Her journey towards ‘Swach’ Bharat had begun before Modi’s Mission

Giving up was never an option for this ebullient woman, who was a child actor once and was known by the name of Baby Rekha. She has acted in more than 70 films in Kannada, Tamil and Telugu like Bhakta Siriyala, Tulasi Dalam, Madhura Sangama, Simhada Mari Sainya to name a few.

by Sujata Rajpal

Long before our Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat Mission was launched across India, a woman in Mysuru had already started working towards it slowly and steadily. Unaware of Modi’s plan, she had named her organisation SWACH (Segregation of Waste And Composting at Home).

Started in 2013 as a one-woman army, Rekha Rohit visits people’s houses, ladies clubs and apartment complexes (on invitation, of course) to educate residents on how to manage household wastes. Apart from organising awareness sessions on cleanliness, Rekha also trains people on how to segregate waste in various categories and disposing it off accordingly. Besides segregation of waste, she also teaches children and destitute women how to make paper bags.

“I got inclined towards this cause many years ago when I used to travel a lot by train taking my children for various table tennis tournaments across the country. The second class compartments were an eyesore. Dirty wash-rooms, trash strewn all over, passengers spitting anywhere — it was stink and filth all around on the platforms and stations. That instigated me to create awareness about the need for better civic sense,” says Rekha.

Why people in India can’t treat the public property just the way they regard their houses? Is it the lack of civic sense or plain disregard towards one’s surroundings? There is nothing wrong with people but obviously something is not right with the system. Indians lack civic sense only on their motherland. When they go abroad, like everyone else there, they dutifully throw trash in the trash bins and in the absence of a trash bin in the vicinity, they save the wrappers of chips and used paper napkins in the outside pocket of their bag until they can spot a dustbin for depositing the waste where it rightfully belongs. But the moment they land on Indian soil, there is total reversal of behaviour. The civic sense goes for a walk in the woods and these very people litter everywhere.

Come to think of it, each household adds 365 plastic bags to the total waste. Multiply 365 by the number of households in Mysuru and you will be shocked by the amount of waste that only one Tier-2 city is producing. Can such a huge quantity of waste be decomposed naturally?

How is the response to your campaign? I am curious to know.

“When I started, the response used to be very disappointing; women would come up with puerile reasons for not segregating the waste like there is no place in the house to keep two dustbins, the maid servant doesn’t know how to segregate the waste etc. There were days when I used to cry because people shrugged me off wherever I went.”

Despite the cold response, Rekha stayed steadfast in her mission. “The response is much better now, people are aware and understand how important it is to reduce the total amount of waste that we produce,” Rekha says with a glint of hope in her eyes.

She received a lot of encouragement from Dr. M.R. Ravi, former MCC Commissioner, who advised her to continue in her mission despite innumerable road-blocks.

“What I am doing is a very tiny step. If the government sees the waste management as a mammoth problem in future then there is only one solution. Make it mandatory to segregate trash into wet and dry categories, the way it is done in the developed countries. Don’t you see now two-wheeler riders are wearing helmets because it is either wear helmet or pay fine,” says the woman with a contagious smile.

Rekha is now ably supported by K. Sowmya (Gynaecologist and Assistant Professor at JSS Hospital) and K.P. Ganga (Vice-Principal at Queens Institute for Fashion Designing) and, loads of well-wishers from Rotary East who were her backbone in the initial stage of bringing SWACH into action. The organisation has a team of 15 volunteers but many more hands are required to spread the message.

Rekha believes in driving this mission through children. She regularly conducts awareness sessions on cleanliness and waste management for the students of Kalalavadi School in rural Mysuru. If the initiative is taken through children, it is always long lasting. Now children of Kalalavadi School ensure that their village is kept clean.

Giving up was never an option for this ebullient woman who was a child actor once and was known by the name of Baby Rekha. She has acted in more than 70 films in Kannada, Tamil and Telugu. To name a few Bhakta Siriyala, Tulasi Dalam, Madhura Sangama, Simhada Mari Sainya.

“I take it as my duty and contribution to the society. Even if people don’t respond, I feel satisfied that I am doing my tiny bit to make this world a better place for the coming generation,” says Rekha humbly.

“I am nothing without my family,” she says when asked about the family support. “The name SWACH was suggested by my husband,” she says shyly.

Rekha and R. Rohit couple, residents of Chamundipuram, is blessed with two lovely daughters — Ridhi Rohit, who is studying Physiotherapy at JSS Institute and Ruthu Rohit is in 9th at Vidyavardhaka school.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / February 19th, 2016