MADIKERI: Astroll on a quaint street near Government Junior College in Madikeri introduces one to a beautification project where flower pots hang on retaining walls of public spaces. In between the flower pots, dustbins are also placed for public use. This beautification project was not taken up by the City Municipal Council or any other government body; it is the effort of an individual from Delhi who moved into the city two years ago in search of clean air.
Piyush Agarwal has grand plans to make Madikeri one of the quaintest cities to live in. Piyush, who started on a road trip across India in search of a place with clean and pure air to lead a retired life, says, “Madikeri fit the bill the best for my retired life.” So, what made him undertake the journey from Delhi to Madikeri? “I was in search of a place with a low Air Quality Index (AQI), which I wanted to make my home,” he says.
The businessman and entrepreneur developed bouts of cough due to high air pollution in Delhi. “I had difficulty breathing and developed cough bouts. COVID happened, and my business suffered a bit. That is when I decided that Delhi was not the place I wanted to live in, and it was time for me to get out,” he shares.
Road trip across 27 states
He set off on a road trip across India, travelling from East coast to West coast, the AQI meter as his travel buddy. He checked the air quality in every place he visited. Ooty, Chikkamagaluru, Goa, Kerala, Kanyakumari – Piyush travelled the length and breadth of India and covered 27 of 29 states; this was in 2022.
“I had a few parameters in mind. While air quality was the priority, the other parameters included the kind of people, a not-so-large city, greenery. And Madikeri fit the bill the best,” he explains.
His travel experience also revealed that the majority of the country is polluted, as air quality level across several regions is above 50. “Madikeri had an AQI level of 16, and became my ideal place to settle down for a retired life. Kodagu is among the best districts and nowhere in the country can you find such forests with abundant greenery. Even coffee cultivation is done using shade trees,” he opines.
Piyush rented out a house and has been a resident for two years. He wants Madikeri to become one of the most beautiful cities in the country and his efforts can be seen in the beautification and cleanliness projects he has undertaken silently. During his first year, Piyush caught the attention of the City Municipality Council after he was spotted picking up litter and clearing garbage in his neighbourhood, equipped with a ‘litter picker’ stick and gunny bag.
Impressed, then CMC president Anita Poovaiah invited Piyush to her office and appreciated his efforts. “I am 65 years old and cannot bend down to pick up litter. I bought the ‘litter picker’ stick online and have a few collections of these sticks. Every Indian wants to keep their house clean, but when it comes to their surroundings, they are not bothered, this is a very Indian sentiment. The road and neighbourhood are an extension of my house and I often clean my surroundings. This introduced me to CMC councillors and now, I have started an initiative to install public dustbins across the city,” he says.
During his chats with CMC officials, Piyush got permission to instal dustbins (pinned to retaining walls of public spaces) across several wards in the city. Similarly, he put up dustbins in busy public spaces, including tourist spots and outside schools.
“I approached the youth empowerment department for permission to instal dustbins across the District Ground premises,” he says.
He got the nod, and installed over 15 dustbins in the grounds, but they were all stolen within 48 hours. “I don’t want to fix the dustbins permanently as it would be difficult for civic workers to clear them. Cleaning dustbins must be a simple process. However, of the hundreds of dustbins installed across wards, over 50 per cent were stolen. This is when I realised that people of Madikeri don’t want dustbins,” he points out. Piyush faced several hurdles in the cleanliness project, but this did not stop him from beautifying the city.
After the dustbin project, he undertook beautification work by installing flower pots across the city limits. Flower pots with self-watering technology (originally designed by him) are lined up across city limits.
‘Proud to live in Madikeri’
Piyush has more such initiatives in mind. He aims to install a flower pot and a dustbin on all lampposts. However, getting permission, especially from the CESC department, remains a Herculean task.
“Imagine if every lamppost was lined with a flower pot and a dustbin. Madikeri will become one among the cleanest cities in the country, and I would be proud to live here. I don’t want any government support and I am ready to invest completely on my own. However, CESC denied permission for it and there is nothing I can do to change this,” he says, disappointed.
Nevertheless, Piyush continues to involve himself in environment-friendly beautification projects. He has planted over 350 varieties of trees across his neighbour’s private estate and invented eco-friendly measures to water these saplings.
“I sought permission from one of my neighbours to plant saplings in his estate. I told him I don’t want any support or returns, but only oxygen from these saplings. I collected 10,000 plastic water bottles from restaurants and hotels. During monsoons, I collected water in these bottles and these bottles continue to water the self-watering flower pots and saplings I have planted so far,” he explains. His routine includes cleaning the neighbourhood of trash, taking a stroll across the estate to take care of his saplings, cycling and golf. While he visits the estate during the morning hours, he ensures to put his food in a solar cooker and keep it under the sun. “By the time I am back, I know my food is cooked and this is my routine during summer days,” he shares.
While the initiative undertaken by Piyush is not known to the majority in the city, people who know him are inspired by his efforts. “When I was growing up, pollution was not among the biggest concerns. The environment then was pristine, and we could swim in any stream as the water was clean. I have seen nature deteriorate in my lifetime and river Jamuna in Delhi is proof of that deterioration. Now, I do my bit to keep nature clean,” he concludes.
He also hopes to garner support from people’s representatives as he is ready to fund the beautification project, provided he has all the permissions in hand.