Congratulations to Niharika Gupta, Baksheesh Sachar, Ipsita Choudhury, and Gunraagh Singh Talwar for winning the ACCESS Fellowship by WRI India and AACO. Their proposal, Sabka Bhalswa, aims to raise awareness of the issue of solid waste management by telling the story of a neglected urban community in North Delhi.
The team will focus on the 1700 households at Kalandar Colony, who live in the shadow of the Bhalswa landfill - a 62-meter-high mountain of trash that caters to over 50% of the city's waste. Due to the landfill, the community faces health and safety hazards and has the most hazardous air quality in the city. The team plans to document the lives of the people of Kalandar Colony, capturing their stories across gender, age, and social groups.
To accomplish this, the team will engage in dialogue with the people, using an existing network of people formed through one of the team member's existing social initiatives, Chhav, which aims to develop community sheds and revamp existing open spaces through tactical urbanism. The team plans to convey the documented stories through an awareness campaign, Sabka Bhalswa, which intends to bring out the voices of those impacted by the Bhalswa landfill. The campaign will target waste producers, creating awareness of their role and responsibility in the city's waste management system.
The team plans to run the campaign through a web-based medium, using writings, comic strips, illustrations, social media filters, voice, and video clips. This project aims to create awareness and bring attention to the issue of solid waste management, not just to tell the story of a neglected community. The team's innovative approach to convey the story through an awareness campaign and using an existing network of people shows their dedication to creating a meaningful impact. We look forward to seeing the positive change their project brings to the people of Kalandar Colony and the issue of solid waste management in Delhi.