Swachh Banegaa Toh Aur Bhi Badegaa India

- BY NEHA

Lack of sanitation and cleanliness in India adversely affects the vast majority of the populace much more than issues such as corruption and improper governance. The reason being that we Indians are grappling with unsanitary conditions on an almost everyday basis – whether it is the squalid living conditions of our neighborhood slum or the open heaps of piled garbage that line our city roads.

Umpteen people often blame the local municipal authorities or the Government for their abysmal efforts in cleaning the country. How utterly convenient! While I am not absolving the Authorities of their desultory efforts in effectively discharging their duties; I, as a citizen of this country, feel embarrassed to say that several Indians just do not have basic civic sense.

I have seen people driving in luxury cars simply chuck a banana peel or an empty packet of chips out on the road. People are munching something in their cars and when they are done with it, they roll down the window and throw the garbage out. My upper floor neighbors have no qualms in simply toppling over their household junk on the street, even if some of it lands on my patio. Why should they care, it is my patio not theirs? After all, why should they keep garbage in ‘THEIR’ car or ‘THEIR’ home? Never mind that they are littering ‘THEIR’ neighborhood and ‘THEIR’ country.

You may have heard of the saying, “Education in India makes people literate, not educated.” Profound words! Indian education does indeed teach us how to read, write, add, subtract, multiply, divide, etc., but does it make us wise and sagacious? It’s been a while since I graduated from school but I do not recall any of my teachers ever asking the class to wash hands before lunch. Sure I participated in cleanliness drives as a school student, but such drives were few and far between and were mostly regarded as an extra “free period” away from the classroom.

Washing hands is the most fundamental of our daily self-cleaning activities, which to me is the cornerstone of personal hygiene. Remember the time when the H1N1 virus made headlines in our country - all television channels were replete with awareness messages on how important it is that we wash our hands upon entering home and before eating anything. It is sad that our people need to be reminded of such a basic activity, which actually is mere common sense.

I have travelled to Europe multiple times in the past. The natural beauty of the continent and how it has been preserved over the years never ceases to amaze me - whether it is their pristine water bodies, unadulterated environment or the general cleanliness that is prevalent everywhere. Why wouldn’t people want to spend money and vacation in such places? Why is that newly married Indian couples who are doing reasonably well always choose to honeymoon in a foreign locale? Whether it is Europe, Australia, North America or even a much smaller nation like Singapore, all these places are not cheap to visit, but Indians still wish to visit them because in reality, we do not mind paying a hefty price to take a break from our country and be in a much cleaner and salubrious environment. Ever wondered what impression tourists take home after they visit our country?

Diseases such as Dengue and Chikungunya have become so prevalent in our country that over a period of time we have simply come to accept them, just like we have come to terms with so many others things that we know aren’t quite right. Sometimes it seems that we, as a country, have collectively become so laid-back and lazy that we rather accept the flaws in our nation than do something to ameliorate them.

Just like charity, cleanliness and hygiene also begin at home. I am not urging anyone to take a broom and go out on the street. I understand the time constraints we all have. While occasionally taking part in society or Government organized cleanliness drives may be feasible for us, engaging in such community cleaning activities on a daily basis is not something we all can take out time for. However, there are a few simple things we all can do, that will not only contribute towards making our country a cleaner place but, for all those ‘me, my and mine’ mentality people, also enhance our own person hygiene:

·       Never drop litter out in the open. The rightful place of garbage is in the trash bin.

·       The Ganga and Yamuna did not become polluted overnight. We have been using them as a dumping ground for years. This needs to stop immediately. No Ganga or Yamuna Action Plan will ever be successful, if each one of us doesn’t stop throwing or discharging refuse into them.

·       When handing over your domestic wastes to your local waste vendor, ensure that it is properly packed in a garbage bag. Don’t overstuff the bag.

·       Wash hands as soon as you enter home and before every meal. In office/University cafeterias, food courts and other self-service eateries, people handle currency notes or coins before eating their meal. If you do so, it is important that you wash your hands after you are done handling money. Money notes and coins change hands often and are thus a big source of germs.

·       If you see someone littering, even if they are just stubbing out their cigarette on the street, ask them to pick up the trash and throw it in the bin (yes yes, I know we do not have municipal garbage bins everywhere and this is one of the several areas where the municipal authorities must step up). If you want to go a step further and embarrass such people by making them self-conscious of their actions, just pick up their trash right in front of them and place it in the bin (not always feasible I know).

·       Whenever you take your pet out for a walk, always carry a litterbag to pick up your pet’s poop. This is a common practice in most developed nations.

·       Follow Gandhi’s teaching and “be the change you want to see in the world.” I agree that the Government needs to take some immediate stringent steps in order to address the issue of cleanliness but we as citizens are also equally responsible to take care of our country. Just because we have casted our vote, does not imply that our citizenship responsibilities are over. There is only so much the Government of any country can do, if its people are not willing to pitch-in and do their bit. Countries do not merely become world-class due to world-class governance only, but also because of world-class citizens who feel a sense of responsibility towards their nation.

I know there are several other things we can do to keep our surroundings and ourselves clean, but hey, I am only writing a blog here not a book!

Keeping our environs clean & hygienic just does not enhance our country’s aesthetic appeal and make for a pleasant sight; it also keeps diseases and infections at bay.

We all put in efforts to keep our houses and cars clean and rightly so. However, we can always get another car or a house, but we cannot get another India for us to live in.

RB in association with NDTV and Facebook has launched the “Dettol – Banega Swachh India” campaign to address the pressing need of hygiene and sanitation in our country. Details of the same can be found at http://swachhindia.ndtv.com/