The owners of tea stalls will narrate stories about the history and heritage of the ghats to customers. Residents along the riverbank will act as gatekeepers preventing people from throwing waste into the Hooghly.

An organisation working to conserve Calcutta’s ghats has promised to train those living and working along the Hooghly as part of a plan to “clean, restore and return” the ghats to the community.

Some of the ghats are dimly lit and turn into hubs of “anti-social behaviour” after sunset. Only when those living along the banks develop a sense of ownership about the place will they stand up against such behaviour, said the founder of the organisation behind the initiative.

The organisation has prepared a toolkit inviting individuals, institutions and corporates to organise events on the riverbank, illuminate the ghats or take part in their repair and maintenance.

“We plan to start the training in October. In the first phase, we will train about 20 people,” said Laily Thompson, founder of Kult X, which is working to conserve the ghats.

Thompson admitted there were multiple challenges that hold back visitors from spending their evenings along the river. “We plan to work on four major ghats on a 1.2km length of the riverbank, from Ahiritola Ghat to Kumartuli Ghat. We have started working on Natherbagan Ghat, which falls on this route,” said Thompson.

Kult X will work in collaboration with Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), which will help them work in accordance with heritage rules. “We will get our plan ratified by the port authorities,” she said.

Thompson said they will also take up the River Ambassador project, where residents and owners of shops along the riverbank will be trained about the history and heritage of the ghats. Training to rescue someone who falls into the river will also be given to them.

Kult X has teamed up with Sea Explorers’ Institute and River Rangers.

Sea Explorers’ Institute, which already trains disaster management professionals in rescuing people who fall into the river, will help select the River Ambassadors and train them about rescue operations. River Rangers will clean waste thrown into the river.

“We have been cleaning the riverbank for years. We use large nets to trap and pick up waste. Cleanliness is an important part of this project,” said Enakshi Majumdar of River Rangers.

Kult X has also launched a project inviting individuals, groups and corporations to adopt ghats. “People talk about the ghats of Benaras, but we have historically and architecturally important ghats here. We need money and the involvement of people to improve the condition of our ghats,” said an organiser.