#GoodNews: This TN Panchayat is Green and Nearly Garbage-Free

Residents of Athappagoundur panchayat in Coimbatore decided to take up the task of five years ago.

The village is now green and nearly garbage-free. 

(Photo courtesy: The News Minute)

It’s easy to pin the blame on government officials when garbage piles up for days in your neighbourhood without being attended to. But here’s a panchayat in Coimbatore, where residents have taken on the responsibility of ensuring that their neighbourhoods are garbage-free.

Tired of seeing garbage strewn on the streets, residents of Athappagoundur panchayat in Coimbatore decided to take up the task of disposing off their trash five years ago. “There was always a foul smell on the streets due to piled-up garbage everywhere. Then we decided to clean up the garbage and start planting trees. Now, the panchayat is 80% garbage free zone. Except for two areas, there is no garbage anywhere,” says Shanmugam, a businessman.

The Coimbatore village. (Photo courtesy: The News Minute)

Unlike other panchayats, Athappagoundur does not depend on workers for the door-to-door collection of waste. Instead, Shanmugam explains, “People collect garbage from their houses and put it in dustbins. From there about 10 of us take it and give it to the panchayat. No one leaves garbage on the roads now.”

This apart, the 2,000-odd residents of this panchayat have also taken to tree planting for every happy occasion. From weddings and the birth of a child to even buying a vehicle or a house, people celebrate their joy by planting a tree.

In the last five years, around 4,500 trees have been planted. “Trees include banyan, fig and neem. It is planted on government land. The panchayat supported us in all our initiatives. We have hired a person to make sure that the trees are watered and it is well-maintained. There is also a garden that we have made,” says Shanmugam proudly.

The village is now garbage-free. (Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

Around 20 residents devote an hour every day and four hours on Sunday to tend to the trees, and ensure that the area is well-maintained and clean.

Their efforts have paid dividend for the community as a whole. “We have different birds coming to our area, the climate has become much better, our area is 80% garbage-free and most importantly, there is unity among us,” says Shanmugam.

But that’s not all, Athappagoundur residents have also built 12 public toilets for the community after getting funding from the Rotary Club.

Next on the list of initiatives, Shanmugam says, is to get funding to help purify the groundwater before it reaches the houses.

(This story was first published on The News Minute and has been republished with permission.)