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The number of projects that the association has successfully completed in the last decade is nothing short of stupendous; and all this, says Sarah Samuel, the vice president, has been possible only because of the cooperation of the members. Metrolife interacted with a few of them to find out about the work they’re doing in the neighbourhood.
Although the welfare association was founded in 1990, its initial activities were conducted on a very informal basis. All this, however, changed in 1996. Shali Chandna, one of the members of the association, attributes this to the close friendship that began to develop between some of the residents of the neighbourhood.
“Initially, we didn’t know each other well and so our territories were confined to our houses. But now, we hold social events in the colony every three months,” she explained, adding that after these ties were formed, they began to focus on bettering the neighbourhood. “From the year 2000 onwards, we’ve seen a lot of positive results.”
These results are glaringly obvious; the roads in the colony are clean, with well-maintained pavements and speed bumps. The park has been converted from a patch of wilderness to a beautiful ensemble of flower beds, benches and even a gazebo. “A lot of this has been done in coordination with the BBMP. When they were laying the roads, we personally supervised them. We gave them a cup of tea and then sat on their tractors with them – figuratively, of course,” says Shali, laughingly.
One of the most significant achievements of the association, however, is SHOWS, or the Scientific Handling of Waste Society. Renuka, a member of the association, explains that this initiative was taken up when the residents realised that their garbage situation was getting out of hand. “In the mid-80s, a group of residents started working on a solution.
The first step was to encourage people to segregate garbage in their own homes. In 2001, we received funding from the BBMP to open a small centre. Here, recycled waste is sold and the rest is converted into manure and sold back to the residents,” she explains.
The centre is equipped with facilities to sterilise the trash, protect it from the rain and is even smell-proof. The resulting compost is sold back to the residents for a meagre price of Rs 6 per kilo.
The association has also initiated a rainwater harvesting drive. Huge drains have been created in the park, as well as units on the pavement that collect rainwater and divert it for reusage. “It’s a useful measure, because otherwise so much rainwater just flows away. One of our ex-presidents took the initiative,” explains Fiona, also an association member.
Sarah attributes the success of the association to the wonderful rapport that its members share with each other, as well as with the BBMP. “We have a very active group, which is working to make the neighbourhood more friendly. We first aimed to make the colony harmonious, and then set about achieving our goals. Now, we’re more like an extended family,” she explains.