Malleswaram

BJP

Rakshit Shivaram

Manjunath Raju

Kadumalleshwara Geleyara Balaga

Ravindra

Bhuvana S

Kadumalleshwara

Nage Gowda

corporator asks group that cleaned up around BBMP school to restore it to original condition; will need three truckloads of garbage, lots of urine to do so, say volunteersA group of volunteers who organised a Swachh Bharat campaign in Malleswaram and cleaned up the filthy premises of a BBMP school didn't get a pat on the back or a `thank you' ­ they got a warning and a police complaint. The local corporator andworkers apparently didn't appreciate it.The volunteers, led by advocate, had taken permission from the school authorities to clean up the compound and its surroundings. To prevent people from urinating on the school compound, images of gods had been placed there.Activists say they removed the images to clean them as they were offended by people urinating on the compound.But the removal did not go down well with the local BJP corporator,.The school is right opposite the BJP party office. The activists were asked to stop their clean-up drive and the head mistress of the school was asked to write an apology stating she would not allow such activities in future.Shivaram, a volunteer with the, said: “The premises were not cleaned or painted for the last two decades. It had turned into a garbage dump and a public toilet. We had complained to the BBMP but it was of no use. As cars were parked next to the compound wall, garbage could not be removed. We decided to clear the area. Almost three loads of garbage were removed and the compound wall was painted.““But the corporator stopped us and said we should take permission for cleaning. Even though we are spending our own money to clean the premises, we are asked to take permission. A complaint has been filed against us. The school headmistress, who initially supported our work, was also threatened with suspension.They have sought an apology letter from her. After the entire episode, special commissioner (education) GShas instructed the teacher to catch hold of the volunteers and restore the walls to their original condition,“ he said.A Malleswaram resident,, said: “On Thursday, the team decided to clean the area and prevent people from urinating on the wall; it was in a pathetic state.The team cleaned the walls and wanted to give the entire area a new look. However, on Friday, they were stopped from working and a police complaint was lodged against the volunteers. The BBMP school authorities who were supportive initially have requested to stop the cleaning, citing pressure from the local corporator, who has even demanded a written apology from the poor teacher. Do we need permission to clean the city? Is this the Swachh Bharat they harp about? Should we now turn the walls back to the original condition?“(ward 65) corporator Manjunath Raju, however, claims there was no harassment and his intention was only to stop unnecessary effort. “I asked them to stop doing the work because by August-end the renovation work for the entire school will be taken up by us. As the tender has already been given, it is a waste of money and efforts for volunteers. When work is being taken up, effort should not be wasted, that was my intension,“ he said.BBMP special commissioner (education) Ravindra said the volunteers did a “good job“ of cleaning up the premises, but “they cannot change the colour of the school as every BBMP school has a colour scheme. So I told the headmistress to ask the volunteers to revert to the original colour for the compound wall.“According to, an advocate, anything that involves personal gain, or trespass and illegal occupation can be considered as a violation in the law. Nobody can stop a person from doing things that are in public interest, such as cleaning the premises and painting the walls without giving any publicity. Advertising for personal gain is not a crime.