Gurugram’s rapid growth has also brought mounds of garbage, clogged drains and dumping in vacant plots, making monsoons worse with flooding and disease risks.
Frustrated with inaction, residents and expatriates joined hands under the banners of Let’s Clean Gurugram and Garbage Free India to launch a Sunday morning cleaning drive. Volunteers from Serbia and France joined locals in sweeping streets, unclogging drains and picking litter around Guru Dronacharya metro station.
“Without citizen support, no system will work. This is not symbolic, it is a statement that we are ready to act,” said resident Aman Verma. French volunteer Matilde R added, “When you don’t throw garbage in your living room, the city is no different.”
Community efforts extended to dialogues with Municipal Corporation of Gurugram, where Making Model Gurugram presented a roadmap for waste segregation and on-site composting. RWAs stressed better garbage disposal in high-rises and functioning sewage treatment plants. A single social media post also triggered quick clean-up action, underlining the power of citizen engagement. Gurugram is now testing whether collective responsibility can transform one of India’s busiest corporate hubs.
