Delhi Metro Arpan centres collect 41 tonnes of clothing in first month

Delhi Metro’s 10 Arpan centres collected 41,181 kg of old clothes from 3,940 people by August 31, turning some of the discarded material into bags, pouches, rugs and key rings.

The Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital centre received the largest volume, at 9,861 kg, followed closely by Shalimar Bagh at 9,761 kg. Punjabi Bagh West collected 6,535 kg and Shahdara 6,386 kg. The other collection points are at Mayur Vihar-I, Hauz Khas, Dwarka-Kakrola, Malviya Nagar, Lajpat Nagar and Mohan Estate.

Five centres opened on August 3, with the rest beginning operations on August 12 and 17. The Delhi government said 29,424 kg of the donations had been sent for recycling, while 4,266 kg was marked for reuse or upcycling. Self-help groups are making rugs, folders, key rings, pouches, bags and torans from some of the fabric; the products are displayed and sold at the centres. Sales have totalled ₹27,036 so far.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has proposed 10 more Arpan centres for January 2027, including at INA, Rajouri Garden, Janakpuri West, Greater Kailash and Chhatarpur.