It is sin to be poor and wretched. The message seems to be to make money at whatever cost. People expect police to do everything. They are expected to keep severely decomposed bodies safely by picking them up physically and eat only vada-pav and drink contaminated tap water. Mahatma Gandhi kept surroundings clean so we must only cash in on that and stop worrying about the filth around us. Last year Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan with much fanfare. The government had promised to gift a Clean India to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary.
Modi himself had taken a broom to sweep street of New Delhi. Many celebrities had emulated him as some of them received flak for turning the mission into a photo op event. Even though one year has passed but results are not visible as we can find filth and garbage accumulated on streets. Garbage lies unattended everyday, rivers stink with sewage and more than half the 1.2 billion population continues to defecate in the open. Swachh Bharat mission should become an ongoing process and must not become a photo-op event.
Yesterday, I had read a newspaper report which mentioned that there is shortage of welding instructors and electricians at ITI. We seek the assistance of foreign countries to overcome this shortage so that youth can become proficient in various trades. Our government must take urgent steps to resolve this matter. If youth become skilled workers they can stand on their own feet instead of depending on government jobs and indulge in corruption.
The BMC has imposed 20 per cent water cut in the city due to deficient rains. Apart from that, there will be 50 per cent cut in supply to large users like swimming pools, malls and air conditioning plants. Water levels in reservoirs are 28 per cent lower than the same period last year, and 25 per cent lower when compared to the average between 2005-2014.
The civic body is planning to impose an additional 10% water cut if the catchment areas doesn’t receive any rainfall in September. Water cut is likely to be imposed after the Ganesh festival. The BMC supplies approximately 3,750 million litres of water to the city daily. However, with water cuts being imposed, only 3,200 million litres of water is being picked up from the seven lakes. Often the city receives good monsoon in August resulting in a rise in the lake levels. However, this time the water level of lakes is falling due to deficient rains. The civic body has already started appealing to people to conserve water for overcoming the shortage. Citizens must avoid wasting water and also plug the leakage of taps.