Our Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi has completed 4 years of rule. His election campaign slogan was Swachh Bharath. His mission was to make the whole of India a clean country by 2019 as we would be celebrating Gandhiji’s 150th birthday. He mainly focused on the hygiene of the people of our country. He wanted every family to have a toilet. We the people of Kerala are very lucky in many ways, we are 100% literate and everyone who has a house does have a toilet. It’s very important to educate our people to keep our surroundings clean. For that, we must start from our homes. We must try to keep our house clean, beautify our homes by planting trees and flowers. The plants take in a lot of carbon dioxide from the air and expel oxygen making the atmosphere breathable. The premises should be trim and tidy. The sidewalks in front of our houses should be kept clean and tidy. A little bit of effort from our side would help the neighborhood to be clean.
Litter, trash that people throw around us is a very serious problem. We must be proactive in taking care of where we live and take initiative in curbing such issues. We should also prevent the future generations from littering around. We must teach our kids, how much water they must use? How much energy they can save? And know how much waste their family generates? We must teach them to grow vegetables and fruits because they can eat fresh and tasty food without the fear of pesticides. We should teach them to put fruit and vegetable peels in compost bins, teach them to put plastic waste in plastic bins and waste paper in the paper bins.
Another issue we face is with regard to the use of public toilets. Many washrooms and toilets are constructed in public places like the park, bus stations etc. They have made e-toilets too. The people never keep them tidy and clean. The unbearable stench makes you puke. Some don’t have bolts and some are a mess. People who afford a high-class living will never think of using public toilets as they would prefer to go to a star hotel or a high-class cafe to use the washroom. Because they are sure that the washrooms there would be clean. Maintainance of public toilets by the government will always remain an issue. Most of the people don’t flush or clean them after use. Everyone should be educated on this. I would suggest each parent teach their kids and form a habit to live in cleanliness. Most people defecate in the open. The disease spread by open defecation kills hundreds of children in the country. Also, I would like to bring to the notice of how technology can help us start a revolution in changing our lives. In a clean city like Singapore, the NGO’s take up the charge of getting the toilets cleaned and the toilets are map-listed and rated online. The users are required to rate it from 1 to 5. This has helped the shopkeepers as the footfalls and sales also have increased because of the better ratings.
The surroundings where we are, ought to be very clean. Because it shows our life to others and what we are. Even today, there are a lot of people who still do not understand that littering and keeping the surroundings unclean is not hygienic. They carry the waste and dump it near the canals or places where there feel no one is watching them. It’s sad to see them do this. As June 5th was World Environmental Day, this year the theme was “Beat Plastic Pollution”. Every year on this day, all over the globe worldwide awareness programs are held for the protection of nature. This year India hosted the official celebrations and our Prime Minister addressed the event. The aim was to make India and the World plastic free to avoid enormous pollution to our environment.
Isn’t this banner true? There is so much irony in it. If only we could be Simple and Impartial, in our social behaviour, we could definitely build a better society. So let us join hands and take an oath to make the world more beautiful and a better place to live.
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