When residents, students joined hands to clean up tech park’s backyard in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Discarded water bottles and cigarette packets, mostly thrown by techies from the adjoining tech park during post-lunch strolls, have long been a concern for residents of Manyata Residency Layout. On Saturday, they joined hands with civic authorities and volunteer groups for a three-hour clean-up drive ahead of World Environment Day.The drive, held from 6am to 9am, saw participation of around 100 volunteers including residents, members from Rotary Manyata, 15–20 students from North Bengaluru High School and GBA personnel. Around 25–30 bags of waste were collected from parks, roadsides and other identified hotspots within the layout.Residents said majority of waste collected was single-use plastics, water bottles, cigarette packets and food packaging, which are routinely found strewn across public spaces in the area.The clean-up drive brought together resident welfare association members, Rotary Manyata, Rotaract Club of Warriors, Rotaract Club of Silicon City College and GBA North City Corporation personnel.An environmental awareness session was conducted for students from economically weaker backgrounds, focusing on plastic waste management and sustainable practices. GBA supported the drive by deploying personnel and vehicles for waste collection, transport and disposal.Participants said the initiative not only improved cleanliness in the neighbourhood but also highlighted the need for stronger coordination between residential communities, civic agencies and corporate establishments to address Bengaluru’s growing plastic waste challenge.Ravi Kumar V, resident and member of Manyata Residency Welfare Association, said: “While this clean-up helped restore the neighbourhood, it also highlighted the scale of plastic waste problem we face every day. A substantial portion of the litter appears to come from the large number of people commuting to and from the neighbouring tech park. We urge corporate establishments to actively educate their workforce on civic hygiene, responsible plastic use and proper waste disposal so that the burden of maintaining public spaces does not fall solely on residents and civic agencies.”