Gulshan Bambot and her army of volunteers in Secunderabad tackle civic issues

 
On a Sunday, when most people prefer to laze around, 64 year-old Gulshan Bambot (in white) gets down to work—inspecting roads in Secunderabad, carrying debris to fill up potholes, and cleaning up sidewalks. In fact, she and her enthusiastic army of volunteers can be seen moving around the city, armed with gampa, a metal disc for carrying rubble and cement; fawda, a kind of spade; and bottles of water. “We have a choice,” says Bambot, wife of Wing Commander (retd) G D Bambot. “Instead of complaining about the civic administration, I like to get out there and make things happen.” While navigating a particularly bad stretch of road along with her friends in July, Bambot decided to be proactive about the issue rather than crib about the ineptitude of the authorities. She formed a WhatsApp group to enlist volunteers for shramdaan (cleaning). Along with 70 year-old Viji Naidu, another Air Force wife, and 50 others, mostly wives and offspring of Army and Air Force officers, Bambot set to work on successive Sundays, filling up potholes on the road. “One of our volunteers even hired a tempo to pick up debris to be offloaded at the site. It was a great community effort!” Their endeavour didn’t go unnoticed. Soon the Army stepped in, volunteering to do the needful as the road was around defence land. Later, when Bambot’s team moved its attention to another stretch of pothole-filled road, the municipal corporation took over the rest of the repair work. Bambot also trained her eyes on Kapra Lake immediately after Ganapati visarjan, clearing it of plaster of Paris idols and plastic bags. “Her spirit is infectious,” says Naidu, a regular volunteer. “Whether it is cleaning the lake or filling up potholes, she leads from the front.” Incidentally, Bambot’s social work is not limited to civic issues; she is an active volunteer with Samhita Trust where she records books for the visually challenged and teaches English at the Sai Jyoti Junior College for the Blind. Bambot is now looking forward to the day corporates and schools join hands with her team to make the city a better place.

—Shyamola Khanna

Photo: Shyamola Khanna
Featured in Harmony — Celebrate Age Magazine
December 2017