Mano Vijaykumar and Anita Hegde with the support staff at Aashiana Apartments in Alwarpet
A section of Rajakrishna Road.
In 2019, a group of residents from Aashiana Apartments at Venus Colony in Alwarpet started Swachh Poes to educate households and businesses in Poes Road and Rajakrishna Road about source segregation and make this “neglected neighbourhood” a model area in terms of sustainability.The initial effortsWe started with door-to-door visits to spread awareness among our neighbours, which included not just apartment owners but small businesses and vendors all. We sought their cooperation in transforming the neighbourhood. We had divided ourselves into smaller groups to spread the word from Poes Road behind Aashiana to Rajakrishna Street near Eldams Road.There was enthusiasm and optimism, but not in everyone. Some displayed plain disinterest, and we did not let this affect us. Around that time Greater Chennai Corporation had hired an outgoing waste management company to clear segregated waste which did not see the desired result.
Nithya and Ganga Sankar with a conservancy worker
We soldiered on with our efforts to sensitise people to the importance of segregating waste and counselled them on how to adopt environmentally responsible methods of household waste disposal.The pandemic effectPost-pandemic, a couple of us from Aashiana resumed our mission that had been left incomplete due to the difficult times. We connected with the officials of the new agency, the GCC, and our local councillor.The challenges are still on the higher side, given that the stretch which Poes Road and Rajakrishna Street is long, connected to densely populated areas and is easily accessible to many. At times, it is utter chaos.
