On May 20th, Kumudha’s Dry Waste Collection Centre in Ward 177, JP Nagar Bengaluru went up in flames. Nothing inside survived the fire.
The fire burned for over six hours until much after midnight
Kumudha’s centre is a place of business, a learning centre that hosted hundreds of students, academics and zero waste practitioners a year. Kumudha put in her own money to build this centre, running it with a self-help group of over a dozen women. The centre collected dry waste from Ward 177, reclaimed recyclables and supported several livelihoods. This has been a disastrous loss for her and the community.
Kumudha was devastated, but she was not left to mourn alone. DWCC Operators from across the Jayanagar division banded together to support her, and her team committed to continuing work despite the fire and the loss of infrastructure. The operators lent Kumudha a vehicle to replace the one that was lost in the fire, and within a week Kumudha was collecting dry waste again. She was also supported by the extraordinary generosity of residents and citizens who donated over 5 lakhs to support the salaries of her team, rebuilding efforts to give her a stable centre to work from, and to cover the loss of materials from the old centre!
Sorting the collected waste for future recycling
The Hasiru Dala team supported Kumudha to rebuild a temporary structure for her centre. The BBMP has made a commitment to upgrade the centre in the near future, along with other wards in the Jayanagar division.
Kumudha expresses her gratitude to everyone who donated to her fundraiser, provided her with vehicles, time and effort, and for everyone who supported her to continue working.
Stories of Waste and Waste Workers - Live Blog of Hasiru Dala 