Washing your hands with soap and water or a hand sanitiser is the best way to break the chain to stop the spread of Coronavirus. And a group of residents at Karakunnu, Nanmanda, about 22 kilometres from Kozhikode in Kerala, have set an example by installing two stainless steel wash basins with three taps each at a bus shelter in their neighbourhood, this week. Passengers alighting from buses or waiting to board buses and pedestrians and passers-by are encouraged to wash their hands here.
Pathayoram Koottayma (which translates to roadside gathering) is a group of 40 families, residents at Karakunnu, who came together about six months ago to clean up their neighbourhood. Their first project was to clean the sides of the road to Karakunnu, which was littered with garbage and hotel waste dumped by passers-by. The unkempt bushes and undergrowth narrowed the road and made it unsafe for pedestrians.
- Taps and sanitisers have been put up in many places in Thiruvananthapuram city. Political organisations and non-governmental organisations have installed taps at several busy junctions and markets. The busy Manaveeyam Veedhi has two such facilities for people to wash their hands. One has been set up by a network of artistes and musicians who hold shows at Manaveeyam Veedhi, while the other has been installed by the Manaveeyam Theruvorakoottam. “The Thiruvananthapuram Corporation has been kind enough to fill the tanks with water and both the facilities are used by pedestrians and people who come to buy milk and other essentials from the Milma booth at the junction,” says Prakash Gopinath, Bicycle Mayor of the city. Netizens have been praising the efforts of volunteers who have supplied water and sanitisers at these places. In a post Harshit Agrawal writes: “Saw a container-jar of water and liquid soap stationed at Kuravankonam Jn this morning just for citizens to keep washing their hands.... and people using it generously, while coming back from office in evening.. such a noble job whoever has done.... Hats off to the people of Kerala....” Similarly the busy Eenchakkal junction too has such a tap put in by the youth organisation of a political party. Several shops in the city also insist on customers using ahand sanitiser before stepping into their outlet.
“Instead of waiting for the Government, we tried to help ourselves. As soon as the Government of Kerala came up with the campaign ‘Break the chain’, we came up with the idea of installing taps on both sides of the waiting shed of a bus stop at Karakunnu. We collected money and put it up four days ago. Water is pumped into the tank from the houses of V Balan and Abdul Aziz. On our morning walk, some of us ensure that the tanks are full, wash the bottles of sanitisers and fill it,” says Sasi, aka E Sasindran, a retired Senior Superintendent of the Kerala State Electricity Board.
A video taken later was shared by AK Jayadeesh, secretary of the Koottayma, on Facebook and it went viral. Actors Sunny Wayne and Krishna Shankar later shared the video. Jayadeesh says at last count, the video had been viewed by more than 4 lakh people. Soon many more such taps were installed in different places in Kerala, says Sasi proudly. Balussery, less than four kilometres from Nanmanda, was the next place that had a group of volunteers installing taps near the bus stop.
When the Koottayma was originally formed, the residents also stopped people from dumping rubbish on the roadside by putting up CCTV cameras at their own expense. After taking permission from the Public Works Department, the residents removed huge stones piled on the road and increased its carriage width, making it safer for traffic as well as pedestrians.
The next project is to plant fruit trees such as mango, sapota and guava to beautify the road to Karakunnu. Sasi says they have the spirit and the will to make their surroundings a model for Kerala to follow. “We lack finances and we have roped in some sponsors but it would be great if the Government also helped us with grants for our projects ,” says Sasi.
