JOIN USText chain sparks change in Mysuru
What began as a small effort by a group of women in Mysuru’s outskirts over a year ago has turned out to be an effective model for waste management in urban residential layouts. In Roopanagar layout, visionary women came together virtually to transform their neighbourhood and ended up transforming their locality in more ways than one.
The initiative is drawing attention for its use of technology in community participation and creating environment-friendly habits. This helps supplement public waste management efforts.
In 1990, the Roopanagar layout was developed by Deepa House Building Cooperative Society (DHBCS), about 10 km from Mysuru railway station. Spread across 260 acres, the neighbourhood comprises about 800 houses with over 4,000 residents.
Like most other residential layouts, Roopanagar, faced the pressing problem of garbage disposal and management. Garbage was littered around the layout. Trash was being disposed on the roadside and in the drainage system, causing frequent blocks. The layout resembled a large dumping yard for plastic waste.
The housing society found it difficult to address these problems. Its efforts fell short.
Community initiative
During the lockdown, the residents of Roopanagar were restricted to their homes. Digital media was the only mode of communication among members of the layout. By then, many women had identified the potential of WhatsApp. Gradually, they began using the app to conduct online activities for their children.
It was at this time that a group of like-minded women from different professional backgrounds came together and launched Woman Power Roopanagar (WPR). In March 2021, a WhatsApp group was created, followed soon after by a Facebook page.
“The WPR’s idea was to bring like-minded women together to organise programmes of socio-environmental relevance. The members would initially share Covid-19 alerts, hold online talks on health, yoga, meditation, nutrition and music. We would also hold painting, drawing, quiz, storytelling and origami workshops for children,” recalls Rupa Tubgere, one of the group’s founders.
Word about the WhatsApp group spread. Several neighbours and friends soon became group members. Within no time, the number of members rose to 300.
The administrators would conceptualise community initiatives and finalise plans of action. They would then share this with the larger group and allot specific roles for members to execute. “We could do very little individually but could make a huge difference collectively. We swung into action when the group was formed,” says Lekshmy Raghavendra, a member of WPR.
The WPR women became advocates of the ‘three Rs’ framework — reduce, reuse and recycle. They vowed to adopt environment-friendly sustainable practices that reduced pressure on local bodies.
“We launched many initiatives to achieve our goals, including waste segregation & recycling programmes. Extensive appeals were made through the WhatsApp group and Facebook page to segregate dry, wet and plastic waste at its source in homes. We persuaded women to hand over trash for recycling and composting,” says Purnima Kota, a homemaker and one of the group administrators.
Once plastic waste was collected, the organisers got in touch with Jagruth Tech Private Limited (JTPL), an authorised dry waste recycler, to visit Roopanagar once a month and collect waste from a designated pickup point. Specific dates and timings were scheduled so that the residents could bring plastic waste for collection.
“One truckload of plastic goes out of Roopnagar every month now,” says Lekshmy. The dry waste recycling company partnered with Namma Mysore Foundation (NMF), a non-government organisation, and began collecting plastics every month to convert low-value plastic waste into construction materials, furniture and bricks for pavement.
Awareness drives
In addition to efforts in the virtual space, groups of 50 women were constituted for door-to-door awareness drives. They distributed pamphlets to every house in the layout on waste management. Public announcements are also held periodically in each street.
A ‘Bring Your Own Bag’ campaign was launched, where shopkeepers and customers were persuaded to use cloth bags.
“We visited schools and colleges in Roopanagar and requested students to not throw plastic on roads. We also asked them to bring plastic waste from their houses for recycling, once a month,” Purnima adds.
Today, Roopanagar is a clean, environmental-friendly neighbourhood, owing to many initiatives. Nearly 200 residents collect plastic littered from their respective streets for recycling.
“Roopnagar residents faced inconvenience due to frequent clogged drains. In the last year, there was not a single incident of blocks in drains,” says Sadashiva Poojary, secretary, DHBCS.
Besides this, the group of homemakers spurred action in various aspects. Saplings have been planted in the streets, avenues and temple garden through a tree-planting drive. Newspapers, books and clothes are regularly donated to nearby children’s homes.
Online programs are conducted to exhibit talents and advertise products and services of women entrepreneurs every Wednesday. Events are held to felicitate artists and sports personalities of the layout.
Starting with just a WhatsApp group, the women of Roopanagar rallied with their community to drive real change in more than one sphere. “It’s an inspiring method for homemakers in urban residential layouts,” says Poojary.
“The concept of using technology for community participation to address the problem of garbage is a good model. Changes in Roopanagar in the last year prove that community participation increases the probability of success,” says Renuka Manjunath, a resident.