At the the Urapakkam railway station, a section of commuters takes a hardline on waste disposal. Anyone throwing away waste irresponsibly will be reprimanded by them and asked to throw the refuse in the dustbin.
These commuters are comrades of Rajesh Kannan Yadav, an environmental activist, who is on a mission to ensure the terminal is kept clean.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat Mission inspired me to adopt the station. While I was working abroad as a supervisor at a multinational company, people there would call India an unclean and unhygienic. I came to Chennai, found accomodation in Chrompet, and was preparing for International English Language Testing System (IELTS). One day, I came on work to Urapakkam by train, and found the conditoon of the station to be appalling,” Yadav said.
“ I asked myself, ‘Why not clean the station?’ and approached the Southern Railway in this regard. The authorities were surprised that I wanted to clean the station premises single-handedly. They gave me the responsibility of maintaining the station for a month. Impressed with my work, they extended the responsibility for six months, and then another six months, and now, for a year.”
For Yadav, the day starts at 4 a.m. He walks up and down the station cleaning and removing the trash, and throwing it in the dustbins that he has funded from his earnings.
Apart from this, he has kept potted plants, painted the inner and outer walls of the ticket counter room, fixed benches, placed lamps outside the ticket counter room, beneath the foot-over-bridge and over the boards providing train timings and directions. The other works he has carried out include planting of saplings around the fence and covers washroom area. “ I scrapped the posters, washed and white-washed the walls of the counter room. The response from the commuters has been excellent. They warn the other commuters who spit and throw trash on the platforms. They even fought with a commuter for spitting paan,” he says.
G. Kaja Mynuddin, a commuter, praised Yadav for his efforts to improve consitions at the terminal.
“ He is working hard to make this a model station. Yadav is implementing the Swachh Bharat Mission, which is essential to keep our country clean. Though these commuters and I sensitise the other commuters not to spit and throw garbage, they continue to do so. I hope their attitude will change.”
He is appreciative of the gesture by the Loyola College to adopt the Nungambakkam railway station.
“It is a good move by the premier educational institution. The NGOs should come forward to adopt stations. Commuters are requesting me to start an NGO, and adopt more stations. My next responsibility includes giving a fresh coat of paint to the Chief Inspector Controller Room at the Station,” he says.
Rajesh Kannan Yadav can be contacted at 98402 83359.
