HYDERABAD: It was a concrete horror that awaited school-time friends Abhinav Gangumulla and Santosh Banpur when they returned to their hometown as engineers. Driven by a shared passion for their city, the two IIT graduates decided to do something about it. Something green. Thus was born ‘Hyderabad Goes Green’ (HGG), an attempt to bring greenery back to the city.Hyderabad Goes Green offers all kinds of environment-friendly solutions for a greener tomorrow. “The city used to have so many trees when we were young. The weather all through the year used to be nice and pleasant. Summers were never so hot. The haphazard growth of the city has created many civic problems that are now in need of immediate attention,” says a concerned Abhinav. The idea of a green company first came to Abhinav, a civil engineer from Gitam University, Visakhapatnam, and an M-tech in intelligent transportation platforms from IIT Bombay.Santosh, an electrical engineering graduate from IIT Bombay, adds to Abhinav’s views. He says, “We felt an urgent need to look for solutions to these problems. Since we both love the city and greenery, we realised that by helping one, we would also end up helping the other.” And this led to the birth of ‘Hyderabad Goes Green’. HGG is a one-stop solution for an eco-friendly lifestyle. It began as an online store in August 2010. It was registered as a company in January 2011 and an outlet was set up by the middle of last year. Housed in an independent complex, tucked away quietly in Jubilee Hills, the first thing that will catch your attention is their sign board – made of cane, the words ‘Hyderabad Goes Green’ have been nailed onto the board. As per their philosophy of going green, no flashy paints or neon lights for this one. “HGG is a place for those who really want to make a difference. It demands a certain level of commitment to be able to adopt a green lifestyle,” says Abhinav.HGG has a host of merchandise to choose from – such as Pochampalli handloom sarees, kurtas, bedsheets, baskets, wall hangings made of paper, foldable silk cloth bags, aroma vapouriser lamps made of ceramic, organic seeds of vegetables, herbal soaps, shampoo, oils, potpourri, bathing scrubs, hand-made books of recycled paper, folders, photo frames, jewellery boxes, organic flour, rice and so on. Besides their products, they also offer composting solutions, conduct workshops and promote urban farming. They also come up with festival-specific merchandise like clay idols of Ganesh painted with natural colours, natural holi and rangoli colours.“Our motto is to educate, convince and sustain. People don’t really understand what go green actually is. It isn’t going for a rally and littering the way with plastic bottles. Green is a way of life. Besides not using plastic and recycling paper, using a vermi-compost is a major step towards a green environment,” shares Santosh. The duo has been on an awareness drive by conducting workshops for corporate companies. “We’ve collaborated with companies like Infosys and Deloitte. Simple reusing and recycling junk into household items can go a long way,” concludes Abhinav. Other than workshops, they also promote urban farming like growing a vegetable patch at home.
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