Citizens and BBMP come together for Hoskerehalli Lake

On July 16th, Citizens for Hosakerehalli Lake and Jhatkaa.org hosted a cleanup and awareness activity at Hoskerehalli lake. We took this cleanup when one of the citizens from Hosakerehalli Lake, Rachna, approached us to help her with awareness about the garbage dump around the lake. We hosted the cleanup along with Indian ploggers army, Unicorn art club, and Global Academy of Technology.

Around 50 volunteers were present at the event who collected 60 plastic bags of dry waste.

Officials from BBMP were present during the event.
We spoke to Mr Nandeesha, the superintendent Engineer from RR Nagar.

We spoke about

The citizen engagement tool to connect like-minded individuals in one place.
The process to discuss volunteer engagement with BBMP
Data gathering about BBMP ward marshalls and volunteers from the Citizens participation program.

“As of Saturday, our young friends from Jhatkaa, Unicorn Art Club and Indian Ploggers army have all come to me requesting a cleanup drive. We welcome them to collaborate with us for better waste management. Around 50 people came here to clean this area up. I want to thank our young friends on behalf of BBMP. This lake’s vicinity had become a black spot in Rajarajeshwari ward. From the interests shown by the people, we will maintain this place in the coming month and remove the black spot from this area. We will pledge to make this place look like a lake.” said Mr Nandeesha.
Citizens swore, ” Our garbage is our responsibility “, and took an oath to refuse single-use plastics. We could see the local community coming together to preserve the diversity of the lake and its surroundings.

Citizens swore, ” Our garbage is our responsibility “, and took an oath to refuse single-use plastics. We could see the local community coming together to preserve the diversity of the lake and its surroundings.

During the event, Jhatkaa.org held a workshop on citizen engagement tool. The Namma clean Bengaluru site. The site helps organise like-minded individuals to build a network of volunteers who can host cleanups and awareness drives to keep their locality clean. The response to the site was excellent.

This is what some people had to say during the event.

“Our waste is our responsibility. citizens need to be more aware of the 8R’s that we speak and follow in our life Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Remove, Respect and Rejoice for mother Nature. This time we are plogging on the banks of a very old lake and spreading awareness on Waste Management. The aim is to keep the lakes of Bangalore Clean and healthy! Every lake revived is a lake saved !” as per The Indian Plogman Raj.

“Unsegregated garbage ends up in the landfills, leading to garbage burning and, thus, creating air pollution. In the long run, this impacts our health and creates unsafe spaces for citizens. But if we as citizens come together, anything or everything can be solved. As the citizens of Namma City, we must segregate the waste at the source to have our parks, lakes and safe public spaces. Join Jhatkaa.org and create safe spaces for living in Namma Bengaluru.” – Chiku – Senior Engagement and Operations Associate at Jhatkaa.org.

“Miracles happen when civilians and local civic bodies get together for a larger impact. Within each of us lies the power to be the change and reflect it in the environment. We had 50+ volunteers, pourakarmikas, joining us from different walks of life. Solidarity is key to a clean and green city,” as said by Rachna from Citizens for Hosakerehalli.

“Being a resident of Hosakerehalli, it’s sad to see the lake like this. My parents used to say the lake used to look so good back in their days, but it has changed so much. So today me, and my friends have come together to volunteer and clean up the banks of the lake. I would like to see the place to be clean and won’t stop until it is being done.” as per Jeevan, a resident of RR Nagar.

Jhatkaa.org hopes to initiate a few more cleanups in the coming times to keep the city clean and create awareness drives with the people. We want to build volunteer cohorts of residents within the locality where citizens have taken up ownership of the area they reside in.

Do sign up with Jhatkaa.org to be part of the volunteer network.