Cleanliness is apolitical. And the price to pay for seeking it should not be as steep as one’s life. But the incident in Delhi, wherein a 34-year-old e-rickshaw puller Ravinder Kumar was beaten up leading to his death, paints a different picture. Ravinder apparently only raised his voice against people who were sullying the vicinity of his workplace, the e-rickshaw stand, by urinating there. While such an incident may not be out of the ordinary for a city such as Delhi, which is notorious for road rage and street brawls, the cause for the scuffle is indeed worrying. On one hand the incident points to a positive outcome that the message of cleanliness has been received well cutting across sections of society, but, on the other, there is the negative side which unravels inertia and the adamant and defiant stand of some scoffing at necessary change. The lack of cleanliness has been affecting millions around the world, especially where the density of population is higher. India has the dubious distinction of having about half the globe’s populace of people with no access to toilets. It is also a leader in open defecation. These circumstances need to be addressed not only for its cosmetic value but also considering the health perspective. No remedial measure to ensure cleanliness can be effective without the participation of the common man, the likes of Ravinder, who constitutes the masses deprived of basic facilities and understanding to adopt hygienic practices. The rot is not limited to open urination or defecation. Bangalore is reaping the grim harvest of years of pollution today with different incidents such as the Bellandur lake there catching fire and now the Varthur lake spewing toxic foam on to the city’s roads. Earlier, Mumbai had faced great trouble in putting out a massive fire that broke out in the garbage dump at Deonar there. Delhi, too, is not alien to the problem. Metropolises of the country today are moving mountains of trash each day and the problem is only compounding. Under such circumstances, each small step is vital to ensure better cleanliness and sanitation in cities. Conscious efforts are essential to keep cities clean and for that to happen each individual will have to consider cleanliness as his or her own responsibility rather than that solely of sanitation staff. Certain countries have adopted strict laws against littering in public places. They even impose fines on people violating rules. Such a system is likely to be defeated in India as our focus is on non-compliance and defiance even when the benefits of following rules are more than obvious. The lack of sanitation is bringing the country newer threats and the report of three cases of zika virus in Ahmedabad is standing proof. Residents of Bapunagar slum from where the cases were reported bemoan the poor sanitary conditions in their locality. But they cannot expect the situation to improve unless they themselves adopt measures to keep unsanitary conditions at bay. No government measure is adequate to ensure cleanliness unless compliance becomes the norm rather than the exception. And achieving compliance should definitely not call for sacrificing lives.
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