Every morning by 10 AM, Pooja completes her household chores, sees off her children goodbye, and steps into her role as the backbone of Lalkuan's waste management system. Pooja begins her work coordinating user fee collection for waste collection services across Lalkuan.
Pooja's journey began in August 2022, where working through a contract-based system, she faced challenges such as irregular wages, unclear responsibilities, and inadequate compensation. Despite being a high school graduate, married young, she persevered, driven by the need to support three family members on her sole income. When the opportunity arose to lead Ekta, a five women-led SHG in Lalkuan, she happily agreed to do it.
Today, as head of the Lalkuan Nagar Panchayat-founded Ekta SHG, Pooja manages user fee collection for door-to-door waste management services across approximately 1,300 households. The fees are modest, ranging from Rs. 20 per household up to Rs. 100 for larger establishments like restaurants. The charges for waste collection are nominal, yet she continues to encounter substantial resistance. Every day, residents question the need for a separate fee in addition to property and other taxes, despite its small amount and critical role in ensuring effective service.
To this, Pooja's response is grounded in empathy, expressed through patient education and consistent persistence. She explains about the services provided by Gulmohar SHG, the male-led group enabling door-to-door waste collection in Lalkuan, handling actual waste collection, helping residents understand the services they're receiving. Pooja’s resilience is evident in how she handles rejection. ‘I don’t impose; I simply engage with each household, present my request, and persist patiently,’ she explains. ‘Sometimes it takes multiple attempts before someone agrees, but I keep showing up.’ Through this determination, Pooja is not only ensuring household-level fee collection but also shaping a broader understanding of civic responsibility across the town.
Her role extends far beyond fee collection. Pooja serves as the critical bridge connecting three essential stakeholders in the town, the Nagar Panchayat office, Gulmohar SHG, and her own Ekta SHG. She gathers citizen feedback on service quality, communicates grievances to service providers, and shares information about new initiatives flowing down from the Panchayat with citizens. This 360° communication approach, from community to government and to service providers and back, depends solely on her unique role and dedication.
Looking ahead, Pooja envisions expanding this model by mentoring other women from the town to join the initiative. Having walked the path herself, she's uniquely positioned to guide other women toward financial independence and meaningful community impact.
In Lalkuan, waste management works not just because of systems and policies, but because of individuals like Pooja who understand and enable the real change that happens with one door, one knock, and one persistent conversation at a time.