BENGALURU: In just a week after its announcement, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) ‘Adopt a Street’ campaign has got a positive response. BBMP received 20 serious applications to adopt streets, with most of them being corporates, tech firms, resident welfare associations, hardware firms and even banks.
In the list, a copy of which is with The New Sunday Express, no street in the Central Business District like Majestic, MG Road, Shivajinagar and other core Bengaluru areas has been listed.
The list has a combination of commercial and residential spaces, and comprises popular and largely frequented places. The most sought-after roads by companies and citizens are in Indiranagar,
Koramangala, Halasuru, Richmond Road, HAL and Lavelle Road.
Randeep D, Special Commissioner, Solid Waste Management, BBMP, said that though they received 34 applications, 20 participants are serious. The applicants have come forward to take care of the areas around their working spaces. They have targeted approach roads or areas around their office. Though one-time upgradation work will be undertaken by BBMP first, maintenance will have to be undertaken by the people or firms which adopt the street, and they are willing to do all that is required to make the area better.
‘Adopt a Street’ is a voluntary programme introduced by BBMP to make people understand the ground realities and problems the staffers, including pourakarmikas, face.
Citing an example, a BBMP official said that earlier, people would litter roads even after they were cleaned, but after they participated in an intensive cleaning drive as part of Swachh Bharat, they realised what it means to stand in the sun for one-and-half hours and clean the road. After this, they stopped littering the place and have also come forward to adopt the street.
Cleaning drive is another initiative of the BBMP for people to help clean the road. BBMP had announced that one ward of every assembly constituency would be cleaned and this is scheduled to be held every Saturday of the month, and was the third in a row. On September 21, BBMP Commissioner BH Anil Kumar participated in one such drive on SJP Road.