Drumbeats catch the attention of Thevathai, a resident of Mudalipalayam Panchayat, as she tends to her cattle. Two groups of children, carrying green buckets and sacks, walk up to her house in the blazing sun. Sakhityan, a student of Yellow Train leads one group, while Deepak a local school student is in charge of the other. They come bearing bags and buckets and tell her how to separate her kitchen and plastic waste. Then they move on to the next house in the village. Deepak, who knows the village like the palm of his hand, goes to the petti kadai in the corner of the road, and educates the shop keeper about the importance of waste segregation. Tamizh Selvi, another village resident says, “I have complained so many times. No one comes to pick the rubbish. We end up burning it ourselves and risking our health by breathing in the smoke.” However, she is hopeful this campaign will change things and promises the children that she will make good use of these bins.
Waste management is a big issue in this panchayat. There are hardly any dustbins and no one comes to collect waste. In the past few months, an area near the Mudalipalayam corporation school has become a garbage dump.
When students, Sakhityan and Iniya passed by this way to their school Yellow Train, it occurred to them that they could do something about this. They were taught in class about how smoke from vehicles and burning plastic can deplete the ozone layer. They wanted to clean the place and build a park for the school students. They rushed to the school and told the teachers about this. A few of their classmates frowned at the idea because it was too “dirty”. However the children stood their ground and the initiative called ‘Mudalil Sutham Mudalipalayathil’ was born in January.
Since then, the children have regularly visited the Panchayat offices, spoken to the villagers and made friends with the corporation school students and teachers. The officials did not take them too seriously in the beginning, but the children persisted. They finally met the Panchayat president at his house and discussed the issue with him.
“Then we raised around Rs. 13,800, which was difficult. We took the help of R. Raveendran of RAAC, who arranged a JCB for us to clean the place,” says Sakhityan.
Raveendran and members of Siruthuli also joined the children in raising awareness. “In the last 40 to 50 years, our habits have changed. It has become relevant more than ever to segregate waste since we use a lot of plastic now. Once these children change their habits, an entire generation will change,” says Raveendran.
Now, the area is clean with mounds of fresh, brown soil and arali saplings, with no garbage in sight. On the last day of the campaign, the children march out with shovels to lay a bed of soil in front of the school to create a garden. They are sweating, but laughing and humming songs. They are happy that there has been a positive outcome, but, they also know that the movement does not stop here. Their target is to create awareness in all 180 houses.
Deepak, who studies in the corporation school, has been assigned the job of patrolling the village every morning and informing the school authorities if anyone flouts the rules. Deepak and his four-member gang are quite popular in the village; almost all families know them. He demands, “We want our land to be clean and good. We want to study in a clean environment. Those who do not follow the rules should pay a fine.”
On Sunday, the children, teachers and village residents gather at the Pillaiyar temple near the school to celebrate the annual thiruvizha. It is a village festival, with songs, dances and discussions about cleanliness.
The village elders, along with the children, plant saplings where the mountain of garbage once stood. Later, they clean the walls of the school and draw a huge tree bearing yellow flowers to depict their struggle and its fruitful outcome.
We want our land to be clean and good. We want to study in a clean environment. Those who do not follow the rules should pay a fine.
