Thrissur: Not long ago, walking along the road near the Kokkala railway station was an ordeal, the foul stench of rotting waste forced pedestrians to hold their breath and pinch their noses. Today, that eyesore has been transformed into a flourishing vegetable garden, thanks to a three-month community drive spearheaded by Ward Councillor Vinshi Arunkumar, local residents, and municipal sanitation workers. Spurred by this triumph, the team now plans to bring the entire stretch of unutilised land along Railway Sawmill Road under cultivation.

This public wasteland had been cleared multiple times in the past. Warning boards issued under the Corporation Secretary's directive were erected, strictly forbidding littering. Yet, people continued dumping trash there as a matter of habit. That was when the idea took root - why not turn the dumpsite into a farm? Heavy earth movers were deployed to clear the mounds of refuse. The plastic waste was systematically segregated and handed over to the Haritha Karma Sena, and the ground was levelled and conditioned for farming.

Brinjal and tomato saplings were procured from Mannuthy, while seeds of long beans and okra were sown. The local sanitation workers took ownership of the patch, tending to the crops with care. Within three months, the garden flourished, yielding its first bounty of over 30 kilograms of long beans and okra.

Fresh brinjal and tomatoes are now harvested on a daily basis and distributed among the sanitation workers and association members. Heartened by this success, earthmovers are back at work clearing the remaining waste on adjacent land for expansion, with water from a nearby pond slated for irrigation.

Visiting the site during harvest, Mayor Niji Justin lauded the initiative, calling the Kokkala turnaround a stellar model that other civic wards ought to emulate. The project is actively supervised by residents' association members Sudheerbabu and Ajayan, alongside Health Inspectors Aju, Vinod, and Smitha.

“We keep our community updated through social media groups, and people readily come forward to volunteer. This success is the direct outcome of collective effort,” said Vinshi Arunkumar.