On October 2nd, Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday and the Swachh Bharat or Clean India day, we had initiated our “Bus stop Re-painting” project in Kameswaram village at Thaneer Pandal. FIN has a long history of friendship with this bus stop! We had transformed this bus stop from a dump into a beautiful area 6 years back. However, time and again it was spoilt by irresponsible or perhaps simply ignorant shopkeepers and event managers – who pasted posters over the beautiful paintings done by children. Garbage collected under the benches. Drunks chipped the sides. So again, the bus stop was screaming for cleaning and maintenance.
We completed the project on International Women’s Day on March 8, 2023, with a remarkable renovation of the local bus station. Again, we are extremely grateful to Powertec Engineering for sponsoring this project to support SBM and Gender empowerment, under their CSR programme.
The Trust’s tireless efforts were realized with the help of skilled craftsmen, including mason Murugesan and assistants Pappaiyan and Rajkumar. The renovation of the bus station was a multifaceted process, involving the removal of dilapidated flooring and subsequent paving, as well as the painstaking application of chalking, drawing, and painting by skilled craftsmen. Then we worked with painters Ramesh and Jayaseelan, and artists Kalaiselvan, Elaiyaraja, and Mathivanan to not only make the bus-stop beautiful, but also motivate the villagers to be proud of it and not dirty it anymore. After all, this was the fourth time we were refurbishing the bus stop.
What makes this bus stop outstanding today?
1. Wonderful murals by local artists.
2. A catchy caption on top: If you can keep this bus stop clean – you can keep this village clean!
3. A box giving the story of the bus stop including the times when it had to be redone after vandalism.
4. Emergency numbers.
5. Bus timings.
6. A side with beautiful butterfly selfie points – c’mon now you’d have to really mean to spoil a pleasing selfie-point!
7. Another side with artwork illustrating the different ‘no-no’s of unhygienic behaviour.
8. And the fact that the final touches to the wall mural were painted by a set of esteemed women guests March 8!
These included the distinguished Special Status Municipal President of Velankanni, A. Diana Sharmila, the esteemed Commissioner of Police for Kizhaiyur, J. Revathi, the Union Vice President of Kizhaiyur, Sowrirajan, and the Panchayath President of Kameswaram, G. Jayasudha. The village ward members, namely Pathmavathi, Vijayakumari, Jayaleshmi, and Aasha, also attended the event.
But the real stars of the event were the women and men from the nearby villages who showed up in large numbers to support the cause and to witness the unveiling of the newly renovated bus station, who were treated to gifts and sweets.
Then, to their wonderful surprise, Special Status Municipal President A. Diana Sharmila of Velankanni honoured the hardworking staff of FIN by draping a shawl around each of them! Thank you so much ma’am!
We sincerely hope that this bus station always remains clean from today!