Students will help slum clean up

HUBLI: Some like-minded people and students in the city have come together to adopt a slum and develop it. Local NGO Deshpande Foundation is extending its help to the enthusiastic group in making a stretch of the city's underbelly spic-n-span and providing basic facilities and infrastructure to the slum dwellers.
Siddharameshwar Nagar slum near Unkal Lake will see a facelift soon, thanks to the initiative of a motley group of about 50 students, 50 slum dwellers, some local people and officials and workers of the corporation.The work will begin on November 3.
Speaking to TOI, Sunil Patil, programme manager, Lead Program, Deshpande Foundation, said that Hubli is in the 196th place in the list of clean cities in India. "We want to free the city from garbage. We will develop Siddharameshwar Nagar slum so as to set a model for other slums in the city."
They have named their endeavour 'Orange flame,' a flame that can cleanse what is bad and bring about the much needed change and hope.
There are about 105 slums in Hubli-Dharwad twin cities and people here are living in unhygienic conditions due to lack of proper sanitation, gutters, roads and garbage clearance facility. No government or non-government bodies have taken any noteworthy initiative so far to create awareness among people living in the slums about hygiene and sanitation.
Neelakanth Polakpolli, a student and member of DFP said, "Earlier we had visited Siddharameshwar Nagar slum for some other reason. After seeing the prevailing condition there, we decided to take up the cleaning work. We will create awareness among the slum dwellers about health and hygiene."
Tippanna Majjagi, former corporator said that the corporation officials have agreed to extend their help in accomplishing the task. The HDMC will give an earth mover to clean the nalas and gutters and a tractor to transport the waste, he added.