The Government of India has launched 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan'. Do you think
it helps to combat the pollution? How is it generating awareness among people
about the importance of clean environment?
Answers
Explanation:
There can’t be two opinions on the importance of cleanliness. A clean country means healthy citizens and is always a motivation for her people. Cleanliness should come from the hearts of people; starting from their homes, becoming a habit; manifesting itself as a clean and healthy society. In older times, there wasn’t any non-biodegradable waste. Our forefathers found bio-degradable substances for all our needs. We used to give our kitchen waste to pets, some we used to burn and some we used to use as fertilisers .This has now changed. We use poly-urethane bags and bottles which are often non-biodegradable. Every household has lot of plastic waste. Our public places have become dumping yards for such waste. We need to set guidelines and implement stricter laws to reduce those. Every household should be responsible for the waste they generate.”Swachata paramo dharma:” should be our slogan for a year.
Every individual should be responsible for her consumption and every society for clean surroundings. When I say cleanliness, it includes a clean surrounding and also a clean atmosphere. Remember, in our households and our places of worships were always cleaned by “panch gavyas” and its atmosphere made uncontaminated by the fragrance of “asta gandhas”. This system of cleaning our household and our neighbourhood has to be revived in contemporary ways.
Our forefathers were well known for their clean habits. Many ancient foreign travellers have praised our country for this quality. However, we lost our glory with the flow of time. Our roads, our rivers have become dirty. Our countrymen have really started believing that “daag ache hein”. Sadhus can be seen on the banks of Ganga making themselves pure by applying “vibhooti”. Meanwhile their mother -the Ganga – remains impure due to gross neglect.
As a mother, I understand the importance of making our children aware of the importance of maintaining an untainted home and a clean public place; “never litter” should be a lesson taught from a young age. This will enable our future generations to be socially responsible. We also need to bring this to the academic curriculum, which will help them learn and understand the importance of hygiene. Our children must practice to leave the appropriate waste at the appropriate dustbin.
Our movement, anchored by our dear Prime Minister, promises to bring in an effective system of installing enough garbage bins at all public places. These will segregate the wet and dry waste (during the collection itself). We will also bring a comprehensive plan to separate wet and dry waste in the household as well .Our plan is also to empower women self-help groups who will also be able to find a little bit of income by collecting and processing dry wastes like bottles and plastic covers.
A pollution free atmosphere also is an integral part of our holistic cleansing program. We need to make sure that our vehicles follow pollution free standards. We should also teach our young generations, the ill-effects of unnecessary honking and other sound polluting activities. Fresh air and sound pollution free environment is very important for a healthy life. We have also started tree plantation campaign in different parts of the city to encourage our citizens to own up to the dream of a beautiful green city.
This is the context in which our Prime Minister has called for a “swachatha abhyan” or a cleanliness campaign. This campaign was launched on 2nd Oct 2014, the birth anniversary of Gandhiji who said “I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.” Shri Narendra Modi visited my constituency in the early morning hrs of 2’nd October and led a cleanliness drive there. Our commitment in reducing global warming and our drive to save the Ganga has picked momentum after his very successful US visit. So, it is an opportunity for each of us to contribute a little bit to the dream he has about a clean India. I request everyone to come forward for this noble cause.