Can there be a competition to collect urban garbage and also win prizes for it? This actually happened, perhaps for the first time in India, in the Warnagal city of Andhra Pradesh recently. Altogether 57 municipalities and 386 garbage collecting teams gathered in Warangal to show their might in collecting the maximum quantum of wastes from the city.
According to the Municipal Commissioner of Warangal,VivekYadav, the novel event of a waste management “competitive sport” was a great success as people started competing neck-to-neck to grab the ‘best performance’ trophy by collecting maximum quantum of garbage. The prize for best team was awarded to the Khammam municipality.
Similar competitions will now be held in several other cities of Andhra Pradesh. This novel idea of handling waste management through sport was that of environmental activist Uday Singh. Singh said the idea of capturing the spirit of competition and sportsmanship in collecting city garbage came to him after watching an Indian Premier League cricket match. He wanted to experiment the spirit that Indians show in the case of cricket in collecting the garbage to keep their city clean.