QUEEN'S ROAD: If you have noticed certain areas in the city unusually clean and walls painted with red and white otifs, then you have Youth for Parivarthan to thank for the makeover. t all started when Amith Amarnath, a final year student at the School of Law, Christ University, realised that there was sweeping apathy among citizens when it came to addressing the increasing garbage problem in the city.
He and a few friends after registering themselves as an NGO, first cleaned up a playground near Banashankari Stage II. The overwhelming response and encouragement they received brought on the idea that this could be done more often. And then, 'Parivarthan Drives' were born almost three months ahead of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Amith has always been inclined towards community service.
He says, "I feel that one doesn't need an incentive to serve the society. After all, this is our city! Community service gives me immense satisfaction and it others me that most people just look after their homes without thinking about the community at large. And that is why we wanted to step in and make a difference." The NGO has carried out cleaning drives and spotfixes at various areas in the city, leaving in their wake, Warliinspired paintings on walls that were discoloured and ugly.
Amith says, "We paint a place after cleaning it up because our observation is that when you clean a place and leave, people don't really change their habits or attitudes but when you transform a place and make it look completely different from before, they will think before continuing with the littering. We basically play with the psychology of the people for a better society." Youth for Parivarthan did not let the initial cynicism get to their efforts. In fact, the Swachh Bharat campaign actually helped them. However, it was not very easy to maintain the areas they had finished cleaning. At one point, a painted wall opposite Mysore Bank in Gandhinagar had posters pasted on it all over again. Amith says, "It was mostly the work of local associations wishing everyone a Happy Rajyotsava. We approached the BBMP and various media houses But none of them supported us as theydidn't want to take them on. We can only clean a place and make it look better but maintenance is something left to the BBMP and the residents as we are all students and we can't really keep track of every place we clean.
But after that incident, we make sure that we coordinate with the BBMP and inform them to maintain the spot once we clean it and it has worked to some extent." Each time they clean a spot, a team of three members goes around the locality informing people about the change and about the importance of waste segregation. Social media has helped Youth for Parivarthan to reach out to more people. With groups like The Ugly Indian doing their bit to beautify the city, Amith hopes more citizen initiatives will step in where the government cannot or does not.He says,"We just hope that people realise that there is no need of Youth For Parivarthan to clean their locality and to educate them about cleanliness.
Each one of us can be the change we want to see around us and in our city."