Clean India Mission : It starts with ME

Before I start with this post, I would like to thank our Government for the “ स्वच्छ  भारत  अभियान  (Swach Bharat Abhiyan) - The Clean India Mission campaign that highlights the need to protect our heritage and to curb the problem of waste. With the world facing recession and unemployment, civil wars and migration, this issue has taken a backseat. The new Government of India has understood that lack of cleanliness is a existing problem and if measures are not taken it can snow ball into disasters in the future.

I am not going into deep discussion on the faults of the Government; rather I will concentrate on the Why’s.

I started observing my surrounding while traveling and working to understand the depth of this problem. The common kinds of waste that are found on the streets are:

1. Chocolate wrappers/tickets/ready-to-eat packages: Our minds are tuned in such a way that our hands automatically throw the wrapper without realizing our location.
2. People defecating/urinating/spitting: Spitting is such a common problem that it feels like everyone is suffering from Tuberculosis -TB. Some are addicted to the point that with every step they take, they spit. If you are a regular train traveler in India then people defecating/urinating/spitting is a common occurrence to the extent that our minds do not even register it.
3. Fruit skins: Fruits are good for health so are fruit skins for us and the environment. Do you know orange skin wards off mosquitoes and banana peels unclog sewage? 
4. Leftovers: This is the most common waste. Since it smells and attracts insects, the best way of disposing is throwing on the streets, right?
5. Leaves: Depends on the weather. Currently it is winter so I see the roads filled with dead leaves and stems.
6. Pamphlets: They are the cheapest way to advertise and most expensive loss of paper.

Now let’s focus on the scene of the crime:

1. Railway Station
2. Restaurant/street vendors
3. Public places, monuments, gardens, and zoos
4. Pilgrim/tourist places

The reasons of the crime:

1. Emergency
2. No dustbins in the vicinity
3. No toilets in the nearby area, existing toilets stink or are the breeding homes of the world’s most popular diseases
4. Apathy to ones surrounding atmosphere
5. False beliefs:My Nation is NOT my home, so as long as my home is clean why bother?
6. Old bad habit of littering 

Now who are the people who commit this crime? Practically everyone- from men to women, rich to poor, young to old; all are equal participants.

Poster made by a school child on cleanliness 

The current situation reminds me of Pareto’s principle - The 80:20 Rule. 80% of the waste is caused by us, citizens, while 20% is the negligence of Government. We keep our homes clean, but not our surroundings. We throw garbage on the roads, yet we blame the Government. We have maids to keep our homes clean, which does not mean we keep our homes  dirty considering the maid will clean it up. In the same way, though we have Government employees to clean the road, then why are the roads still unclean?

 We see pets taken for strolls and the animals conducting their business on the pavements or public gardens. Those with no access to toilets conduct their morning routines on rail tracks or footpaths. Is the Government to be blamed for all our actions? We can buy expensive TVs, mobiles, vehicles irrespective of our status but we are unable to contribute for building toilets in our locality.

The Government needs to be blamed for not providing adequate number of dustbins or toilets. The Government is responsible for not maintaining the toilets and not closing those that are managed improperly. The Government is responsible for replacing old or broken dustbins and for cleaning the toilets.We are responsible for controlling our actions and for finding suitable disposal methods. If a disease has gripped the locality,the reason lies in the waste we throw that clogs the sewage and the bacteria and other microorganisms that grow there and multiply.

 The Government is responsible for not picking the garbage daily, for not removing the waste that fill the roads, or for cleaning the sewage.We are responsible for teaching our children to throw wrappers on the street if there is no dustbin. We are responsible for teaching them to urinate on the rail tracks or the corner of the road if there are no toilets nearby. We are responsible for throwing fruits on the rail track after eating it lavishly in our first/second class compartment.

Pilgrim/tourist places are most common places where people come in groups and litter in tons. Government is responsible for not placing dustbin at equal intervals based on the number of tourist every year. We are responsible for not keeping waste bags to collect the waste and dispose it off once we find the dustbins.

We cannot only blame illiteracy or Government for these offences. Both literate and rich people are equally involved in perpetrating one of the above offences.

Children and teachers cleaning their own school playground during cleanliness week  

“CACR had organised many events for creating awareness and educating parents and children on cleanliness and waste management from  13^th to 19^th November through skits and other innovative programs. Children also contributed by writing open letters  to the Additional Municipal Commissioner, City and Education  (read here) for making the city clean”

We hope through these endeavors  the future generation learns the importance of waste management and do not allow history to be repeated. It is important for us to be educated and rational, but it is equally important for all of us to be clean people.

We can come up with a number of solutions but the most important is to consider littering and spitting as an offence. We need to fine people as well as charge them with community service to make them understand the bitter realities.

It’s easy to compare our country with other countries and blame the Government for inefficiencies. The irony of the situation is that while traveling to foreign countries we are epitome of model citizens, but within our own country we are repeated offenders of our environment.

The Government has already executed the first step of their strategy, i.e. Creating Awareness. Advertisements and influential people  from all walks of life are contributing to spread the message of “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”. 

The next step is ours . Remember : Prevention is better than Cure.

The last step is of the Government for appropriate Waste Collection and Management. 

Lets do our duty and the Government will follow. 

--by JZ, a volunteer with Citizens Association for Child Rights a education non profit startup working to improve quality of health and education in municipal schools of Mumbai