Garbage piling up everywhere is the biggest problem faced by Kerala nowadays. Apart from vacant plots, the main roads too have become waste dumps. This problem has been felt most acutely in Thiruvananthapuram for quite some time. Even the local bodies here have no clear idea about waste disposal.
It is this backdrop that makes the activities of a Facebook group which is engaged in making the capital a clean and beautiful place noteworthy. The group, named ‘Clean and green’, has cleaned four spots in the city which had served as garbage dumps and transformed the places into gardens with the support of the city corporation. The success of the group is proof that efforts carried out with firm resolve would produce results. The cooperation extended by corporation authorities also has to be lauded.
The beginning
The Facebook group was formed with the aim of making Thiruvananthapuram one of the top cities and was initially named ‘Trivandrum – let us make our city the best’. The group attracted over 19,000 members and concentrated on bringing violations regarding parking, garbage and bad roads before the authorities. A majority of the issues related to waste management. The group members visited the spots where garbage was dumped and shot live videos. Corporation authorities took notice of these videos and took action. After this, a flood of similar complaints reached the Facebook group and the members decided to actively involve themselves in the garbage issue.
Clean and green
As complaints regarding garbage mounted in the Facebook page, seven members of the group decided to form an NGO named ‘Clean and green.’ They selected posts regarding garbage in the homepage of the Facebook group and cleaned the respective areas with the help of the city corporation. The members then set up a garden at the spot. Clean and green now has an 18-member executive committee, general body and members.
First case at Karamana
Clean and green launched its full-fledged activities in January. The area from TVS factory to Karamana Bridge was thick with wild shrubbery. The Facebook group members cleaned this place. Pictures of the garbage dump near Karamana Bridge were uploaded on the Facebook page. This spot was used by Kudumbashree workers to keep the garbage collected from the area before transporting it away. Many people had turned a plot adjacent to this spot into a dumping yard. The stench from domestic and chicken wastes was unbearable. Karamana health inspector Jisha employed workers to clean the area thrice. Clean and green members also cleaned the place. They then created a garden.
Of the seven-member group, two persons are abroad now. The remaining five are engaged in implementing the programmes. Funds are provided by Prasanth, a member who is working in Kuwait.
In Karamana, the group distributed saplings as part of its awareness programmes.
Saving a tree
The second initiative implemented by the group was saving a tree near the Sreeramakrishna hospital at Sasthamangalam. A message was received by the group that plastic waste was regularly burned in front of the hospital, threatening a tree at the spot. The group approached the health inspector of Sasthamanagalam, who gave a positive response. The health inspector cleaned the area within one week and handed it over to the Facebook group. Clean and green members installed a net around the tree to protect it from garbage throwing.
The third case
The garbage issue that the group subsequently took up was reported from Plamoodu. The group members realized that the area could be cleaned and converted into a garden, but watering the plants would pose a problem. Thankfully, the local councillor I P Binu himself came up with a solution. He promised to arrange the water. The clean and green members lost no time in cleaning the area and planted several shrubs.
Another initiative of the group involved distribution of study materials to 50 children belonging to Bonacaud settlement colony. The executive members donated Rs 1,000 each for the purpose.
A garden at Sreekanteswaram
A complaint reached Clean and green that garbage was being burned right beside the road at Sreekanteswaram. No cleaning had been done here for several years. The corporation authorities also faced the problem of clearing this area of garbage as there was no suitable place nearby to shift the waste. Clean and green members adopted a different method here. They carried out an awareness programme among the local people. Finally, the corporation authorities took action; they cleaned the area. However, the Clean and green team still faced a problem – the area was right next to the road and setting up a garden would be difficult. They solved the issue by using discarded tyres filled with soil to plant flowering shrubs.
Overcoming financial hurdles
At present, the group takes up issues pointed out by its members only. Funds are pooled by the 18 executive committee members.
Founder member Visnu G Nair said that corporation officials and councillors are extending whole-hearted support to the initiatives. The Pappanamcode councillor Asha Nath supplied a 1,000 litre water tank and ensured regular water supply. Karamana councillor Ayyappan also provided much help.