NEW DELHI: Not long ago, residents of Todapur had to bear foul stench emanating from garbage dumped on a plot of land in their area. However, an initiative taken by Delhi Police has turned the plot into a playground where youngsters now hold football matches.An integrated communal development programme as part of Swachh Bharat Mission was initiated by police commissioner Amulya Patnaik to make JJ clusters of the city liveable and help youngsters participate in activities so that they stay away from crime.“Swachh Bharat is not a dream but a campaign. As part of communal policing, the slum cluster of Todapur in Inder Puri was taken up as a pilot project. Now, there has been a pleasant change in the living environment of slum dwellers,” Patnaik said.“While analysing street crimes like snatching, theft, robbery, etc, it was noticed that a large number ofadolescents living in jhuggis were vulnerable and prone to crime. Many of them are drug addicts and commit crime to meet their needs,” said special commissioner Sanjay Baniwal.After watching the activities of the youngsters, it was found that due to poor socio-economic conditions and lack of guidance they were disorientated, the officials said.“The living condition of the slum dwellers was pathetic and toddlers were seen playing in garbage. Removing this mini mountain of solid waste was a herculean task. However, not only was the garbage removed but the ground was also levelled with soil carted by around 30 trucks,” said DCP (west) Vijay Kumar .A drive was also carried out to sensitise slum dwellers about maintaining cleanliness, hazards of open defecation and littering through nukkad natak and other social activities with the help of an NGO. Plays were also conducted to convey awareness against drugs and alcohol abuse. A documentary about life in the slum and bad habits of its dwellers was also shown.The village near the gas godown in Todapur has over 2,500 houses, mostly occupied by people running dairies or working as autorickshaw drivers. “Earlier, the place used to be filthy and outsiders would dump their garbage on the plot. Delhi Police helped us get rid of it,” said Rakesh Sain, a member of the slum committee.The NGO and police have planned to pave the colony roads and hire experts to redesign the cowsheds to avoid dumping of garbage on the plot. A security guard now keeps a watch over the playground. Police said that they will organise inter-colony tournaments every year to keep the ground clear.