Harishpur tea estate here has been declared a “zero-waste” garden by the Dibrugarh district administration.

The 100-year-old estate near Naharkatia was given the honour on the 73rd Independence Day on Thursday for its “outstanding contribution towards maintaining cleanliness.”

Garden owner Suparna Bagchi said, “We started the initiative in 2012. We regularly held awareness drives among the garden workers and educated them about the importance of cleanliness. We arranged dustbins to collect non-degradable and bio-degradable waste and started disposing of them properly. Getting rid of plastic was a big challenge for us. We started making household products from waste materials and curtailed the use of plastic.”

She added that through the Keya Bagchi Foundation, a trust of the estate owner’s family to empower the rural population, they have started a programme to train the workers on how to make household items from waste materials.

On April 21, principal of DHSK College and the Assam brand ambassador of Swachh Bharat Mission Sashikanta Saikia visited the tea garden and thanked its administration and the workers for their efforts to make the programme a success.

Officials of the Dibrugarh district administration visited the garden several times to ensure the programme’s success.

Director of Harishpur tea estate Saibal Ganguli said, “Harishpur was certified as an open defecation-free garden in 2016. Cleanliness is our priority and we have taken all necessary steps to keep our garden clean from time to time. We have over 350 permanent workers. They are very supportive and dedicated and they know the importance of cleanliness. Together we worked to make our estate a ‘zero waste’ garden. We have restricted the use of plastic and have started making bags from old clothes. We are also growing organic fruits in our garden.”

Saikia said, “I was mesmerised to see how successfully the cleanliness programme has been conducted in the garden. The estate has a dedicated management and supportive workers who leave no stone unturned to keep the garden clean. I am glad that they have won the ‘zero waste’ tea garden tag.”