NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, JAN 13
The swap bazaar organised by the Greater Chennai Corporation on Sunday and Monday (January 12 and 13) received overwhelming response from the public.
Ahead of Bhogi, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) organised it at the TNHB Community Hall in Besant Nagar which saw steady stream of people coming to swap shops.
Items ranging from apparels to home appliances such as furniture sets, refrigerators, Micro wave oven were on display. Due to the surge in numbers, the corporation staff had to open the community hall an hour before the scheduled time and had to shut shop early as the items on display were all sold out.
At the end of the day, about 1,800 items were sold at a nominal price of Rs. 23,000, with each item on an average priced at Rs. 12.75.
“We were not very particular about the price. We let the volunteers from residents welfare associations, who helped us in collection of old unused items, fix the price. We wanted to promote the concept of reuse,” said Alby John, Regional Deputy Commissioner (south), Chennai, who came up with the idea of a swap shop.
The civic body’s appeal to the Adyar residents for public participation over the past two days had received well. “What they might not need anymore can be of real use to someone else. We roped in members of residents associations. We even did a door-to-door campaign, at the end of which we received items ranging from furniture to home décor and kitchen appliances,” said an assistant engineer who coordinated a collection drive in Kotturpuram.
On Sunday, a refrigerator in working condition, was sold to a contract worker with the civic body for Rs. 200 while a sanitary worker took home a microwave oven for Rs.100. Bicycles, music systems, walkers and strollers, printers were among the items which were donated by residents and sold at a nominal price at the swap shop.
“It is not that one section of people donated and another section bought the items. A few people who dropped off clothes also swapped some,” an official at the swap shop said.
The response has been positive, said John who believed that such initiatives will bring in a change in mindset and encourage people to reuse and recycle instead of shop. The corporation will also have a similar swap shop in Valasaravakkam on Monday and Tuesday.
