Strive for a Clean India

Late Khushwant Singh the eminent writer, once on return from a trip abroad wrote in his column’ With malice towards one and all’ that the moment his taxi moved out of the Mumbai International Airport, he was greeted with the familiar sight of scores of people defacing in open. He remarked’ at last I am home’!

No matter where we live in India, it is not unusual to find garbage littered in streets and piled up at every corner. In smaller villages and towns the overflowing drains and refuse attract, pigs and stray animals which make the place even unhealthier. The problem gets compounded as people deface in the open which leaves the place filled with stench.

Cleanliness not only improves the quality of surroundings and makes them more pleasant, but helps in attaining efficiencies also. The private airlines ’ Indigo’ is known for its ‘on time flights’ and insists all passengers to pass on the trash to the onboard flight attendants , before they disembark to ensure no time is lost in the cleaning the aircraft when it lands at next destination.

While most of us who live in decent dwellings, do our utmost to keep the house and the garden clean but when it comes to maintaining the same level of cleanliness at public roads and parks we often forget this! It is not uncommon to see people throwing the used cans or wrappers straight out of the window of a car or carelessly tossing it on the roadside! The offenders here are mostly well read and literate people! The manners we learnt at home and school to keep the environment clean are easily forgotten! Can a handful of sweepers keep the big city clean if we do not throw the garbage in the assigned bins! This results in choking the drains during the monsoon months, and overflowing roads resulting in traffic jams!

Our hills are littered with plastics, empty plastic bottles, used metal cans that not only mar the beauty but also are hazardous for trekking enthusiasts! One look at the banks of Ganges near Rishikesh reveals the amount of muck that is dumped in the river and as the river flows down the plains, it looks more like a drain than a river! The situation is no different for other rivers.This is a stark contrast to cities in Europe where one can see fishing enthusiasts looking for trout or salmon right in the city center by the riverbed!

 Unchecked discharge of toxic gases and suspended impurities by industries and vehicles are degrading the environment.

The Ten Commandments that help promote Cleanliness and preserve sanitation

1.       Always throw all the refuse in the waste cans and not litter the streets

2.       Wash the hands every time before and after taking food

3.       Plant sapling at home and  not cut trees

4.       Not to spit/ urinate in open areas. Offenders should be fined

5.       Schools and colleges should promote’ Shram dan’ once a month to clean the adjoining areas by involving locals

6.       Stray animals be sterilized or rounded up and isolated

7.       Building more toilets across the country

8.       Promoting more environment friendly mode of transport including cycle tracks to reduce pollution.

9.       To avoid burning the trash or refuse and prevent air pollution

10.   Rivers be treated with respect and not used to dump the garbage, dead bodies and animals.

Time is running out.  Every individual should help in this endeavor and it is our duty to leave the mother earth intact for the future generations to see its beauty forever!

PS:  This post is my contribution to Dettol/NDTV and Indiblogger ‘Swachh India’ campaign             http://swachhindia.ndtv.com/