Trash mob by Kumaran’s Children’s home students cleans the streets

by August 8, 2014 Environment
After The Ugly Indian, it is the turn of a small group of students to inspire Bangalore to take ownership of the streets. Hello Bangalore Trash Mob swings into action to clean a chosen street.

A group of ten children, was seen cleaning up a dirty plot in BTM Layout on Ramzan . They managed to pick twelve large bags of trash. Here is their story.

Two 16-year-olds, Vivek and Adhesh from Sri Kumaran’s Children’s Home started Bangalore Trash Mob as a social action project for schools, and this has now become an ongoing community service with the help of their friends. Despite being busy with board exams, they found time to conduct two mobs last year. On Ramzan holiday, while a majority of children spent time with their gadgets, hung around in malls or simply lazed at home, these children chose to clean up a plot in BTM layout; this was their first trash mob this year. It is a great pleasure to see young people getting involved in community service.

After the success of the third mob on Ramzan, one of the co-founders of Bangalore Trash Mob, Vivek Krishnaswamy said,

“Honestly, we had to come up with something for our Social Action Project, and we decided to start cleaning up plots! Then after some brainstorming and watching the movie Step Up 4 (with all the flash mobs), we came up with the name ‘Trash Mob.’

After the first and second one went well, we decided to expand it and make it a year round activity. We started in December 2013, and from then we’ve conducted three mobs. Because of school and tests, we weren’t able to do much. It will be frequent going forward, once a month at least. We expected NO RESPONSE from the public today, but we had eight people, residents of BTM, come and help us. Many people stopped by and commended our work as well. It was quite good today.”

Vivek said that the group pools in money, to organise for the trash bags, gloves, masks and flyers. He also added that it is open to the public and that they would like to see more people participate in cleaning up Bangalore for a healthier, greener city. The mob will be in action today – August 9th, 2014.

Contact Details:

Mobile : +919620850613, +919902061316

facebook : https://www.facebook.com/hbtmob

email : hbtrashmob@gmail.com

Sections:

About Jayashree Nagaraj

Read more by Jayashree Nagaraj

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.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

Similar Story

Flawed EIA, lost livelihoods and flood risk: What the Mamallan project destroys in Nemmeli

by October 2, 2026 Environment
Replacing Chennai’s living 'coastal shield' with a freshwater reservoir destroys 16 fishing villages, bird habitats, and flood protection.

As work on the Mamallan Reservoir project is picking up pace, environmentalists and locals dread the devastation it is unleashing. The project not only threatens the fragile Kovalam-Nemmeli coastal wetland and the habitats it supports, but also poses flood risks to communities living nearby.  In an earlier article, we showed how field studies by the Suzhal Arivom team documented the damage this project will cause to the local ecology. Based on that same report, Part 2 looks at how the project impacts the daily lives and livelihoods of people in the Kovalam-Nemmeli area. The project can trigger the erasure of…

Continue reading

Similar Story

A reservoir for Chennai, but at what cost to the Nemmeli coastal wetland?

by September 30, 2026 Environment
A Suzhal Arivom field investigation documents how the Mamallan project could irreversibly damage Nemmeli's ecosystems and affect birdlife.

A few months ago, there was widespread uproar over attempts to convert a small part of the Pallikaranai Marshland in South Chennai into multi-storey apartments. Yet today, the equally vital Nemmeli coastal wetland in Chengalpattu district faces silent destruction. Richer in biodiversity and livelihood support than Pallikaranai, the Nemmeli wetland, also known as the “Great Salt Lake,” is being converted into a freshwater reservoir by the Tamil Nadu government, purportedly to boost drinking water supply to Chennai. But the project spells disaster. Phase one of the Mamallan Reservoir project involves acquiring more than 5,000 acres of land, removing topsoil, and…

Continue reading