On Sunday mornings, when the city is still waking up, a group of youngsters gather on the streets of Kochi, wearing gloves and carrying brooms. They are not part of any campaign but are individuals who have reserved their weekends for collective change.
Nammude Kochi Cleanup began, most ordinarily on December 19, 2025. Afgar Ali, who had been working in Qatar and had returned to Kerala recently, noticed the city’s waste management problem during a random outing. One evening, while out for coffee with his cousin Safeerussalam in Aluva, they noticed a stretch near the Thuruth bridge littered with waste. The next morning, they went back with the aim of cleaning up the area.
What they thought would be a simple clean-up turned out to be something tougher. “There was so much garbage, especially food waste. So we cleaned it again,” says Afgar.
Safeer posted a before-and-after picture on Reddit, and it brought in three more volunteers. From there, the group started growing.
Today, the community has over 250 members, with around 65 actively participating during cleanup drives. The core team has also grown to 13 members, with Ibrahim Zubair, whom Afgar calls “the backbone of the community”, handling logistics and accounts.
The clean-ups are not random. Every Wednesday, the next location is shared in the group, followed by a poll to confirm attendance. On Sunday morning, over 15 participants show up, sometimes going up to 60.
“We prefer early mornings because the roads get busy later. We aim to get the work done and are not interested in showing off. This is for our own mental satisfaction,” Afgar says.
In just a few months, they have completed 16 drives across the city, including areas like Seaport - Airport road at Kalamassery, Kaloor Stadium Link Road, COPT Avenue Walkway and many more. However, some locations are harder than others.
“There are occasions where manual effort is not enough, and we had to use a JCB. We do what we can and inform the authorities for the rest,” Afgar explains.
When they report such issues, they continuously monitor to make sure that necessary action has been taken. Thus, their relationship with the corporation has also evolved. There was an initial struggle with coordination, but now the situation is better, the team explains.
They inform the concerned officers before each drive, and vehicles are sent to collect the segregated waste. In some cases, the corporation provides additional workers also.
The result is visible. “We had noticed sludge flowing from the hospital’s canteen drainage into the open canal, in front of Indira Gandhi Hospital in Kadavanthra. We raised the issue, and the authorities stepped in, cleaned the canal and began installing a new slab,” he recalls. In COPT Avenue, Thoppumpady, the team installed a bin made from 36 kilograms of recycled plastic, which has already reduced littering in the area, the team say.
From students, IT professionals, doctors, to even people visiting Kerala for vacation from the UAE, join the effort to clean up Kochi. From 12-year-olds to 45-year-olds, they have only one goal in mind.
“Not everyone can contribute money, especially students. That should not stop anyone from joining,” Afgar says.
But every initiative requires financial help; in their case, it is usually for buying cleaning materials and providing food for volunteers. When funds run low, the group updates members, and someone steps in to help.
Beyond the work, there is a sense of community. People stay back after drives to talk and spend time together. They also keep an eye on the city beyond clean-ups, reporting waste issues, monitoring action, and even helping abandoned animals find homes.
But Afgar is clear about the larger problem. “The biggest issue is lack of civic sense,” he says. “Even when there is a bin, people throw waste outside it.”
As their work continues every Sunday, without pause, the team is looking ahead. From tree planting, school clean-ups to maintenance of neglected public wells, the group has many big plans on the anvil.