Ira Agrawal Ira Agrawal is a 13-year-old living in Hyderabad. She is an avid reader, passionate musician and singer who enjoys writing poems and public speaking.
Ira Agrawal Ira Agrawal is a It is half past six on a summer morning – I enter my balcony as I do every day, greeted by the Lake gazing silently at me. The sun glistens on the mild ripples of the Lake as the greenery dappling the water sways gently with the light breeze. A cherished view that I keep in mind for the entirety of my day. I did not suspect, however, that amid the benign gaze of the lake lay a plea for help: the dancing hyacinths, unseen litter, and towering residential areas surrounding it were eating away at this neglected wonder. Greetings, my name is Ira Agrawal, and this was my perspective from a few months ago, and I was deemed helpless. That was before the flame of passion towards this wilting Lake was kindled in me by the initiative that ENY Impacts promised. Soon, I was immersed in the cause towards the betterment of Nallagandla Lake. Fresh Minds for our Lake’s Fresh Start Ira Agrawal Ira Agrawal is a 13-year-old living in Hyderabad. She is an avid reader, passionate musician and singer who enjoys writing poems and public speaking.
Nallagandla Lake
Nallagandla Lake is a simply magnificent stretch of over 90 hectares. This rain-fed lake is a breathtaking sight – it is an ideal habitat for hundreds of species of animals and plants, making it the perfect place for bird-watching. To the east, the lake borders the open space of the University of Hyderabad. To the west, it meets the residential buildings of Aparna Cyber Zone, Aparna Sarovar Zenith, Aparna Sarovar Zicon (under construction) and Aparna Cyber Life. Unfortunately, because of numerous residential and industrial buildings, the Lake bears the brunt of all human activity around it. The constant development of housing near the lake causes flooding, encroachment, and excessive waste disposal in its waters. In addition, construction workers’ quarters next to the lake are a significant source of trash dumped in and around the lake. Because of these results, the residents decided to take action on Nallagandla Lake with the help of
ENY Impacts.
ENY Impacts ENY (Earth Needs You) Impacts is a project founded by Vinay Manchala, an architect by profession and environmentalist by passion. It is a part of the NGO (non-government organisation) VISVA Sustainable Foundation. Launched in March 2021 at Ameenpur Lake, it aims to achieve sustainable living in all aspects. We focus on organising events and clean-up drives at Nallagandla Lake, Ameenpur Lake and Suryapet.
Our Journey
Our project begins in the days following the strict lockdown. A group of friends birding at Ameenpur notice a slight blemish in the-year-old living in Hyderabad. She is an avid reader, passionate musician and singer who enjoys writing poems and public speaking splendour of the scene. The layers of trash smothering the wildlife in and around the lake appear to dull its elegance. Determined, they arrive the subsequent morning with jute bags and reusable gloves. Little do the friends suspect that they have ignited a spark that will become a wildfire. Till today, we have conducted 135 clean-up drives in Ameenpur Lake, 63 in Saddal Cheruvu in Suryapet, and 20 in Nallagandla Lake. We have arranged multiple awareness stalls at different events and introduced the concept of toothbrush exchange, where individuals trade harmful plastic toothbrushes for safe, sustainable, and hygienic bamboo toothbrushes with charcoal bristles. We dispatch these used plastic toothbrushes to an upcycling facility, which converts them into reusable items.
Children’s Involvement in Clean-up Drives
ENY Impacts believes that children are nothing less than bearers of hope for the future. Therefore, they encourage the idea of children participating in the activities that adults propose with open arms. Shouldn’t adults familiarise their successors with the world’s significant issues from an early age? It is heart-warming that we children have already contributed to the project significantly. Not only have we shown up diligently and vigilantly every Sunday morning, but we have contributed to awareness setups at multiple events. In Aparna Sarovar Grande’s “Ghar Ka Mela”, we implemented the toothbrush exchange program and encouraged residents to join our cause. We sold 134 toothbrushes and earned 3350 rupees for the project. Subsequently, multiple residents inspired by the project followed up with us on our clean-up drives.
How I was inspired?
It is not a natural inclination for most thirteen-year-olds to get up early just to toil by a dirty lake surrounded by garbage, and I must confess that I was no exception. After some coaxing from my mother, however, I gave in. As it turned out, I was pleasantly surprised. With a small group of seven, our little adventure was full of good-natured jokes and fascinating stories. But that was not the main reason for my desire to persist. As most people have found or will find at some point, there is a certain satisfaction when one completes a task. Despite reaching home covered in dirt and smelling of damp plastic, I would return the following week, knowing that I had contributed to a noble cause. Since then, every Sunday has been an exciting endeavour for my fellow volunteers and me.
What do we need?
Now begs the question: how do we move ahead? Spend the rest of our days repeating clean-up after clean-up just to find the garbage restored every week. We think not. Layers of water hyacinth that choke its aquatic ecosystem cover Nallagandla Lake, killing the fish and the birds thriving around it. We need the means to contain this invasive species, spreading its tentacles and contaminating our beloved lake. So far, our volunteers are majorly adults, however, we want to be able to expand our cause to children. We need as many child volunteers as we can get involved to carry forward the torch of sustainability. So, what is in store for us kids? Apart from all the fun, it would make us resourceful, passionate thinkers and problem solvers. And for all we know, we will be the future leaders of this wide, wide world.
