Volunteers find a colourful solution to keep Chennai clean

CHENNAI: The foot overbridge on the Nungambakkam High Road in Chennai has been surprisingly clean and bright in the past one week thanks to a group of volunteers who have removed posters, paan stains and given a fresh coat of paint to the structure.
This is part of Greater Chennai Corporation's 'Clean Chennai' campaign to beautify public places with the help of NGOs and other groups.
Namrata Ramaratnam, founder of civic group 'The Paint Box' which gave a lively look to the structure, said: “We started the beautification drive on the foot overbridge a few weeks ago. Painting on one side of the stairs has been completed and another portion will be taken up soon.”
She said the foot overbridge on the Nungambakkam High Road was relatively clean than others because of the lift facility. “But unfortunately posters and banners made the structure ugly so we wanted to give a bright colour to keep it clean. Volunteers including elderly persons and children are also coming forward to participate in the ‘Clean Chennai’ campaign, especially during weekends.”
Many commuters said littering and spitting on the foot overbridge had come down since the bridge was painted.
Nisha Thota, general secretary of Shuddha International, an NGO which coordinates Clean Chennai campaign, said they were coordinating with various groups to clean public places and structures.
“People should feel nice when they climb the stairs of the foot overbridge. We have also requested Chennai Corporation to put up colourful garbage bins in the structure to prevent littering,” she said.
She said they would also focus on the structures that were recently damaged in the recent floods. “We are also planning to beautify the Kotturpuram bridge which was damaged in the recent floods,” she said.
Over the past few months, members of such groups as Paint Box, Serene Chennai, Team Aram and Chennai Rising have beautified walls in Kotturpuram, Besant Nagar and Choolaimedu, inside the Harrington Road subway, and at the Semmozhi Poonga and Quaid-E-Millath College on Anna Salai.
Inspired by Bengaluru-based The Ugly Indian (TUI), volunteers of 'Chennai Rising' conducted several 'spot fixes' in various locations.