Waste to play: How young IAS officer created 58 upcycled playgrounds for Anganwadi kids in Anakapalli

Anakapalli: Heard of upcycled playgrounds?

With slides and seesaws made out of discarded tyres and painted in bright colors, these upcycled play activities are now the favorite playgrounds for the children at Anganwadi centers in the Anakapalli district.

From waste to play space, this idea is perhaps the first of its kind in Andhra Pradesh. The brain behind this 'Project Play' is the young IAS officer Dhatri Reddy, who is the Assistant Collector (UT) of Anakapalli. The project which started in February 2022 now has 58 playgrounds in various mandals in the Anakapalli district.

What is Project Play?

This is an inspiring initiative spearheaded by the Anakapalli district administration for the holistic development of young children. With a vision to nurture early child development, Project Play focuses on building vibrant playgrounds within Anganwadi centers, transforming them into havens of exploration and growth. At the heart of Project Play lies a commitment to sustainability and resourcefulness.

Some of the activities are seesaw, swings, heaving hoops, and slides.

How did it begin?

Dhatri, a 2020 batch IAS officer of Hyderabad, is a B.Tech from IIT Kharagpur. She was earlier an IPS officer in Telangana and joined as Assistant Collector (UT) in Anakapalli in 2022.

"During my field visit to improve the Anganwadi center in the Anakapalli region, I observed that there were no playgrounds for the children. Pre-schools usually have playgrounds for the kids to engage in different activities. I started speaking to NGOs for developing playgrounds, but it was at a high budget," Dhatri told NewsMeter.

Thinking about what to do to build low-cost playgrounds at the Anganwadi centers, Dhatri saw many 35mm old metal pipes discarded at the rural water supply department.

"We took those discarded pipes, bought some old tyres from the local shops, and began making elements for the playground. Many companies discard tyres, and those can be upcycled to make play elements. Thanks to the amazing engineering team from the Panchayat Raj Engineering Department, who helped out," said the IAS officer.

While playgrounds built by private organizations cost around Rs 2.5 lakh each, the Project Play team could make six playgrounds for Rs 2.5 lakh. Once the playground was ready, the district officials handed them over to the local Anganwadi centers.

Dhatri attributes this project's success to the District Collector Ravi Pattanshetti. "Though I was an assistant collector, I was given full liberty to propose my ideas and implement them. It wouldn't have been this great project without the support of our collector," she said.

Dhatri said: "First eight playgrounds were created with upcycled materials. We primarily focused on quality which can last for 4-6 years and are strong enough because it cannot be maintained regularly. We made sure the place where the playgrounds are built is secured to avoid any thefts."

She said the best part of the project was the kids. “We couldn't stop their excitement. Even before we painted them bright, they started playing. That itself showed us how much they loved the play area. What's more surprising is not just the kids at the Anganwadi centers, but the kids from private schools, and local areas started playing and making friends. Our playgrounds are now common play areas for all kids." said Dhatri.

An inspirational idea

According to the IAS officer, this concept can be implemented at the village level, where kids need it the most.

"I am also preparing a paper on how to build these playgrounds and would share it with any district that wishes to do the same in their regions. Be it any district I get transferred to next, I would like to implement this idea for the kids," said Dhatri, who will be moving to Delhi in a month for IAS training.