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How 550 Volunteers Transformed a Filthy, Waste-filled Train Station in India

How 550 Volunteers Transformed a Filthy, Waste-filled Train Station in India
Gaurang Damani complained so often about the dirt and stench in a Mumbai train station that Central Railway finally let him adopt it. It is now unrecognizable.

Gaurang Damani was so tired of the dirt and stench in a Mumbai train station that he regularly wrote letters to the Central Railway to complain. Finally, the company offered the option to Damani and his non-profit organization to adopt the station and clean it up themselves.

The NGO, Karmayogi Pratisthan, gathered nearby residents and volunteers from colleges, elementary schools, garden and sport clubs to transform King's Circle station. Beginning in late December, the beautification took 4 months.

Now, the walls of the station have been brightly painted with social messages and inspiring murals, countless bags of trash rotting on the premises were replaced with trash bins, walkways and floors were scrubbed, and even flowers and trees were planted.

 

Women and students who loathed getting on and off at the station now can use it comfortably. New street lamps now make it safer at night and the foul smell has gone away. Sweepers take turns regularly maintaining the appearance and new signage encourages cleanliness.

"The decrease in littering and spitting means that I have made a difference," Damani told Mid-Day news. "I have invested my own money and there is also money coming through donations. The fact that my NGO has adopted the station (means) people are helping to keep the station clean as well as to beautify it."

(WATCH the video from Damani below or READ the story from Mid-Day.com)

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