How an RWA teamed up with a corporate to make foothpaths safer

On January 30th, Hasiru Mithra teamed up with B.PAC and Syngene to make the footpaths on 27th Main road in HSR Layout pedestrian-friendly.

B.PAC is working with Hasiru Mithra (the HSR Layout residents’ initiative) and Syngene on a neighbourhood cleanup drive. This will be a sustained campaign to drive corporate social engagement that brings corporates, neighborhood communities and BBMP together to clean, drive behavioural change and monitor progress.

Employees and residents of the neigbourhood work together to beautify their locality and appoint wardens who will keep watch on the neighbourhood to ensure that the cleaned up areas do not relapse into their original state.

Cleanup drive on January 30th

The 27th main road in HSR Layout is one of the prime roads in the locality. The plastic littered on the footpaths and overgrown weeds make it unfriendly for pedestrians.

B.PAC, in association with Syngene International Ltd and Hasiru Mithra, a citizen group of HSR Layout led by B.PAC’s Civic Leadership Incubator Program (B.CLIP) alumnus Kavitha Reddy took up the beautification drive on Saturday January 30th.

The happy team, all set to participate in the cleanup drive. Pic: B.PAC

Around 50 employees of Syngene International, team B.PAC and residents of HSR layout cleared up the litter and removed the weeds. The team also painted the wall and planted saplings along the footpath. The saplings planted, will be looked after by the nearby commercial entities.

Clearing up the overgrown weeds on the footpath. Pic: B.PAC

Volunteers clearing the footpath. Pic: B.PAC

The drive also witnessed enthusiastic participation by the children of Syngene employees, who were on an unusual weekend outing. They helped with painting the walls and used their talent to beautify the area.

Paintings by the children. Pic: B.PAC

The initiative was supported by BBMP. Muni Raju, Joint commissioner of Bommanahalli Zone extended logistical support to make the cleanup drive a success.

Revathy Ashok, CEO & Managing Trustee, B.PAC said, “B.PAC is very pleased with Hasiru Mithra’s engagement and initiative. It is only with citizens’ watchful eyes that there will be pressure on the system to keep our neighbourhoods clean. We have many more interventions planned in the coming months for driving holistic solutions for waste management.”

“We are very thankful to Syngene and its employees for having partnered with us in this drive, and look forward to a continued engagement”, said B.CLIP alumnus and Hasiru Mithra lead Kavitha Reddy.

Kamesh Rastogi, a resident of HSR Layout sector 2 said, “The participation of B.PAC and Syngene employees has motivated residents, and more people are now showing keen interest in volunteering for the neigbourhood. We are also glad that commercial shops close by have taken the ownership to look after the plants and the cleaned up area”

“Syngene is very happy to be associated with B.PAC and an active citizen group like Hasiru Mithra.  As a corporate citizen of Bengaluru, we believe that we have a responsibility towards our city and have a role to play in keeping it clean and green. It is this belief that drives us to organise such cleanliness activities. Our objective is to give a platform for our employees to participate in such activities, as well as to sensitise the citizens on the importance of maintaining a clean and neat surrounding. This is our fourth such drive and we are very happy with the enthusiastic participation of our employees and their family members,” said Sandeep Nair, behalf of Syngene.

Since HSR has a compost unit and has voluntarily banned plastic, such programs on a sustained basis will enable creation of greater awareness among citizens.

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