used walk past the pourakarmikas without a second glance. Now, I recognize them, greet them, and am on a first name basis with a few of them.”
Another takeaway for residents was how an unclean site encourages more dumping, and accumulates of garbage. “When a passer-by sees this garbage thrown by residents, he/she doesn’t think twice before adding to it. This goes on, and eventually piles up and it becomes a habit,” Nitin points out. “We love this place, we all want to make this beautiful,” he adds.
Pourakarmikas too appreciated Adopt-a-Street. Anjali, a pourakarmika who participated in the clean-up in ST Bed, says, “It was very satisfactory, and a huge help to us. The residents came together and worked side by side with us. They didn’t shy away from touching the garbage.”
“They think about us now, they have some knowledge about our jobs now. Helping each other was empowering,” Anjali adds. However, she maintains that it will truly be helpful only if such initiatives are regular. “Only if this happens every week will the neighbourhood benefit.”