The effort, which was set into motion by Jeth Nagar Residents Association (JERA), took more than one year to fructify, punctuated by several representations to the Greater Chennai Corporation that was using the space for temporary dumping of construction debris, before carting it off to alternate locations. 

“I had written to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the Chief Minister’s Cell, with photographs, following which a team from PMO came for inspection. That helped us expedite the removal of the garbage, following which we got the entire area fenced to ensure it was not tampered with again,” said Ravi Nandyala, founder-president of the association. 

C R Balaji, a resident and member of Arappor Iyakkam’s Mylapore chapter, said the garbage was removed after several petitions to various authorities. Other resident welfare associations – Mylapore Residents Welfare Association (MRWA) and Thiruveedhi Amman Koil Street Residents Association (TAKSRA) – volunteered. However, it was not an easy task, with the red-tape causing delays. 

“The Corporation suggested setting up a small-scale compost facility for the floral waste from the temples and households in Mylapore,” said K Viswanathan, secretary of MRWA. However, trouble brewed after the pits were constructed, said Ravi. First there was a tussle between the PWD and Railways over the land before it was transferred to the latter. The Railways initially said the infrastructure in front of the station comes under them. 

“Then we followed up with the officials, who allowed us to use the pits and fenced the entire area and installed gates to stop people from misusing it,” added Viswananthan. The associations roped in the NGO, Nizhal, to help them plant saplings. TAKSRA played at important role at this stage, taking charge of the major chunk of the maintenance. 

“Since this is an important access point from Venkatakrishna Road, there are many people going for their morning walk. We have requested some of them to volunteer and adopt a plant, which they will water daily. We have put trees guards and chosen sapling varieties such as Kalayana Murungai, Iluppai, Ezhilaipalai, Kadamba and many others,” said Bala K L, TAKSRA secretary, adding that another NGO, Environmentalist Foundation of India, has volunteered to paint the walls. The residents have also sought Railways’ permission to landscape and add greenery to ensure people don’t urinate– which is a common complaint. 

“We are still waiting for the Railways to get back to us with requisite sanctions. The commuters using the station often urinate at this space even now. We have taken pains to clean the area but incidents like this make it demoralise us. The Railways can either construct a toilet in the station or penalise the offenders,” said Ravi. Bala added that this is a community development initiative, to create green spaces within the city’s concrete jungle. 

“Now, any space that is vacant turns into a dump yard. We wanted to change that approach, by turning it into a garden,” he said.