00:00In Tamil Nadu's sacred Tamirbarni river, a growing menace is choking the waterway.
00:11Tons of waste clothes dumped by devotees despite repeated warnings. Every day, the riverbanks near
00:20Paapanasam are littered with discarded garments that eventually flow downstream, contaminating
00:26the water and burdening local workers who struggle to keep the river clean.
00:31Here, four to five persons are working. We announced that people should not throw waste
00:39clothes into the river, but they are still doing so. Afterwards, we remove the clothes
00:45and clean the river. Then, we take the clothes in vehicles and keep them in a separate place.
00:52Although we have announced several times not to throw waste clothes in the river, people
00:56are not obeying. We have placed chambers to put waste clothes, but people do not put the
01:02waste clothes in the chambers. We are cleaning the river and removing as many waste cloths
01:07as we can. Per day, we remove 30 to 40 sacks of clothes. It is very sad to say that the water
01:16in the river is getting contaminated. These clothes are not just an eyesore. They clog the
01:23flow, disrupt aquatic life and degrade the quality of water used by thousands of families.
01:31To tackle this, local women have stepped in to convert waste into livelihood.
01:35I am working here as the cutting master. Clothes like cotton clothes, dhotis, lungis and sarees
01:44come as waste and we cut those clothes. Per day, I cut approximately 40 kg of clothes. If
01:50I cut 40 kg of clothes, I earn 200 to 250 rupees. These clothes come from the Papanasam area where
01:58they dry the clothes and give them to me. When we cut lungis, dhotis and skirts, they measure
02:04the weight and take the clothes. They provide 6 rupees per kg.
02:10From the riverbanks, the discarded clothes are washed, dried and handed over to women at
02:15small local units, many of them mothers looking for flexible work timings.
02:22We get clothes from Papanasam. I had finished styling and worked in an office. Then I took care
02:30of my children so I didn't work for 2 years. But the working time here is suitable for me.
02:36I work from 10am to 4pm. And at 4.30pm, I take my children from school. Because of the suitable timing,
02:43I am working here. Behind this system is an NGO-run mat making
02:49unit supported by the temple administration. Here, the recovered waste clothes are transformed
02:56into mats that are sold across the district. While these women are turning pollution into
03:04opportunity, the core problem remains. Unless devotees stop throwing clothes into the river
03:10and start using the designated chambers, the Thameera Barani will continue to suffer.
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