On the road to a litter-free city

BANGALORE:  With a vision to  spread awareness among the people about the benefits and importance of a clean and litter free city, Saahas group and the Solid Waste Management Round Table initiated the clean city campaign. Bangalore, which was once one of the cleanest cities you could find is now gyrating into a colossal refuse. As we see fires smoldering in every corner to burn wastes, the stench is unbearably strong and desecrates the city alarmingly. The beauty which was once a tag line associated with our city, is now turning out to be quite the contrary.What is discommoding is the fact that litter lies around right next to the bins, instead of inside them, testing the civic awareness of the so called ‘educated’. Well, this movement is out to ensure that people know what to do with their unwanted clutter and how to handle them right. “ We’re trying to convey to the public, not to throw waste on the streets, but hold on to them until they find a proper bin to dump them into. Even if they’re not available at the moment, the idea is to hold on till you find one”, said Minty Jain an organiser of the movement. The campaign took place in three parts of the city—Church street, Old Airport road and RMZ Infinity Campus.They also envision to apprise the public about throwing wastes into the appropriate bin. The movement went on to include shops, restaurants and homes as they reached out to them to use two kinds of bins-one used for organic and the other for recyclable wastes.Further endorsing the campaign, the organisation put up a street play in church street regarding the perks of using bins instead of dumping them straight on the roads or gutters. Professional actors took to the streets as they dressed up as dustbins to spread the word. Traffic and passer bys stopped to gawk at the entertaining play, put up by the actors. Soon after, more than 70 volunteers including those from the Thomas Reuter company, divided themselves into groups and went to nearby areas like Brigade road and MG road to interact with the public and take suggestions for recuperating the garbage disposal amenities in the location. The public were posed with questionnaires regarding garbage disposal and surveys were conducted. “There are questions for the general public, shops and restaurants. A similar street play and survey took place in the other two parts of the city as well” said Pooja, a volunteer.“I really enjoyed the street play and think more awareness programmes like this should be conducted. The message it conveys is truly enlightening. I wouldn’t want to be caught dead throwing litter anywhere,” says Ganesh an onlooker. “I feel more dustbins should be put up on roads and heavy penalties for those who litter. Keeping our city clean is our duty as good citizens.”We can only hope, with such initiatives, we will get a cleaner city to dwell in.