Convincing people to segregate the waste generated in their homes in three ways, as mandated recently by the High Court, is not an easy task. But a group of residents of HSR Layout, who formed a community initiative ‘Hasiru Mithra’ earlier this month, have taken up the challenge.
The group, which has 45 volunteers, has begun with sending personalised text messages to 6,000 residents of HSR Layout, shortly after the High Court verdict came.
The message asks the residents to segregate garbage into dry, wet and rejected. “For (a) cleaner HSR Layout (and) for (a) cleaner Bengaluru, waste segregation at source is crucial,” the message said.
Another message warned them of penalty by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) if they failed to segregate the waste. It cited an instance where residents of 23rd Main, HSR Layout, were penalised for not segregating the waste. The group intends to send a message each to residents of all the seven sectors in HSR Layout every week.
Kavitha Reddy, one of its volunteers, said: “We got the data base of residents through friends, neighbours and Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs). Getting the contact numbers was quite a task, but it was worth the trouble as people appreciated our effort. We want to make every resident realise that waste segregation is mandatory.”
Involving corporates
The messages were sent through an online software available through multiple SMS services vendors, Reddy added. The group is also planning to approach corporate companies based in Electronics City and Sarjapur Road in February and March, said another volunteer, Lalithamba B V. “We will hold awareness drives and send e-mails to employees on waste segregation,” she said.
Published 25 December 2015, 21:17 IST