Donate clothes through Swachhta Sawari in Chandigarh

Sandeep Rana

Chandigarh, January 29

Residents who wish to donate their clothes can do it on their doorstep through Swachhta Sawari.

Not only will they get donation receipts but their garments will also be washed and ironed before being displayed at Naya Sa, a clothing store run by the MC opposite a community centre at Dhanas.

Needy persons can buy these clothes at Naya Sa for only Rs1 per piece by producing their Aadhaar card. “We have a self-help group of eight or 10 women who wash and iron the clothes donated by residents. Money earned by selling these garments goes to them. Besides, the civic body pays them for the work,” said an MC official involved in the initiative.

The garments, which are in poor shape and cannot be worn, are used to make bags. Within a month of its launch on December 30, the corporation has sold about 2,500 garments out of a total of 2,766 pieces collected so far.

“We have kept a limit of three clothes per person based on the Aadhaar card so that the facility is not misused. Around Dhanas, there are various colonies from where people come to the store,” added the official.

The Swachhta Sawari vehicle has a supervisor and a driver. They, as per a roaster, daily visit houses in separate areas of the city. The corporation has also released helpline 9041998099 for donation-related queries.

The idea behind the project is that a huge amount of garments dumped in a landfill every day can be kept under check by reusing clothes.

“We are getting an overwhelming response from residents. People from Mohali and Panchkula are also showing interest. By this project, both Swachh Bharat as well as women empowerment is happening,” said an official. The MC had set up “Neki ki Deewars” at a few community centres in November 2020 where residents could donate their clothes. Officials, however, now feel collecting clothes from doorstep with a proper system is better than the previous arrangement.

Concept of 3Rs

This is to promote the concept of 3Rs — reduce, recycle and reuse. It is the concept of “mere ghar se aapke ghar tak”. The Rs1 price is to inculcate the feeling of pride of having bought something, instead of just having received in charity. A self-help group of 10 women launder and iron the clothes and also manage the shop , said Anindita Mitra, MC Commissioner