WHAT THIS MAN DID AT THE MUMBAI RAILWAY STATIONS WILL SURPRISE YOU!
Everyday, thousands of commuters travel through the local-trains or the lifeline of Mumbai city. The railways offer a free advertising platform to thousands of business that display their posters on the stations illegally. And in spite of a fine of Rs.500, it’s not uncommon to see people spit here and there. Many of us are not even conscious of our actions, as we litter around. And we have taken all this for granted. One man decided to change this. He actually ‘adopted’ four railway stations and beautified them in the best possible manner!
Meet Gaurang Damani, electrical engineer from Mumbai, who returned back to India after working in the US for eight years. Gaurang is a simple, sincere man from whom we can learn a lesson or two on Leadership. His work and words have inspired many to join him in improving the world around.
It all started in December 2014. Gaurang lived opposite to a local-train station and was disturbed by the garbage and dirt at the station. He spoke to the stationmaster and also wrote a few letters. One day, when he went to talk to the stationmaster, as there was no response from them, he was told, “You keep complaining, why don’t you do something”. Gaurang accepted the challenge. It took 3 months to officially get permissions to clean the King’s Circle Station! And then there was no looking back.
Now, Gaurag’s nonprofit initiative ‘Die Hard Indian’ has adopted four railway stations — King’s Circle, Sion, Mahim and Raey Road. The organization became the first Indian NGO to adopt railway stations. They do not want to adopt any more stations at this stage. The team is focusing on maintaining these four stations.
“When you start doing something selflessly, you get all the support needed. We received great response from donors and volunteers. More than 1400 volunteers got engaged with us to clean the railway stations, which included many school and college students”, Gaurang shared with Karmyo.
“When I pass through the same stations now, some people appreciate our work. I’ve seen people now throwing garbage at the right place. This changed behavior in people is the biggest reward for us”, shares Gaurang proudly.
Gaurang advises to young people to not step back from doing the right thing and that a journey to improve the world should start from oneself. We are truly inspired and thankful to Gaurang and all volunteers who worked to make our stations look so beautiful.
