Arnab Pandey

I happened to visit India this December 14, 2014. India- my country did surprise me this time when I saw it after five long months. It was early morning when I landed in the ‘City of Joy’- Kolkata. Soon I came out of the airport and was heading towards my home in my car.

As I was heading towards my home, I founds the roads are pretty clean with less garbage on the roads and more on the dustbins (which was one of the major part of my happiness for the day) and it seemed like people are now understanding their social responsibility towards the country. I was having a terrible jet lag and soon I dozed off.

When I woke up again it was late morning and I was stuck in a traffic jam. Car drivers here in India have not much changed and it is really difficult to change their perception about buzzing loud horns to move their cars an inch further. We Indians do think that if we move our car an inch forward in a traffic jam we will reach sooner to our place. Even if the car doesn’t move forward, we keep the engines ON and waste gallons of fuel, because the mere vibrations in our car instills hope in us that we will reach our destination sooner.

Although in my place, learning from a youngster is not a good status symbol, I somehow managed my driver to keep the engines OFF. Despite of so much of chaos, our car did move forward in the traffic and we came out of it. It amuses me every time the way India runs so smoothly even in chaotic situations. A little further from Kolkata, on my way towards home, there is a little town. To my astonishment the scene here was way different from the city. The conditions have not yet changed. The roads were not clean, garbage dumps were not taken care of, and things were pretty same as the way I left it, when I went to US (the country which taught me a lot of things).

I reached home after a 3-hour ride from Kolkata. It is a place called Durgapur- the steel township. I quickly refreshed myself and was taking a stroll to my neighborhood area. I found that there has been occurred a vast change in the mindset of the people regarding cleanliness. People are seriously trying to keep their localities clean. Thanks to the elected Government of India and the social media, which has helped in brand marketing the noble cause for the common good and for linking the status quo with cleanliness.

Some of the problems, I think which need reforms, are as follows:

Firstly, there is less number of dustbins that are placed in the parks and in the roadsides. People are trying to find dustbins before dumping their garbage but sometimes they are unable to find one.

Secondly, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan needs to be marketed more into the grass-root level. The population in the grass-root level is not much educated and aware about the cleanliness drive and their responsibility towards it.

Thirdly, an introduction to the effectiveness and necessity of a Swachh Bharat (Clean India) needs to be incorporated in the basic education system of India, right from the primary level.

This is just the beginning of a new India and I have huge hopes that my country will rise again into becoming one of the most appreciated nations globally, because I have faith in my countrymen, and on my young Indians.

I end my blog today with the signature of being an Indian – Namaste (In Hindi means- meri atma apke andar ke paramatma ko naman karti hain), which in English means my soul bows down to the eternal soul present inside you, with gratitude.

Come let’s join our hands to make a cleaner India.

Photo Credits: Stik Swachh Bharat Mission Photos