Bengaluru: Citizens, students, children and pourakarmikas came together over the weekend to give neighbourhood parks a cleaner, greener and more vibrant makeover as part of The Times of India’s #IamBengaluru – Volunteer For Parks initiative.Presented by Multigen in association with Kristu Jayanti University and supported by Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), the weekend activities were conducted in collaboration with NGO partners Youth for Seva, Youth for Parivarthan, Hasiru Dala and Adamya Chetana.On Saturday, volunteers gathered in Koramangala for a series of activities. At Triangle Park in Koramangala 5th Block, they cleaned two parks and participated in source segregation sessions, learning about reusability and ways to minimise everyday waste.At Peace Rectangle Park, a textile waste segregation drive focused on recycling different types of fabric, including undergarments. Pourakarmikas were also trained in handling cloth waste and segregating materials more effectively at source.Sunday saw volunteers turn their attention to park beautification and greening. At Kumara Park West children’s garden in Seshadripuram, people participated in painting and other activities. Several residents said the park had remained largely unused for some time and hoped that its makeover would encourage more children to return and play there.Plogging activities were held at RBI Layout, while volunteers took up tree plantation drives at Banashankari 6th Stage and Vajarahalli. The activities brought residents and volunteers together to encourage greater community participation in keeping neighbourhoods clean.Residents speakArchana Tavaragiri & Nandini Cavale | Basavanagudi residentsMy daughter often asks why Bengaluru has so much pollution and garbage. She wanted a cleaner city. Since she loves painting, we felt this was a good initiative for herAditya Charan | Techie, Rajarajeshwari NagarDespite Bengaluru being known for its greenery, there is a lot of maintenance involved. Initiatives like this help keep the city in check and support the governance systemHimaadri KH | class 11 student from NagarabhaviRestoring abandoned parks is important, especially for children. When people come together and work, it makes things easier for the community. That motivates me to contributeKumari | Banashankari 6th Stage residentHappy to see Bengalureans assemble on a beautiful Sunday for a cleaner and greener city. I also humbly request my fellow residents to avoid using plastic bags and always carry a cloth bag, to reduce plastic wasteRahul | Indian Ploggers ArmyBengaluru has a population of over 1.5 crore, and we can only imagine how much trash is generated daily. It’s our responsibility to take care of our waste, avoid single-use plastic, and support GBA and pourakarmikas by joining in plogging activitiesSoumya Ray | Doddanekundi residentI’ve travelled across the world and have seen how public property is taken care of by citizens. But in Bengaluru, there are a lot of parks that need to be cleaned… I feel this is my responsibility as well. What I liked about this initiative was the teamworkUma Shankar | Koramangala 5th Block RWAParks are the most important public spaces today. We have to safeguard and retain whatever parks we have for the future. I’ve learnt a few things in terms of waste segregation. What I understood today was that many things we throw out are actually reusable
