Instead of imaginary faces, Hilldaari, a project supported by Nestlé India in collaboration with Delhi based artist Achintya and the Nainital Municipal council paints the real heroes behind the health and safety of the city. The project highlights the beauty of artistic expression in bringing awareness and change in social behaviour.
Achintya Malviya, artist who made the 6 wall portraits |
In Nainital, the team identified 6 waste workers from lake cleaner, waste collector, informal waste picker and waste collection driver to provide them with much-deserved recognition for their contribution during the pandemic. The life-sized portraits, apart from adding beauty to the lake city also act as a reminder to the people in the area to do their bit, to not litter and respect the waste worker force.
Artist Arun Sharma and Achintya Malviya behind their wall artwork on 3R of waste managment |
Meha Lahiri, Co-founder, Recity Network explains, “In one of our initial interactions on the ground, Krishna Ji, a waste worker had beamingly remarked, "Koodey waaley toh aap ho, hum toh Safai waaley hai (You are the producers of waste. We are ambassadors of cleanliness)". 6 wall portraits across Nainital are an effort to acknowledge the same, and celebrate waste workers' contribution to the cities. In the COVID crisis, we are capacity building citizens to segregate their domestic biomedical waste like masks and gloves, and wrap it in paper before disposing of, as this waste can harm the waste workers. We have also ensured that waste workers receive vaccination, and are trained in COVID related SOPs, and are celebrated as COVID heroes. Krishna Ji's confident assertion has stayed with all of us and has given us a direction for the project.”
portrait work under progress |
Bio-medical waste and its disposal has emerged as a significant health hazard during the pandemic. The awareness campaigns focus on ideal waste management behaviours such as- provide dignity to waste workers, no-littering, Source Segregation and Waste as a resource. At the same time, there are efforts to create a sense of belonging among the citizens towards their cities by visible change interventions and various place-making initiatives.
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