2023-08-23
Location: Har Ki Pauri, Vishwakarma Ghat Haridwar
Date: 2021-09-10
Raising awareness on source segregation in Hari Ki Pauri thorough street theatre
On September 10, 2021, the Aviral ground team in Haridwar organized a rally and Nuked Natak to generate awareness on source segregation amongst the residents, commercial establishments, tourists, and the general public, at different locations across Haridwar on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.
Nukkad Natak is an effective and entertaining mode of reaching out to larger audience groups in public spaces. It enables the delivery of important social messages in an interactive manner.
The event started at Hari Ki Pauri with the Municipal Commissioner of Haridwar spreading the key message to segregate waste at source. Volunteers held placards and passionately chanted slogans for over a kilometre covering key tourist areas. They were also accompanied by an E- Rickshaw playing the 'Meri Ganga, Meri Zimmedari' jingle.
Next came the Nukkad Natak. The theatre group actively engaged the residents and tourists by educating them about source segregation as an effective tool to mitigate plastic waste in the Ganga. Carrying cloth bags and avoiding single use plastic and littering were also suggested.
At Moti Bazar, the natak was welcomed by a heavy influx of tourists and commercial establishments. The natak started with a performance of a popular folk song and followed up with more on the cultural and geographic significance of the River Ganga.
Ghantaghar at Har Ki Puri hosted the second performance. This time around, Ganga Sabha officials and a few waste workers also joined us. The audience cheered enthusiastically and came forward to share their views on waste management practices that they followed.
The final performance took place at the Vishvakarma Ghat. A large number of ward residents whose support is key for our pilot implementation activities joined us. The ground team had also set up a stall with recycled and upcycled products. More than 60 audience members actively participated throughout the performance.
