Dharavi…
a name that evokes sympathy and awe as well, is a slum- largest in Asia and a
subject matter of research, discussions, strategies and a vote bank too.
Dharavi
which houses people of all classes, professions and caste is but an unplanned
development which lacks everything excluding burgeoning population. Sanitation
and hygiene are perhaps a luxury and a distant dream for the residents of
Dharavi but, why are we, the people residing in urbanized areas, ignoring the
hygiene factor and also forgetting a civic responsibility that comes along with
the development of a society?
Bhubaneshwar,
Cuttack and Khurda to name are cities which are busy, buzzing with business
activities in crores but are zero in maintenance of roads, drains and infact
everything that has to be maintained. An
immediate argument that would come up is “it’s the municipality which has to
manage, what do we do in this case?” the answer can be found in the questions
that we can ask ourselves: are we not supposed to be keeping our surroundings,
the roads and the environment clean enough to keep away malaria, dengue and
swine flu that erupt as a reason of water logging, dumping of garbage and
improper drainage?
Check
the overflowing drains or the open fields besides our houses, these are filled
with garbage which we carelessly dispose off in the open- polythene sachets,
packets and everything which can be disposed off are just flung into the open.
Dustbins rarely used and cared for. If there is none in the colony, we care the
least to install one by taking initiative.
We
have this habit of complaining every now and then that government does not do
this and the municipality doesn’t do that…but there is not one question that we
have put onto our own selves about what we should have done and what have we
been doing?
Just
think of the road with crater like holes harvesting rain water and the
beautiful overflowing sewage outlets which find their way into the so called
civilized world’s arterial roads and just think of the traffic jam’s that
happen as a result of these water logging. News channels and we alike keep
highlighting the fact that life has become a hell for common man but what steps
have we taken till date?
Oh
yes! We have taken steps and measures to block the channels which are meant for
free flow of waste water by disposing wastes (read it as dumping) in an
uncivilized manner, by using polythene which is banned and is a harmful for the
bio that we are surrounded by, we spit, we pee and we do everything that can
make a rationale person feel that he/she is living in a slum and not in an
urban area, in comfort!
After
all this, we expect the municipality to clean and keep our streets, roads and
the environment clean for whatever we liter around and spoil! A municipality is
there, in common understanding, for the maintenance of the infrastructure that
we call as society but that does not mean we can throw garbage unsystematically
onto the road that we travel and curse the municipality for not maintaining it.
How
many times have we, the commoners, taken up the task of maintaining a dust bin
for all the houses on the street we live in and how many times have we tried to
plant the trees or weed out the unwanted growth around them beyond our
boundaries? Or rather, how many times
have we reprimanded someone not to spit and stain red, the roads, the walls and
every other concrete thing around us? There are so many issues which we, as a
commoner can tackle but we do not, because we have the habit of being dependent
on the services of others than our own. The moment we all realize that there is
always a tag of self service similar to that of the tag in CCD or Pizza Hut, we
can be assured of cleanliness and hygiene around us.
A lack of moral responsibility on our part and
a lack of civic sense, a lack of planning while constructing houses and a lack
of proper sanitation are all a reason as to why we suffer. While the
municipality has not been up to its mark in many of the cities, we too, are
irresponsible and uncivilized in the way we live.
Till the time we stop cursing and start doing
something, its Dharavi all around!
