For some, sports or music can be a passion. But have you heard of someone for whom doing good deeds is a passion? Meet Chirag Arora, an engineer from Madhya Pradesh who has now made Bengaluru his home from last 11 years. He is a do-gooder volunteering for various social causes.
Recently he was in the limelight for sponsoring the stitching of IPL flags into cloth bags that were thrown away after the matches. Every time he takes up some work, he puts up tutorial videos of that work.
Chirag Arora Making Significant Contribution To Society
The ever-ready volunteer first started to visit local orphanages and NGOs near his home in Koramangala and offer whatever help was possible. But Chirag was looking to make a significant contribution so that the impact is made on a larger scale. That is when he decided to try something different.
Chirag says, “My office is in a small lane in JP Nagar which also has several other big companies. After close observation, I realized that we were the cause of all the traffic, pollution and congestion in the area. If I wanted to make a positive impact, I knew this was the place to start.” To improve the situation, he started cleaning the area and also took help of his colleagues and social circle.
Very soon he became the volunteer for The Ugly Indian. It is an initiative which beautifies and cleans roads, metro pillars, and walls in Bengaluru.
The young engineer opined, “I love the work they do and was consistently pushing them to do something bigger. One opportunity finally came our way when we took the responsibility of beautifying the pillars of the Jayanagara metro station using crowdfunding and the help of about 200 volunteers. An initiative of that magnitude inspired me to take up another initiative although this one, quite frankly, was ignited by a personal motive. “
The personal motive was that Chirag was planning to get an electric scooter for traveling to work every day. It is a two-wheeler similar to those the children use and push it with one foot to move ahead. But he soon found out that the roads and footpaths were not fit for such type of scooter.
Chirag Took Help Of Pothole Raja To Improve Conditions Of Roads
He then decided to take help of an initiative, Pothole Raja that deals with the potholes on city roads. Together with his friends, Chirag Arora decided to join the cause. However, this time along he ensured that everyone in his circle including his friends, relatives, and acquaintances in Bengaluru and even those outside of the city can get the benefit of this initiative.
For that, Chirag posted a video online in which he showed how a pothole can be fixed in a matter of minutes. The video indirectly involved him in the fixing of more than 30 potholes in Bengaluru. The engineer says, “My way of working is such that I throw myself to a cause for a few weeks or months. I put in my efforts, money, and resources to the cause and in this time, I talk to hundreds of people about it. Even if I am successful in inspiring a handful of them to join me, that is success enough. Once that short-term goal is achieved, I move on to another cause.”
Garbage Disposal And Dog Park
Just near his home was a small patch of land of government that was always overflowing with garbage. Residents from the surroundings dumped their trash here making the land breeding ground for diseases. Incidentally, the area also had many dog lovers and pet owners. So, Chirag came up with an idea of having a dog park on that land and approached the BBMP with this idea.
He received support from his friends and colleagues in this approach. BBMP happily accepted to support the idea. A group of 40 volunteers gathered on the call of Chirag and started picking up the trash.
The engineer says, “On the first day, the stench was so terrible that we could only work for about four hours. In fact, I was convinced that someone would faint soon. However, everything went very well, and we cleared the ground over two days. After that, developing it into a dog park was relatively easy. We colored tires and installed them as an obstacle course for the dogs. We even painted a few benches in the park so dog owners could rest while their pets ran and played in the park. Today, the park has regular, as well as occasional visitors.”
Although the park is yet to be officially inaugurated, it is open 24/7. Chirag is himself a dog lover and has collaborated with a canine behaviorist living in the neighborhood to maintain records of stray dogs in the surrounding area, and vaccinate them.
Every one of us is so busy with our daily lives, that we hardly get time enough to do extra work. But people like Chirag are so self-motivated that despite having a busy career they not only participate in such social activities but lead the way and inspire the others around them to follow.
Article Credit: MetroSaga