For many months, the Fort Kochi health circle office of the Kochi Corporation resembled a huge waste dump, replete with the pungent odour that comes with piled-up garbage.

Now, however, the office has changed beyond recognition, making it arguably the best among the 22 health circle offices in terms of aesthetics. Gone are the waste piles, replaced instead with artistic installations fashioned from discarded materials, spotlessly clean premises, and the office building itself sporting a fresh coat of paint. Incidentally, the Corporation’s Queen City Clean City campaign focuses on turning waste into art to improve its ranking under Swachh Survekshan this year.

The impressive makeover was thanks to the dedication of 38 staff members of the office, wholeheartedly supported by the public. Local artists also contributed, charging only for materials. “It took us three to four weeks to turn around the place, as our contingent workers worked late into the evenings beyond their 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. office hours. Traders and autorickshaw operators also joined hands once they were convinced of our good intention,” said M.S. Shaji, health inspector and additional health officer of the Mattancherry zone, who initiated the beautification drive after being transferred here from Kozhikode.

Tyres dumped on roads were collected and redesigned into hanging installations, while an unused country boat and fishing net from a household were transformed into an installation of a fisherman at work. A circular iron receptacle rotting away on the office premises was turned into an anti-war installation, with wasted plastic bottles refashioned into missiles.

While the office premises continue to serve as one of the waste collection points, the garbage is now disposed of daily without fail, and the place is washed, cleaned, and sanitised with cleaning lotion. “Visitors to the office are now very impressed, and people in the neighbourhood are also proud. Earlier, I used to be ashamed of being the health inspector here, but not any longer,” said Mr. Shaji.

The initiative was appreciated by the Mayor at the health inspectors’ meeting, and Mr. Shaji will retire at the end of this month with happy memories.