Page 54 - Mann Ki Baat English
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clean is a constitutional as well of responsibility.
as civic duty. Solving Urban Waste in
Community Ownership in Bengaluru
Assam In Bengaluru, the approach
A similar spirit of local pride to Swachhata has taken a
is evident in Nagaon, Assam. more technical and methodical
Here, the initiative began at the turn. Recognizing the "failure of
grassroots level when a small the system" in handling bulky
group of residents decided to waste like discarded sofas
clean their neighbourhood, and mattresses, professionals
starting with a local temple. This associated with The Ugly
effort quickly scaled as more Indian decided to tackle the
people joined, leading to the problem at a unit level.
formation of Team 18. Using an engineering
The project demonstrates mindset, they discovered that
how Jan Bhagidari fosters a sofa could be dismantled into
unity. Residents not only its constituent parts—wood,
cleared garbage from alleys fabric, and foam—in just 15
and streets, but also spruced minutes. By breaking down these
them up with artwork and ‘legacy’ items, they created
saplings. By collaborating a recyclable stream that the
with the municipal board and existing municipal system could
sanitation staff, Team 18 turned actually absorb. This model is not
a private hobby into a town- just about cleaning; it is about
wide mission. This emotional problem-solving. It suggests that
attachment to their "old streets" by creating ‘bulk breaker’ jobs,
has created a sustainable model cities can solve waste problems
of cleanliness based on mutual while simultaneously providing
cooperation and a shared sense livelihoods, all with minimal
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