From garbage dump to garden: Parivarthan at Ashoka Pillar in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: The area next to Ashoka Pillar at Jayanagar, that used to be a stinking mix of garbage and wet waste, is now a clean footpath with quirky artwork that has sparkling new benches for visitors of the historical site. A small garden along the footpath, about 20 feet long has also been created with floral saplings to avoid the area from going back to the way it was.

This cleaning drive was organized by the city’s volunteer team Youth for Parivarthan, in collaboration with the BBMP on Sunday morning. “We got a request from the BBMP officials of the area last week and we took on the task.

We installed 5 benches and a small garden area. It took us about 7 hours to do the job.” said Amit Amarnath, founder of the volunteer group. About 45 members of the group participated in the drive and the residents were more than happy to supply snacks and drinks, said Amarnath.

The maintenance of the area will be taken care of by the group for the next seven days as they believe it is the incubation period for a newly cleaned area, after which there are higher chances of it staying clean.

“It’s like when they admit a patient into the ICU, those days are critical, so we keep an initial eye on the area.” he said.

The group was founded in 2014 by Amit Amarnath and Anup Gangur, who were final year law students at the time. They decided to clean up a children’s park next to Amit’s house in Banashankari as it had become a dumping yard for garbage and had not been cleared for months.

The children who came to play there had to bear the stink, which also used to make them fall sick. This was their first cleaning drive and they haven’t looked back ever since.

They pick one spot in the city that needs cleaning every weekend and they not only clean it but also beautify it through their signature artwork – bright red background that features playful doodles of people. They have cleaned about 82 garbage dumps in the city so far.