Swachh Bharath” Program and the challenges ahead of us

“Swachh Bharath” Program and the challenges ahead of us

The PRIME MINISTER of India on the Independence Day announced, one of the favorite and pet program perhaps very close to his heart namely “ Swacch Bharath”.  Since, then  we  have been seeing many people including the rich and famous  and powerful  are holding the broom and  cleaning the  roads and other public places. PM has made many famous celebrities and public figures as the goodwill ambassadors for carrying forward the  Swachh Bharath movement. Many corporate houses lauded this program, and came forward to fund for building the toilets in schools etc. What else is needed to make this program success and sustainable? What are the challenges  and impediments to achieve the Swachh Bharath?

1.   Mindset Change-Indians have a habit of taking things very seriously in the beginning and quickly get disillusioned when things do not go as per their plan. Desperation sets in and pointing fingers starts. Oh! Nothing works here , see in foreign countries it works, but not here. Our people when they go there maintain cleanliness ,but when they come here they just do the opposite here. Is it true?

2.   Slogans: No program should end with only slogans. Sloganeering will help for some time , then we forget it and carry on our  old habit of throwing garbage in public places.

3.   Awareness: Educating the people on why we should  keep the public places clean is extremely important. Using the media both print and visual,  effectively to create an awareness and educating the  people will  help in sustaining the tempo of the programme. But we saw this seriousness in the beginning and slowly it seems to have lost the heat.

4.   Infrastructure: Without creating  the necessary infrastructure to keep the public place clean it is futile to talk of cleanliness. For EX:  where are affordable clean toilets in public places to prevent  the people  p..ing  in the public places? Where are waste disposable collection bins, in public places, parks and roads ? Where is Garbage disposable bins in  each locality? These are only few things  which are required before we ask people for cleanliness.

5.   Facilities for women: Our women folks most disadvantaged people in our society . While men folk  do  p—ing in public , women obviously cannot do that. Where is the facility for them.?Even our bus stand and railway stations toilets are maintained in  shabby condition, and  if anybody goes there they will certainly  catch infection. Therefore we must  make people to provide clean toilets in service stations, hotels, malls, railway stations and bus stand, schools, shops etc that are  to be maintained clean condition so that the public can use them. Create as many paid toilets as possible. IF you can afford to give one rupee per Kg rice, why not free toilets. Unfortunately, priority is missing.

6.   Clean water:  Providing clean water should have been part of this programme. We as a  nation failed to provide clean drinking water to large section of people in the country. How can we claim developed nation, when only 10 percent of our people get clean drinking water?

7.   Clean food: Do any of the Indian hotels prepare food in  clean and hygienic condition? Not many. We have number of laws for prevention of food adulteration. None of these are really being implemented on ground. Officials appointed for implementing these laws, collect their cuts and allow them abuse the law.

8.   Role of civic bodies in Swatch Bharath program: Civic bodies, like Panchayaths, Municipalities and City Corporations role are most important in this program to make it a success. Sadly, most of the civic bodies are either starved of funds or corrupt. Wherever funds are available, half of it goes in the drain due to rampant corruption. EX: Look at Bangaluru Mahangar city corporation [BBMP] affairs. It is only famous for scams, inefficiency. Every day at least one scam is being reported involving crores of money being siphoned off, by fraudulent bill payment for unfinished or semi finished works. They are yet to take any interest in Swatch Bharath program. This kind problem is plaguing all civic bodies, and these institutions unfortunately are key to the success of this program.

Having said this, we would like to showcase the work of one of the very dynamic self help groups  namely ,CHEMIST BRIGADE, of Thygarajnagar , Bangaluru, who have taken upon themselves the SWACCH BHARATH program very seriously. They are so far completed 27 such programs. They are a set of young professional chemists, who will go to any public place with their own equipment to clean the public place along with ordinary safai karmacharis .No political ambitions and no gimmicks, selfless service being motto of this group. If Swachh Bharath program has to succeed, we need more such groups in each locality. This will not only help in improving cleanliness, but also help us to overcome inhibition to do such work, that has so far been treated with contempt. This will also improve morale of safai karmacharis whose yeoman service has not been recognized by larger community.

ಬೀchi  ಕನ್ನಡದ ಹೆಸರಾಂತ  ವಿಚಾರ ಭರಿತ ಹಾಸ್ಯ ಸಾಹಿತಿ.ಅವರು  ಸುಮಾರು ೪೦ ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ ತಿಂಮಾಯಣದಲ್ಲಿ  ಒಂದು ವಿಚಾರವನ್ನು ಹೇಳಿದ್ದರು . ತಿಮ್ಮನೀಗೆ ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಲಾಟರಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿತಂತೆ. ಆಗ ಆತ ಅದನ್ನು ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕರ ಉಪಯೋಗಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ವಿನಿಯೋಗಿಸಲು ನಿರ್ಧರಿಸಿದನಂತೆ.
ಮೊದಲು ಅವನು ಒಂದು ದೇವಸ್ತಾನವನ್ನು ಕಟ್ಟಲು ಯೋಚಿಸಿದನಂತೆ .ಆಗ , ಅವನಿಗೆ ಅನ್ನಿಸಿತಂತೆ,ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ ಕಟ್ಟಿಸಿದರೆ ಹಿಂದೂಗಳು ಮಾತ್ರ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಾರೆ , ಬೇರೆಯವರಿಗೆ ಅದರಿಂದ ಏನು ಉಪಯೋಗವಿಲ್ಲ.ಹಾಗೆ,ಒಂದು ಚರ್ಚ್,ಗುರುದ್ವಾರ ,ಮಸೀದಿ ಯಾವುದನ್ನೇ ಕಟ್ಟಿಸಿದಲ್ಲಿ , ಅದು ಆ ಪಂಗಡದವರೀಗೆ, ಉಪಯೋಗ  ಆದೀತೆ ಹೊರತು ಎಲ್ಲ ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕರ  ಉಪಯೋಗ  ಆಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಆಗ , ಅವನೀಗೆ ಒಂದು ಯೋಚನೆ ಬಂತಂತೆ.
ಜಾತಿ , ಮತ  ಮತ್ತು ಧರ್ಮಗಳ ಭೇದವಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಉಪಯೋಗಿಸುವುದು ಒಂದು ಜಾಗ . ಅದೇ , ಕಕ್ಕುಸ್ಸು ಮನೆ . ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಅವನು ಆರು ಟಾಯ್ಲೆಟ್  ಕಟ್ಟಿಸಿದನಂತೆ . ಮೋದಿಯವರು , ಇದನ್ನೇ ಹೇಳಿದ್ದಲ್ಲವೇ.Build Toilets not Temples