Mandavelipakkam now has a new category of residents — street champions. They vigorously pursue the civic issues on their street. While improper disposal of garbage is not the only problem one would encounter on a street, it is an obvious problem and, therefore, it’s top on the priority list for these neighbourhood activists who ultimately are working toward a bin-less street.
On February 4, residents of 6th Trust Cross Street in Mandavelipakkam took an oath to work towards making their street “zero garbage”.
V. Shankar, Vasanthi Sampath and Sasirekha Rammohan, who initiated the project a year ago, re-lunched the drive, inspiring more residents to join in.
The work plan includes sprucing up the street first, removing the unclaimed vehicles found parked on the street, clearing the construction debris spilling from the pavement onto the road and making the footpaths more pedestrian-friendly.
Sixth Trust Cross Street has four cross roads, where garbage bins have not been placed due to paucity of space. As a result, waste generated at the houses on all these stretches are dumped in the four bins kept at Sixth Trust Cross Street. And, the garbage seldom stays within the confines of these bins, capacious though they are.
These street champions are now trying to reduce the amount of waste that needs to be sent to the bins, by going on a door-to-door campaign, encouraging residents to practise source segregation of waste, and keep wet waste in a separate bin for Ramky’s conservancy staff to collect it.
Vasanthi Sampath, principal of a CBSE school and a resident of the locality for the last nine years, says to sustain the initiative, more volunteers are required.
Neighbours’ concern
At 4th Trust Cross Street in Mandavelipakkam, neighbours Jaya Nambisan and Chitra Venkatesh are spearheading a similar drive, which they started a year ago. Tired of seeing mounds of garbage outside her compound wall where a bin has been placed, Jaya decided to do something about it.
“We have gone to almost every house on the street asking them to dispose of their waste more responsibly and to keep the street clean,” says Jaya, adding that the response to the initiative was encouraging in the first few months after it was launched.
The two would visit the houses on the street, one of the longest in Mandavelipakkam, to check on the progress of the drive. They have spent many a Sunday cleaning the streets.
“It’s a constant battle and you don’t want to give up,” says Jaya, a senior citizen who often cleans the footpath outside her house herself.
The two are regular complainants at the Corporation’s helpline where they keep pursuing issues till they are addressed. The residents are gearing up for another round of door-to-door campaign.
