Trek To Clean - Muttatthi

Thanks to all the participants:

Ramesh, Soumya, Amol, Kavitha, Tarsh, Priya, Apun, Vasu, Didi, Balaji, Karthik, Amit, Roopa

A team of 13 members was the participant of the first trek of the series.

Thanks to all the participants for their time and effort. It was definitely a great start.

We reached the place by 9. We had an informal meeting with the forest department officials about the Trek To Clean program. It was both encouraging and surprising to know that they were also interested in this activity and wanted the support of NGOs & people like us to help them make Mutthatthi a Litter Free Zone.

We picked a couple of spots alongside the river. It was primarily plastic and bottles in that place (Mc Dowells seems to be a famous brand there J ). Everybody started with their gloves and garbage bag each. It hardly took anytime before everything was cleared off. All it took was a collective effort and a little time of everyone.

The monkeys there do not seem to like the cleaning business. They were always there to tear off the garbage bags. We understood then where the littering we humans indulged in came from. Monkey-Business indeed!

A few of the locals there came to us to talk about it. They were actually environment conscious volunteers who were already trying to spread the word. They showed us the pamphlets they distributed to help in spreading the awareness.

We are looking forward to working with them to make the cleaning a regular event, Yes, with all your contribution, in spreading the awareness.

Talking to the local people, the boat contractors of that area and the local trekking guides and surveying the place gave us an insight into many issues prevailing in the area.

1. There are four tourist spots alongside the river in need of immense cleaning.

2. There are no dustbins anywhere in the vicinity. Even if someone does not want to litter, there is no way one could put away the garbage. We could put some dustbins, three at least in each spot, for visitors to use and we could work with the localities in disposing the same. We could assist in re-cycling the waste. (I am sure McDowells would buy them back J ).

3. There are seven Danger water spots. There are no alerts or warning signboards anywhere close to these spots. Unfortunate Accidents in this zone are very frequent.

Beyond this, there is also the common problem of poverty and illiteracy affecting the area. We need to spread awareness among the villagers too.

There are no high schools in the village. The students after passing standard 7th are supposed to go to other bigger villages that have high schools. Going ahead, we could work towards this cause. This would need immense support of all the members.

In the end, it was about two dozens of garbage bags on the back and a few cleaner spots in Muttatthi and a heartfelt satisfaction of having accomplished something. Surprisingly, it needed some “going around” in the streets of Bangalore to dispose the garbage we collected. We were close to a Police Complaint when trying to dump it at a place, which we thought was a Dump Yard. Wonder where all the garbage goes.

Thanks to all the monetary and “In Person” contributions of the members. We are definitely looking forward to more of it. We welcome ideas, suggestions and active participation from all members in-order to make THE DIFFERENCE.

“The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep"

Thanks & Regards,

Roopa Sreedhar,

98861-62404