AHMEDABAD: What was a stinking garbage dump in Ramnagar, Sabarmati, till four years ago, is now a verdant garden with 800 different species of trees and fragrant flowers blossoming there. Sai Garden has become a green haven for children and elderly. The man behind this makeover is former nonresident Indian, Hemant Vyas, who used to live in Canada. In 1999, after his father, a police inspector in crime branch passed away, he decided to make Ahmedabad his home. Only, to get a shock. Near his house was a garbage dump where you could even see bodies of newborns! It was affecting health of residents and making their life miserable. But, no one had stepped forward to take any action. "On an average, two trucks of garbage were dumped there daily. Hospitals, too, used to get rid of medical waste and many a times cows were injured when syringes got caught in their mouths while feeding," Vyas says. He took it upon himself to start a movement to clean the garbage site. He met and convinced locals about environmental hazards and contacted officials of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). Soon, people started joining his initiative. "AMC shifted 35 trucks of garbage from the site. We decided on a permanent solution and a garden seemed a good idea. Residents donated their bit to set it up. We handed over the garden to the corporation,'' Vyas elaborates. Still, residents of Ramnagar feel a sense of ownership. Recently, painter Budhaji Thakore replaced the signboard at the entrance. Says Dr Rajni Shah, who has been practising in the area for the past three decades, "The major impact of this drive has been on health. Earlier , children of Ramnagar used to suffer from skin diseases. Also, since past four years, malaria and diarrhoea cases have dropped sharply - thanks to Vyas' initiative.'' Vyas (41), who has served in Canadian police force, is now a lecturer at MD College of Education in Zundal near Gandhinagar.