Meet 51-year-old Mahadev Jadhav who has recreated a Bollywood classic to sensitise people on waste management
Mahadev Jadhav, a sanitation worker with the Pune Municipal Corporation, along with like-minded people visits schools, colleges, and housing societies to create awareness among residents on hygiene and cleanliness.
We all are aware of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, which has almost become an anthem associated with propagating cleanliness in India. Ever since it was launched, a number of initiatives and programmes have taken root all over the country to help the cleanliness drive.
Recently, the story of Mahadev Jadhav a Pune Municipal Corporation worker has gone viral for all the right reasons, for the novel method he has brought to a cleanliness awareness initiative.
India’s top 60 cities generates 15,000 tonnes of plastic every single day.
Mahadev has recreated an old classic song, Kajra Mohabbatwala to help people understand the need to keep clean surroundings. He has changed the lyrics to read as, kachara sookha aur geela, sabne mila kar dala, kachare ne leli sabki jaan re, gaur se suniye meherban that is aimed towards citizens, discouraging them from dumping garbage in public spaces.
Speaking to NDTV he said,
“I am a big fan of singing and writing poems; when I saw people carelessly throwing garbage on the roads, I decided to stop them through my songs, so now when I am out working and I see anyone dumping garbage carelessly, I start singing.”
For the municipal worker, it all started with an incident when he saw some people throwing plastic bags containing trash on the road during their morning walks.
According to Business Standard, Mahadev along with like-minded people visits schools, colleges, and housing societies to create awareness among residents on hygiene and cleanliness.
Stressing on the misuse of plastic bags, the lyrics go like this, carry bag ye plastic wala, isko aadat kar dala, aadat ne le li sabki jaan, gaur se suniye mehereban, which translates into carrying plastic carry bags has killed us all.”
Thanks to his work and efforts, Mahadev is often invited to housing societies to create awareness on waste management. According to his senior, Dnyaneshwar Molak, who heads the PMC's waste management department, the subject has now become Mahadev’s passion.
According to Dnyaneshwar, Mahadev would soon be appointed as a cleanliness brand ambassador for the central government’s cleanliness survey, which is conducted by the civic authorities.
Speaking about his motto, Mahadev said,
“Through my songs, I create awareness about where to put dry and wet waste, so people can be educated about waste segregation. Moreover, I also speak about the ill-effects of using plastic and why each one of us should practice the 3Rs – reduce, reuse and recycle”, reports NDTV.