As the residents of a metro city we find that the cleanliness has been given prime importance and the environment is free from of garbage as we pass through a clean and green city. The praise comes from the mouth of a senior freelancer not just to lobby for a political party as the elections are nearing and this piece is not filed not just as a publicity stunt but to press some valid points for the cleanliness of the city.
The phrase ‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’ has finally become more than just an idea. On October 2, 2014, on the eve of Mahatma Gandhi’s 145th birth anniversary, PM Narendra Modi launched an important campaign ‘Swachh Bharat’, that is Clean India.
The aim of this campaign is to make India one of the cleanest cities of the world in the next five years. This cleanliness campaign has become so popular that from a common man to Bollywood celebrities, everyone was participating wholeheartedly. It is time to prevent the accumulation of garbage and the efforts taken on a weekly basis to work in certain pockets should not go waster and it is a welcome signal to maintain the status quo and do a world of good to the society in general and the country in particular.
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is gaining momentum and people of every walks of life join the great movement under the leadership of our Prime Minister. On the whole, it is a successful movement and the people take it in the right spirits to make it a most successful one. However, when we witness the operation is going on in a society or in the streets, we observe that the people are targeting one particular space for cleaning with an aim to catch the lens of the camera and getting their photos published in news dailies. This is not in good taste and defeats the very purpose of cleaning a park or a locality and its surrounding instead of just concentrating at one spot for the show business.
It is to remove the unwanted vehicles parked in the main parking lot. They not only make others suffer and the dust accumulated in the vehicles will cause diseases like Bronchitis and Asthma. Societies should make arrangements to remove unwanted vehicles. After all, cleanliness is next to Godliness. In and around the area of the society is to be kept clean. By allowing dogs inside the society the cleanliness part is not maintained properly. To add salt to the wound people throw rubbish from the balconies and making it worst for the passerby. We can see a used piece of condom or sanitary napkin on the walking track and that gives a shabby look to an otherwise well-maintained society. It is time to react and make things move to keep a clean green city.
It is important to realise that we need a policy that gives the mandate to the people to bring in the much-needed change. For example, take the ambitious cleaning of revered rivers. While there are endless discussions, where is the action? The movement has enough popularity but the momentum can be kept in place by using apt technology to take it to people. This lacuna of not interacting with people needs to be addressed. It would be ignorant of us not to acknowledge the efforts of some of the policies that demand change.
Until now people have been acting like consumers to this idea of Swachh Bharat and have bought it only on face value. Swachh Bharat will not happen in a vacuum, it will happen because of the collective efforts of all stakeholders and we need to act as citizens, who have the responsibility to realise this dream of a cleaner India. Citizens have to take the onus onto themselves, our mentality and behaviour of being alright with filth and dirt need to change. While we all are in favor of this change mentally, we need to work on actually implementing it ourselves. Basic acts of citizens such as not littering and segregating trash will go a long way. In this connection segregation of waste should come from the household and strict measures have to followed and guidelines issued periodically to create an awareness to the people. Waste segregation basically means keeping wet and dry wastes separately; so that dry can be recycled and wet waste can be composted. The idea of dry waste for recycling sounds good if followed strictly in the real meaning of the word.
Local corporators play a pivotal role in making PM’s dream a reality. They work in unison with the municipal corporation workers and guide them properly in this regard. Sweeping of public places can be taken up during night time so that the atmosphere will be free from dust when people go for a morning walk. In India the Central
Governments may change but the focus must not be lost. A lot to be done perhaps even undone, but let us look for a change and look enough natural resources that will keep the country healthy. That is easier said than done- but here is the Swachh Bharat challenge for all of us.
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Swachh Bharat Mission is a nation-wide campaign in India for the period 2014 to 2019 that aims to clean up the streets, roads, and infrastructure of India’s cities, towns, and rural areas. The campaign’s official name is in Hindi and translates to “Clean India Mission” in English. What has aggravated over hundreds of years due to illiteracy and improper habitual activities may not be given up in a short span of a few months or years. However, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has achieved great success in spreading awareness across the country to get rid of many wrong and unhealthy practices. As a result, good progress has been observed through the Swachh Bharat mission. The real success of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan came full circle and we enjoy the real fruits of the mission and some cities like satellite city stood first in cleanliness and that is a significant one and not just for vote bank politics. It is indeed a dream come true life with the sweeping success of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
