“How is your dad doing?” I asked my friend when I ran into
him at the bus stop. “He has a fractured leg.” “What happened? Did he fall in
the bathroom or what?” “No, no. You know that he goes for a morning walk every
day. Last Monday, he was coming home as usual when he passed the garbage cans
at the corner of the lane. The bins were overflowing as usual and so a lot of
garbage was on the street. He slipped on a banana skin and got his leg fractured.
Look at how he is paying for someone else’s carelessness.” My friend was very
angry and frustrated – angry at the thought that people could be so careless
and frustrated that he could not do anything about it.
What sight greets you when you go for a morning walk, or
when you are on your way to office or market? Overflowing open garbage bins,
streets littered with rubbish and an overpowering stench that makes you sorry
that you can smell. Most of us choose to hold our nose and carefully thread our
way out of the mess keeping our eyes glued to the ground. Walking with heads
held high has become a luxury. Can we make that a rule rather than an
exception? WE CAN … only if we choose to do something about it.
Anyone can tell you why the situation has come to such a
sorry state.
The garbage bins are overflowing most of the times
because either there are not enough of them for the locality or the garbage
disposal trucks have not cleared them in time. Excess of garbage lies scattered
all over the place.
The garbage disposal trucks overfill most of the times
with the result that they go on spilling everything on the way to their final
destination - the garbage from your home gets distributed all over the town.
Steps
There is a simple, a very simple solution to this
problem. All you have to do is ascertain the cost of a trip form your area to
the disposal grounds and then take up a collection – which probably would not
be more than 5 bucks per house. You can use part of the collection to pay up
the driver so that he can make a special trip to your area. And the remaining
amount can be used to maintain the garbage bins.
Citizen group of the locality should approach the
municipal corporation with a request to provide very simple dustbins that won’t
fetch any money in the market so as to discourage their stealing. The dustbins
should be covered.
Garbage disposal area should be disinfected by spraying
medicinal powders.
Segregation of wet and dry garbage should be encouraged
and separate dustbins (clearly marked) provided for each type.
Garbage bins should be properly fenced in with simple
wooden barricades so as to prevent stray animals or cattle from feeding on
garbage.
Citizen group should take action against people chewing
on beetle leaves for painting the town red!!
Vegetable and fruit vendors should be made to dispose
of the waste into the dustbins and not on the roads.
People should be encouraged to minimize the food waste.
Most important of all, people should be made aware of the
fact that they cannot clean their house and throw everything out on the
streets. That will go a long way in keeping the area clean.
So take your eyes off that Idiot Box, wake up and take
initiative. If you think that you can implement the solutions, go ahead and
start working. There surely are a lot of people in your area who want to do
something about it but don’t know how. Maybe they are waiting for someone else
to take the lead. Be the first one to stand up and take action. Talk to your
family, talk to your friends, talk to your neighbours, talk to anyone and
everyone who is within earshot and who is willing to listen.
Have you tried any of these solutions in your area? Do you
have any suggestions? We would love to hear from you.
Send us the details along with your contact information and we will put it up on our
web site so that others can reach you for support.
Be someone else’s motivation!! Be the next link in this
chain!!
