Rose petals combat polluting factories in Ahmedabad

Think of protests, and it is strikes and dharnas that first come to mind. While the recent addition, gandhigiri, might also be a distant third option, hardly would one imagine that this concept, brought to the fore by a popular Hindi flick, would be implemented in practice.
However, it was gandhigiri indeed that prevailed in Sanand, where people are fed up of the pollution created by chemical factories in the vicinity. Residents actually imitated the scene in the film where people queue up to give flowers to the wrongdoer!

Aided by NGO Manav Seva Trust, residents lined up to gift flowers to a factory's workers, on Gandhi Jayanti. "We are fed up of the odour and pollution that these factories create. On this special day, we decided to teach them a lesson, and gifting them flowers was our way of making them realise the gravity of the problem they're inflicting on us," said Manubhai Barot, chairman of the trust.

Regarding the method adopted, Barot said, "We stood in front of the gate of one of the chemical factories, and gave flowers to the employees entering the premises. Young girls dressed in traditional garba dresses were present at the gates for this. Along with the flowers, we also gave them a message each, saying, 'We are bringing about fragrance with this act, but you spread bad odour and pollution in our lives'."

As many as 50 employees of the chemical factory were given flowers this way.