The health circle office in Fort Kochi gets an aesthetic look thanks to the dedicated staff

The Fort Kochi Health Circle office was given an aesthetic look by its contingent staff who, with the support of local artists and the public, cleared piles of garbage and put up art installations. | Photo credit: RK Nithin

For many months, the Fort Kochi Health Circle office of the Kochi Corporation resembled a huge garbage dump that was filled with the acrid stench brought by the accumulated garbage.

But now the office has changed beyond recognition, making it probably the best of the 22 medical circuit offices in terms of aesthetics. The piles of trash are gone, replaced instead by art installations made from discarded materials, spotlessly clean spaces and the office building itself with a fresh coat of paint. Incidentally, Queen City’s Clean City campaign focuses on turning waste into art to improve its standing under Swachh Survekshan this year.

The impressive transformation was thanks to the dedication of 38 office employees, with the unreserved support of the public. Local artists also contributed, charging only for the material. “It took us three to four weeks to turn around the place as our contingent workers worked late into the evening outside their working hours from 7 am to 1 pm. Shopkeepers and autorickshaw operators also joined hands once they were convinced of our good intention,” said MS Shaji, health inspector and additional health officer of Mattancherry zone, who started the beautification drive after being shifted here from Kozhikode.

Tires dumped on the roads were collected and reworked into suspension equipment, while a disused country boat and fishing net from a household were transformed into the equipment of a fisherman at work. A circular iron container rotting in an office space has been converted into an anti-war device with discarded plastic bottles repurposed as missiles.

While the office premises continue to serve as one of the waste collection points, today the waste is disposed of daily without any problems and the place is washed, cleaned and disinfected with a cleaning agent. “The visitors to the office are now very impressed and the people in the neighborhood are also proud. I used to feel ashamed of being a health inspector here, but not anymore,” said Mr. Shaji.

The initiative was praised by the mayor at a meeting of health inspectors and Mr Shaji will retire at the end of this month with happy memories.

Published – 25 May 2026 17:00 IST