In the silent corners of Greater Noida, near the Sector 16 Railway Bridge, Antram Sharma has been serving tea to the locals for the past 12 years. His hands move swiftly as he pours steaming cups of chai, all while engaging his customers in warm conversations.

But for years, the area surrounding his tea stall was far from inviting. What should have been a lively community space had turned into a disturbing sight. Heaps of garbage lay scattered across the land, irresponsibly dumped by passersby. Flies swarmed thick in the air, drawn by the rotting waste.

Antram clearly recalls the frustration. “There used to be so many flies around because of the waste. People kept dumping garbage here. I remember once getting into a heated argument with someone about to throw trash. The smell was unbearable, and it drove my customers away,” says the 40-year-old.

However, if you were to stand here today, you’d never guess its grim past. The air is clean, the flies are gone, and the sweet aroma of Antram’s chai now fills the space where the stench of garbage once reigned. Complaints of foul smell have vanished, and customers now return to his stall, basking in the fresh ambience. Antram’s sales have seen a heartening rise.

“Since I’m originally from Budaun, I live here in a makeshift tent near my tea shop. It used to be difficult to stay because of the waste, but now it feels much better,” he says.

Breathing life into dead land

So, what turned this neglected dumping ground into a clean, green stretch? The answer lies in one man’s mission. Environmentalist Vikrant Tongad, founder of the Noida-based non-profit organisation SAFE (Social Action for Forest and Environment), decided to take on the challenge.

Having worked on a similar problem in Ghaziabad earlier, Vikrant was no stranger to........

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