A cleanup drive at Bengaluru’s Turahalli forest has removed more than two tonnes of waste, including poultry waste, domestic sanitary waste, plastic, medical waste and dog carcasses found in bags along the reserve forest’s boundary.
The drive was held on Saturday along the periphery of Turahalli forest in Banashankari 6th Stage, with participation from environment activist Surendra Singh Choudhary, popularly known as Bittu Tabahi, environmentalist AN Yellappa Reddy, India Plog Run representative Ramakrishna Ganeshan, volunteers and local residents. The Indian Garage Co organised the drive in collaboration with Indus Herbs, with assistance from the Greater Bengaluru Authority.
The cleanup began at 8am and continued for nearly four hours. Volunteers initially expected to find plastic waste but encountered several categories of discarded material beneath the accumulated waste. Choudhary said he was stunned to discover dog carcasses and medical waste under the plastic heaps.
“No matter where you go, we lack civic sense. Keeping our surroundings clean is the least of our priorities,” Choudhary said. He added that the waste had accumulated along the road and that the volunteers’ efforts alone could not clear the entire pile-up. A backhoe was brought in to remove the heavier and larger accumulation.
Reddy, who launched the drive, said Turahalli had been a catchment area for four large waterbodies nearly four decades ago. He described the current condition of the forest periphery as a serious deterioration from that environmental role. According to Reddy, the interiors of the Turahalli reserve forest have remained free from widespread waste because of the efforts of the forest department.
Choudhary, a 21-year-old BSc student from Madhya Pradesh, became widely known after documenting his efforts to clean the Ajnar river in Biaora in Rajgarh district. He had funded the purchase of basic tools and supplies with Rs 30,000 from his own pocket and cleaned three major ghats without formal equipment or swimming experience.
Following the Bengaluru cleanup, Choudhary distributed saplings to volunteers. The drive organisers and participants did not indicate a permanent waste-management or enforcement plan for the forest boundary in the supplied report.
