Owning our streets

December 26, 2014 02:16 am | Updated 02:16 am IST - CHENNAI:

The 'Green Brigade' of Ormes Road has transformed a messy stretch in their locality.

The 'Green Brigade' of Ormes Road has transformed a messy stretch in their locality.

Cleanliness drives are the new in-thing and groups of residents have been taking the initiative to give their localities a new look by collaborating to remove garbage from around their homes.

A visitor to Ormes Road, Fourth Cross in Kilpauk for instance would immediately notice a difference in the locality. “It was the women residents of different apartment complexes who came forward to initiate this effort. Each house contributed Rs. 100 and we bought gloves, masks and brooms and swept our street clean. We drew inspiration from the Prime Minister’s campaign,” said Sagar Malhotra, an engineering student who participated in the clean up. Calling themselves ‘The Green Brigade,’ they want residents from other areas of Chennai too to pitch in to keep the city clean.

After cleaning their street, they realised that since many cars were parked on the street, conservancy staff were unable to sweep it properly. They decided to move their cars for a while in the mornings so that the sweeping of streets could be more effective. Sharing their experience through Friends of Chennai, they felt that it was also up to residents to ensure that their localities are clean.

If the Ormes Road brigade comprises mostly women and children, the one from Agarwal Vidyalaya consists of class XI students. These students, numbering close to 80, clean the roads every Tuesday and Saturday. Parents have welcomed the idea of their children stepping in to clean the streets and the school management too supports them. Ayush Gupta, a resident, says: “We clean the streets in Vepery and Purasawalkam. We now plan to install banners asking people not to spit and throw garbage on the roads.”

“We need smaller garbage bins on the roads and bus shelters. People must be encouraged to throw even smaller pieces of paper and wrappers in it,” he said.

Old Washermenpet resident Menakha Pugalenthi and her colleagues, who recently cleaned some areas in Guindy, said the lack of bins was a major problem. “We saw layers of garbage mixed with the mud on road margins. I think the Corporation must concentrate on smaller lanes as well. There is a need for proper supervision when it comes to conservancy,” she suggested.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.