This is the attitude across the country. Remember that the Delhi Legislative Assembly or Municipal Corporation passed a motion condemning the Queen of England some time in early nineties for making a remark about Delhi being stinky and filthy. Who is she to tell how we live.. it is none of her business is what most of our "leaders" said, then. The story got repeated many times over, whenever anyone tried saying the same, whether an "outsider" like the Queen or an "insider" like Delhi's Lt Governor or current Chief Minister. This is more of an ego issue, we know we are dirty/filthy but who are you to tell us. So you don't tell us and we obviously don't realise or when we do, we don't want to take any action to improve. This goes on to show that for those in power it does not make a difference, may be they feel closer to masses when they are in such surroundings that is filthier than their own.
That attitude is what forced some citizens to join together to start the awareness campaigns like "Lets do it !! Delhi", "Save our Yamuna", "Greenethon" etc. The experience shared by "Lets do it !! Delhi" is that when a group took on the task of cleaning areas of Delhi (in the beginning of Feb 2010) unto themselves, lots of people who saw them doing automatically joined.. there wasn't not only no resistance but corporates even deployed teams to assist as they saw that if "outsiders" can clean our surroundings, why not us? During the first experiment at Rose Garden the park users were surprised and wondered why some people are doing this, but can't remember if any one of the regular park visitors came forward to join. But in the subsequent attempt at Bhikaji Cama Place that is a commercial locality,large number of volunteers joined most of them from the locality. The experience shared by those who volunteered shows that they felt quite "good" by being part of the "cause". I am sure not only they won't spread the filth but will also deter others from doing so. The people associated with the movement feel that if this could be sustained for some more time the spread will be big and Delhi will be a different (clean) place soon. The experiment of "Lets Do it!! Estonia" worked on similar lines and was the spark in starting it in Delhi by Anita Bhargava, a former Corporate Executive and a Marathon Runner.
Lets be conscious of our surrounding and do our best in keeping it "Clean".. first your building, then the locality, then the city.. and the whole country.. it will be a show case of Clean, pleasing place that we envy today when we look at "foreign" countries like Singapore for example.
We can do it.. lets do it!! "Lets Do it !! Delhi".. "Lets do it!! India".. "Lets do it!! Mother Earth".:)
Great Going Mamaji, so Proud of you.I want to know what exactly was done & how at Bhikaji Cama place.I would like to do the same in my Locality in Bangalore.
ReplyDeletePradeep, a great summary. The biggest contribution we can all make is to spread awareness and get people to become online or offline members of Let's do it Delhi. Poorva you can download a copy of our report from the home page.
ReplyDeleteWell said - "Cleanliness comes from within". Somehow people have lost the belongingness with their surroundings. For example, MY car / MY home needs to be clean, so I pick up garbage and throw it outside - simply because I don't see the street, city, country or the earth as mine.
ReplyDeleteThe other day I was really impressed with one gentleman carrying two sacks full of garbage during his morning walk in the Pune university campus. "I do it wherever I go out for a walk" was his reply when I asked if he was a part of some campus cleaning initiative.
Thanks Poorva. The home page for Lets Do it!! Delhi is http://www.letsdoitdelhi.org/ . You could also write to Sanjay at sanjaybhargava@yahoo.com and to Anita at anitabhargava@hotmail.com for more guidance. Join the club and you will get more information.
ReplyDeleteDear Pradeep, That was Gr8 reading. Unfortunately seen over here is quite scary. People just don't bother about cleanliness. Taxi drivers recklessly spit while driving with one hand on console and other opening the door and spitting at a high speed with you behind him all the muck coming on your wind screen. It has to come from within. Unfortunately not sufficient amount of dustbin provided around you. In Singapore we used to carry the stuff in our baggage till we reach the nearest bin. Here you may have to keep little longer. But it is worth it. All the public money has gone into Mayamala, her statues and elephants. Still let’s not loose hope. Keep trying. Keep up the good work going. Charity begins at home. Ash
ReplyDeleteThaks Pradeep...for your support. Ash, I agree, dustbins are limited, but even when there are dustbins people have got used to throwing trash without thinking. If a little thought went into it, we would see a difference. Every person who leaves home is a potential litterer. He needs to carry his own little packet to gather his "ghutka" packets for the day or whatever it many be and dump it into the nearest trash can.
ReplyDeleteCitizens need to act, work collectively, be a little more disciplined and there itself we will see a difference.
AVM (Retired) Arvinda Agrawal wrote:
ReplyDeleteGood comments, only problem is that this is a well known and old problem. Traditionally we have kept our houses clean and surroundings dirty. Added is the problem of poverty and education (lack of it). By starting a few cleanliness projects isnt going to help. We need a programme to educate people. Problem is how to do it. Any views?
Any way its a good idea to put your views across. Keep it up.
Prof Ashvini Agrawal wrote:
ReplyDeletePradeep, I wrote a piece as my reaction to your write up and tried to send it as comments. It didn't go. I am trying to rewrite the same but it may not be the exact copy.
It is clean piece of your care and concern for our environ and attitude. I share your feelings. One can understand dirty/filthy habits by ignorant backward uneducated BPLs who can/should be taught and made aware. I am sure they'll understand. But the major problem is with the streta of society that claim to be high profile but are dumb. Ever noticed trash being thrown out on roads by moving BMWs and Mercs? They don't understand any language to make them aware.
For the example of the Q of UK's comments and Indian reaction to it, I am reminded of a story in the Panchatantra. It goes that a bunch of idle mischief monger monkeys were getting soaked in winter rains on a tree when some weaver-birds living on the same tree advised them to spend some time constructively building shelters/homes for themselves.
Result was that as soon as the rain stopped the monkeys destroyed the nests of the weavers. Great! Are we all not Indian monkeys?
Richa Goel commented:
ReplyDeleteYou made great selection of topic and excellent writing. Keep up the good work.
You are doing a good job.We normally discuss these problems among us blaming others and then forget about it the next day whereas you have taken up this thing as a movement and I am sure you and the people like you will see the light of the day soon.....All the best and may God be with you all.
ReplyDeleteWow! That's so impressive. You are so right..we all are guilty of blaming the system & not doing anything about ..well, anything we find wrong. Be it cleanliness or corruption..we just sit in cafes and discuss the state of the country or become fans of some "drive against something" page on facebook or blog about it..but what do we really do??
ReplyDeletenothing.
am so proud of you, for doing so much...