Introduction
Almost a year back, the incumbent Indian Prime Minister
launched the cleanliness drive to make the country clean. It was done with a
lot of fanfare with many celebrities joining the noble cause. Looking at the
frenzy, many believed that it clicked in the minds of the general public and
there would be some positive change towards cleanliness. The government has
spent a lot of money on marketing this scheme so that it could reach the
ground. Despite all these efforts, have we been able to see the change that we tried
hard to see in our lifetime? It is a hundred dollar question. If we are able to
find answers to this question, we have won half of the war against the accumulation
of filth that we see in all cities across the country.
Movement Becomes Public Relation Exercise
In our country, people do everything to gain publicity. This
is mainly due to the extensive coverage of various events by the media. In
order to get cheap publicity, our political leaders indulge in noise
making. The moment the media’s eyes
blink the headcount at the event venue drops drastically. This is the crowd
mentality. That is the reason why our leaders have also become like that. The
same has happened with the Swatch Bharath movement as well. After the initial
euphoria, the movement lost steam and started its slow and inevitable death.
When again the issue got raked up by the media due to the adverse comment by
the honourable high court, again so called patrons of people appeared in the
scene and made appear that they are doing something before the general public.
Change in Mindset Required
Despite the much media glare, the movement lost steam as
people become less sensitive towards the environment hazards this filth
accumulation brings. People wanted others to do for them. The fact of the
matter is that the cleanliness should begin at home. We should be able to keep
clean our house premises and our surroundings. Houses make villages and many
villages make town, city, society and the country. If the cleaning habit is
reared at home, it would take us a long way ahead in the direction of clean
environment. The fact of the matter is that we clean our house at the cost of
our surroundings. The garbage picked up after cleaning is dumped in the
surrounding where others also throw. The civic authorities should make sure
that the accumulated wastes are removed in time. If this waste movement is lost,
the days are not far off when the filth in our neighbourhood starts stinking,
leading to the onset of various contagious diseases.
