Nandi Hills breathe easy

Corporates, government bodies and the public came together for the Clean and Green Nandi Hills Campaign on 24th August 2008.

It was an initiative that was long overdue; Nandi Hills, a scenic spot, was slowly being overrun by plastic trash thrown carelessly by visitors. Several civic-minded citizens got together and decided that instead of just complaining about the plastic litter, they would take positive action to clean up the trash, and more importantly, try to raise the awareness among tourists about the importance of keeping this beautiful place clean.

Clean and Green Nandi Hills Campaign sign

Clean and Green Nandi Hills Campaign sign (Pic: Deepa Mohan)

Yahoo, the sponsor for the event, has an internal team called ‘Purple Green’ 6 7 mths… (‘purple’ being the Yahoo corporate colour, and ‘green’ referring to the environment). So far, the agenda of this team has to do with reducing the carbon footprint in their own workplace. This was the first time Yahoo sponsored an outdoor event. As Deepak Rajanna of Yahoo says, "We started out seeking to establish a permanent solution to the litter problem in Nandi hills. On Sunday I think we took a significant step."

Volunteers from several groups (Bangalore Birds, Clean and Green, Hasiru Usiru, and ASRA from Chikballapur, to name a few) got together and persuaded the helpful District Commissioner, Subodh Yadav to declare the area a plastic-free zone. Through him, they also got in touch with the Forest Office, Youth Services, Dept of Public Instruction, NCC, and the PWD to elicit support. The DC also put them in touch to some advocates who had conducted a sapling-planting program at the foothills; through these advocates, several judges were also involved in the cleanup. Amongst these, Justice Justice Subhash Adi’s contribution was very enthusiastic. The Deputy Forest Officer, Rajasekhar, was also very proactive in helping with the campaign.

The children's orchestra at Nandi Hills

The children’s orchestra at Nandi Hills (Pic: Deepa Mohan)

Several schoolchildren and NCC cadets participated in the cleanup. It was truly a massive planning operation, and one that was very well executed. Volunteers were picked up by several buses on various routes, and everyone met up at Nandi Hills at about 8.30 AM. The function was inaugurated at the Gandhi Nilaya, but the area was quite crowded….I learnt later that no less than 600 people were present! The judges and Commissioner Yadav pledged their support to the cause.

Advocates Vivek Reddy and Arun, who organized breakfast and lunch, did a wonderful job of catering to such a crowd. Once the meeting was over, volunteers lined up and took the gloves, sacks, and rakes that Yahoo provided, and fanned out over the area, setting to the task with a will. It was often not easy to pull out the plastic from the soil and the plants, but it was done with enthusiasm. Volunteers were unable to segregate all the plastic trash into PET, plastic waste, composites, and so on, but still managed to collect quite a large amount of plastic waste.

Pledge-taking at Nandi Hills

Pledge-taking at Nandi Hills (Pic: Deepa Mohan)

Visitors were stopped at the gates, and asked to throw away their plastics, and paper bags were handed over to them. At the shops on the hilltop, shopkeepers cut open packets, emptied condiments into paper bags and handed the plastic over.

At last, Deepak announced that the garbage pickup sacks, and the pickup mini- truck, were full, and that we should desist from our labour and make our way back for lunch. However, when we saw the serpentine queues at the lunch counter, some of us just decided to have a meal at the restaurant at the top of the hill, or at the KSTDC restaurant, instead! However, water was plentifully available, and we took the opportunity of re-hydrating ourselves often.

The hired mini-truck took the collected plastic trash to KK Plastics, a firm that uses the waste in manufacturing road-paving composite material. Apart from this, the Chikballapur Corporation garbage pickup truck came to take the waste to the landfill.

Let’s hope that the enthusiasm and the momentum generated by this first effort will be sustained, and that we will see a resurgence of civic sense amongst visitors to Nandi Hills. Keeping one of our beautiful public spaces- dear to historians, trekkers, naturalists and picnickers- clean and green, is a task that everyone should share, so that-ideally- no more cleanup drives are needed.

For Deepak Rajanna’s account of the campaign, visit the Nandi Hlls Cleanup Drive blogsite at http://cleannandihills.wordpress.com. ⊕

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Similar Story

ஈரநிலத்தில் சென்னை குப்பை எரிவுலை திட்டம்: வடசென்னைக்கு வெள்ள அபாயத்தை தீவிர படுத்தக்கூடிய மற்றொரு திட்டம்

The proposed Waste-to-Energy plant in Kodangaiyur will take a heavy toll on the area's ecology and the health of people living in the locality.

பெருநகர சென்னை மாநகராட்சி, ஒருங்கிணைந்த திடக்கழிவு மேலாண்மை திட்டத்தின் (Integrated Solid Waste Processing Facility (IWPF)) கீழ், 2100 மெட்ரிக் டன் கழிவுகளை எரித்து மின்சாரம் உற்பத்தி செய்யும் எரிவுலையை கொடுங்கையூரில் நிறுவ திட்டமிட்டுள்ளது. இந்த  திட்டத்தின் தளம் - 01 குப்பை எரிவுலை (Waste-to-Energy Facility) திட்டமிடப்பட்டுள்ள இடம், ஈரநிலமாக அறியப்படும் சர்க்கார் நஞ்சை பகுதியில் அமைந்துள்ளது, இது வெள்ள பாதிப்புக்குட்பட்ட ஒரு பகுதியாகும். அதே நேரத்தில், இந்த இடம் ஏல ஆவணங்களில் (Tender Documents) குறைந்த வெள்ள பாதிப்புள்ள பகுதியில் உள்ளதாக தவறாக சித்தரிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.  இதனால் இப்பகுதியில் சுற்றுச்சூழல் பாதிப்பு ஏற்பட்டு மழைக்காலங்களில் அதிக வெள்ளம் ஏற்படும் வாய்ப்பை உருவாக்கும்.  இயற்கையான ஈரநிலங்களின் முக்கியத்துவம் பெருநகர சென்னை மாநகராட்சி - ஒருங்கிணைந்த திடக்கழிவு மேலாண்மை திட்டம் மூலம் மண்டலம் 1 முதல் 8 வரை உற்பத்தியாகும் திடக்கழிவுகள் மற்றும் மண்டலம் 9 முதல் 15 வரை பிரிக்கப்பட்ட…

Similar Story

Caught in the tides: Can Chennai protect its Olive Ridley turtles?

This video examines the mass mortality of Olive Ridley turtles along Chennai's shores, emphasising the need for immediate conservation efforts

Chennai witnessed an unprecedented environmental disaster this year, as more than 1,000 dead Olive Ridley turtles washed ashore in January. The mass mortality event has put the Forest and Fisheries Departments, along with voluntary organisations, on high alert, prompting collaborative efforts to strengthen Olive Ridley turtle conservation. The Tamil Nadu Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 2020, which mandates mechanised trawlers to fish at least five kilometres from the shore, was enforced more strictly from late January. Fishermen were educated on the dangers of ghost nets and urged to use Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) to prevent accidental turtle entanglement. Read more: Oil…