MADHYA PRADESH: If it is beauty you seek, you only need look; blooming in the unlikeliest of corners amid waste and debris of our lives, creativity lives on. A group of ‘safai kamgars’ (sanitation workers) in Jhabua district of western Madhya Pradesh, extracting art out of discards as they relieve their town of the growing burden of plastic waste, have shown how art can stem from the seeds of rubbish.
Ambedkar Park (operated by the Jhabua municipality) houses the creative endeavours of a team of eight safai kamgars led by sanitation inspector Tony Maliya Pithya in Jhabua town.
Inspired the mantra of RRR – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, a tenet of the Swachh Bharat mission – the eight men collect plastic waste dumped at the trenching ground, turning it into wonderful showpieces, which have become the signature of Ambedkar Park.
In the last three months, the team, which includes painter Vijay Babulal, Vijay Dhulia, Nitesh, Ramesh, and Sachin, and garbage-collectors Kamlesh Mannu and Mahesh Chouhan, have collected plastic waste, particularly used mineral water bottles, tyres and pipes and shaped them into magnificent art.
The showpieces fashioned out of the Jhabua town’s domestic waste, include a eye-catching helicopter, an car and two tall cannons. While nearly 8,000 assorted used plastic bottles have been used to craft the colourful delights bringing visitors to the park, used tires have been used to make comfortable benches and other showpieces, including flower pots and tree enclosures to house decorative plants. Discarded denim, dumped sports and a host of other re-usable materials have also been turned into hanging flower pots, adding to the visual marvel.
“As safai kamgars, born into families of sanitary workers and rag pickers, we don’t have any shame in dealing with domestic waste. But we want to further the cause of the Swachh Bharat mission; thus, we decided to develop this waste-to-wonder project on our own three months back,” head of the team Tony Maliya Pithaya says.
“We’ve not just turned waste from the trenching ground into the showpieces installed at Ambedkar Park, but have also transformed the pipes floating in the dirty nullahs of Jhabua town Ward No 18 into beautiful creations. We’re working on many more installations out of waste,” he ellaborates.
Acknowledging the efforts of the safai kamgars, Bittu Singhar (official representative of Jhabua Nagar Palika) said, “These waste-to-wonder artworks by Tony and team have not only beautified the park, but also freed it of unwanted elements. Now it is emerging as a prime attraction for visitors, particularly students and youth. Its popularity is not confined to Jhabua, but is going viral in adjoining districts too.”
With the installations gaining public attention, people from residential colonies are placing orders with Tony and team for creating standalone showpieces for other localities. “We’re fashioning a helicopter out of plastic bottles and tires, which has been ordered by residents of Gadiya Colony in Jhabua. Residents of other colonies too are requesting similar showpieces. We will relieve the plastic burden, in most creative manner,” Tony beams.