Devoted to cleanliness

Once a virtual garbage dump, the temple town of Chottanikara in Kerala today stands out
as an example of hygiene, thanks to the efforts of dedicated women led by panchayat
president Alice George. She has also managed to remove slums from the area
and build houses for the poor, writes Leela Menon

THE scenic Chottanikara, 18 km off Ernakulam, Kerala, was once a garbage-strewn, polluted and unsanitary temple town. Today, the area leads by example, and is hailed across India for winning the Nirmal Gram Award, the most prestigious recognition for cleanliness and hygiene awarded by the Government of India. The credit for this transformation rests on the fragile shoulders of a group of women led by panchayat president Alice George (43). In a scenario dominated by vicious party politics, she triumphed over divisiveness and the innate male distrust of women leaders to achieve the near impossible—making Chottanikara a world-class town. Chottanikara is a temple town. Hordes of pilgrims visit it every day.

The temple has emerged as the pivot around which village life revolves. The crowd grows to a virtual influx during the Sabarimala season, when hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from across the world reach the hill shrine. Sabarimala has been declared a world pilgrim centre. Since Chottanikara lies en route, it is a must-stop for pilgrims. Predictably, when a horde stampedes into the place, it leaves debris strewn all around, and the entire town and village turns into a virtual garbage dump, covered with plastic waste and reeking of faeces. Few homes in Chottanikara had latrines, and open-air defecation added to the pollution.

What triggered the cleanliness movement in Chottanikara was an attack of chikunguniya, a deadly disease that leaves those afflicted nearly crippled with pain for months. Many even suffered from elephantiasis. Chikunguniya is a fall-out of polluted environs, which turn into breeding grounds for the mosquitoes that carry the virus.

When the Chikunguniya outbreak occurred, Alice was the panchayat president of Chottanikara with a population of 22,300 people. Chottanikara already had a well-organised Kudumbashree network in every ward — 123 Kudumbashree units are spread across 13 wards, with 4,650 women members. Kudumbashree is the state poverty eradication mission of the Government of Kerala. The aim of the programme is to eradicate poverty through concerted community action under the leadership of local governments.

The first decision of the panchayat after the outbreak was to launch a mosquito eradication programme, beginning with a clean-up of the city. Women members led by Alice ventured into the streets and vacant places shrouded in plastic and other waste. Simultaneously, they also started spraying the entire town with medication aimed at killing the mosquitoes. The women also purchased a vehicle, and after learning to drive it themselves, started collecting garbage. The panchayat then decided to ban the use of plastic bags and substitute them with eco-friendly carry bags. This benefited the Kudumbashree housewives, who set up a manufacturing unit to produce carry bags, which they sold to every nearby shop and office.

The women were divided into eight-member groups to clean up the place. The garbage was separated into biodegradable and plastic waste. The biodegradable waste was treated and converted into bio fuel, which today is used in every home in Chottanikara. "It helps us to cook our rice and boil one pot of water. It effects a substantial saving in gas," observes Tresa, a Kudumbashree member. The plastic waste is put into a huge hole dug into the ground and covered with mud. "We know that this is not an eco-friendly practice but at least it prevents mosquitoes from breeding. We wanted to set up a plastic treatment plant but the villagers were against it because they feared it would add to the pollution. We are working on solutions, though," says Alice.

The entire cleaning operation cost lakhs of rupees, and the impoverished panchayat did not have the means to launch such a programme. But the never-say-die Alice got in touch with the Cochin Oil Refinery, located a little distance away, and convinced the management of the necessity of cleaning up the town. The company saw merit in the argument and forked out the necessary funds. They also offered to buy 5,000 carry bags from the Chottanikara Kudumbashree every month.

Alice and the panchayat have ensured that Chottanikara is extremely clean today, with no plastic rubbish and no garbage on view. Its waterways are free of ugly flotsam and jetsam, unlike in neighbouring Ernakulam. The women even cleaned up Vijayaraghavakulam, a perennial water source as well as a canal, making clean water — supplied through three tanks erected by the panchayat — available to every household. And all this within three years.

Only the hilltop homes are deprived of water supply, a problem the panchayat plans to address by building water tanks exclusively for their use. The panchayat also made available a loan to build latrines in every home. A lump sum of Rs 2,000 was provided at the outset, with the rest being managed through Kudumbashree loan schemes.

Alice also managed to remove slums from the area and erected homes for the homeless. For this she sought help from an Irish woman, Mary McCormack, who is the head of Ireland-based Assissi Charitable Trust. McCormack, who came to Kochi, was approached by Alice through a friend, and she offered to build 12 houses for the homeless. Alice also collected funds and built homes for slum-dwellers.

Another one of Alice's feats was to construct a permanent anganwadi for the village. The anganwadi had earlier functioned in a rented building. Future plans include an electric crematorium, which is seen as another step in the anti-pollution drive, despite objections from many quarters.

Alice heads the panchayat but she leads the Kudumbashree mission as well, enriching women in the process and equipping them to keep their town clean. The mission has a book-making unit, a book-binding unit, a snack-making unit, a rice and masala powder-making mill, goat and poultry culture units, a tailoring unit and even a brazier unit that caters to shops in the neighbourhood.

Visitors to Chottanikara can see women with brooms sweeping the roads and pavements at the break of dawn. Garbage is divided into biodegradable and non-biodegradable categories by the residents themselves, and Kudumbashree women visit every home to collect it. The women are paid Rs 50 per head for garbage collection. Hotel waste is also collected by them.

The panchayat was understandably ecstatic when news that it had been selected for the coveted Nirmal Award came in. Among its most prized possessions is a photograph of its dynamic president receiving the Nirmal Gram Award from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, the then President of India.

Says Alice: "We did not even know of the existence of the Nirmal Award. The women here were only concerned about ensuring clean air, garbage-free roads and public spaces and clean drinking water, apart from latrines in every home. We joined hands to achieve the almost impossible and have gained a place on the national map. This has only encouraged us to try and achieve more." — WFS

HOME