On June 21, 2026 ,Coimbatore held community cleaning drive called ‘Watch Your Waste’ at GV Residency,and focus was simple but serious,waste disposal.
This was not just one random cleanliness program also . Siruthuli ,PSG & Sons' Charities ,and the Coimbatore Corporation came together for it,mainly to push responsible waste habits among residents and create awareness around restoring Gandhimaa Nagar Stream .
And this stream is not small thing ah . Gandhimaa Nagar Stream is urban water channel draining into Irugur Lake,so whatever waste enters here does not just disappear . It keeps moving into bigger water bodies and then same pollution comes back to people in some form .
Singanallur MLA K.S . Sri Giri Prasath spoke during event and asked public to cooperate with local civic authorities and voluntary organizations . He also highlighted need to restore 300-acre Singanallur Lake,which has been badly affected by sewage inflow and solid waste pollution.
Few things standing out clearly here:
- Public participation was pushed strongly through ‘Watch Your Waste’.
- study revealed faecal coliform levels in local ponds exceeded 80,000.
- Future phases include fencing and algae-based remediation starting June 25.
But tbh,that faecal coliform number is what makes whole thing more worrying . When local ponds are showing levels exceeding 80,000,it is not just about bad smell or dirty water anymore . This becomes public health issue also,and people casually dumping waste near open areas only adds to it.
Coimbatore Corporation Commissioner Katta Ravi Teja also told residents to hand over waste to conservancy workers instead of dumping it in open spaces . He said Corporation regularly handles roadside waste,but waste entering water bodies is still major challenge,and that part feels very real.
Vanitha Mohan ,Managing Trustee of Siruthuli,also said waste management must be treated as urgent priority . She urged people to be more mindful about disposal habits and actually take part in awareness campaigns like this,not just attend once and forget next day.
One positive point is that desilting and bund-strengthening works along 3.5-km stretch of Gandhimaa Nagar Stream have been completed . That does show some action on ground,but question is whether public behaviour will change fast enough before same places get polluted again…
