Citizens’ movement transforms Kharadi from dump to dream

Vigilant area residents join hands in droves to tackle garbage pollution alongside clean initiatives, drag PMC out of its stupor to change the face of their neighbourhood.

It all began with a common enough WhatsApp group for residents to share their woes, as they dealt with long-standing garbage issues across Kharadi. But what took place differently is that this citizens’ movement soon barrelled into joint and positive action, even dragging the authorities hand-inhand towards improving their services and vigilance. And today, the waste management of the entire area has resolved itself significantly — almost completely, local inhabitants claim.

In a city grappling with a never-ending garbage crisis, this victory is an important template. While Kharadi was one of many locations facing trash disposal and burning issues, the social media campaign and on-ground drives of residents have reduced all garbage dumping and processing hassles by almost 80 per cent. Part of the problem earlier was lack of timely services by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), but the same civic body now wholeheartedly supports the residents. Along with the help of the Adar Poonawalla Clean City Initiative and NGO Janwani, the narrative has finally changed for Kharadi.

Till almost six months ago, open dumping and rampant burning of garbage had laid a thick fog of polluted air over the area. Several residents — especially vulnerable children — complained of respiratory conditions like asthma, with toxic fumes from burning solid waste identified as the culprit. Another major difficulty was that PMC had failed to provide garbage collection vans. As a result, societies were spending from their own pockets on a monthly basis to hire private vehicles, which not only collected mixed garbage due to lack of awareness, but also dumped and burnt it indiscriminately.

With only eight or nine vans to pick up trash for the whole area, they worked only every three days — and this meant waste would pile up not just outside shops and hotels, but also inside residential complexes. Lack of segregation also meant PMC would not process this garbage. The civic body had also not taken cognisance of complaints of residents — so finally, they decided to take things into their own hands.

Anuradha Dubey, founder of the group Kharadi Swachhata, told Mirror, “We first got on a WhatsApp group within our society to raise awareness on the irregular collection of mixed waste. We began dialogue about segregation at the source, and also requested people to not burn garbage. Soon, I started an online petition on Change.org. Suddenly, a lot more people joined our group, and word slowly spread. At this time, the Kharadi Residents’ Association got involved as well.”

The main issue, said Dubey, was lack of staff, vehicles and infrastructure being supplied by PMC. “With more participants, we began bombarding the civic body with pictures of open garbage dumping and burning through complaints on the Swachh app. PMC officials began interacting with us, and finally, action started being taken. This was a giveand-take process, as people appreciated the civic body’s participation, and feedback made PMC feel welcome. When the Adar Poonawalla Clean City Initiative and Janwani joined in, their vehicles and cleaning equipment also changed the game.”



Residents feel this initiative, launched last October, has changed the face of their home area. “The best part is that awareness was combined with action,” said resident Mamata Lahoti, adding, “A friend of mine told me about this group, and joining it opened my eyes about what was going wrong. I started raising awareness about segregation in my own society, then reaching out to shopkeepers nearby, asking simple questions like what is their garbage disposal system. I requested them not to dump waste in the open, or spoke to PMC officials to ensure their trash gets collected. Efforts pay off with time, and near my home now, garbage dumping and burning has reduced by almost 90 per cent.”

Kharadi Residents’ Association chairman Nitin Memane chimed in, “We had been working on a clean city initiative earlier, but attempts were sporadic, without a proper system in place. After we met the Dubeys, our association supports their project. The situation has truly changed today.”

Taking from the residents’ positive energy, PMC began a night garbage collection van for hotels, and encouraged residents to file complaints against open dumping, to be followed by penalties. Further, PMC sanitation staff for the area was increased by 50 people, even as the Adar Poonawalla Group installed dustbins in the neighbourhood and allocated street cleaning machines. The vigilant residents are reporting issues almost daily with location details on WhatsApp groups to ensure action, and culprits have often been caught on the spot due to live reporting and swift cognisance by PMC.

Project manager for Janwani and the Adar Poonawalla Group, Mangesh Kshisargar, told Mirror, “We work across the city, and Kharadi was also in our plan. But residents there were very proactive, which is why we got involved with their drive. The citizens’ engagement obviously yields faster results.”

At the moment, the residents are reaching out to new participants through drives and meetings, because their challenge is far from over. According to a recent survey done with the help of PMC, composting machinery has been installed in almost 36 out of 74 societies in the area, but is working in only 12 societies — this is their next target.

Hailing the sea change, PMC solid waste management department head Suresh Jagtap said, “Things are changing. Kharadi was a newly developed area, so there was no collection system in place. Private vehicles used to collect garbage. I spoke to these residents and we have decided to provide additional infrastructure to them. We still get mixed waste from many societies, but awareness is increasing.”