Copyright starofmysore
By Dr. K. Javeed Nayeem, MD Two days ago, there was a very unusual bit of front-page news in my morning paper with a picture alongside, which showed a sizeable pile of garbage dumped outside the gate of what looked like a posh home in Bengaluru. This is a depiction of a very unusual strategy which has been resorted to, by the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML), as the best and perhaps only effective form of treatment, to curb carelessly dumped garbage of every kind, that has become the most painful bane of all our lives these days. It appears the BSWML, in sheer desperation, is said to have embarked on a very unusual way of bringing offenders to book and even to their senses. They have started an experiment of punishing offenders by dumping at their own doorsteps, a generous dose of the rubbish, carelessly tossed away by them. Wherever people live now, be it in cities, towns and even villages, they are being forced to do so, amid garbage that is carelessly and thoughtlessly dumped around their localities, by people who live alongside them. And, the saddest part is that these people are taking the short cut of just tossing their garbage wherever they like and wherever no one seems to be seeing them doing it, when in fact in almost all cities and towns there is an effective garbage collection arrangement that picks it from their doorsteps, every single morning. How much more effectively can we expect our Civic Authorities to deal with this problem and why are we not able to make the best use of this arrangement, which does not exist even in some of the most advanced and developed countries of the world? There, it is not the daily morning announcement requesting them to carefully segregate their waste and hand it over to the collecting teams and it is also not the signboards placed prominently at every street junction, that motivate them to do their part as civilized citizens. Just the inherent and unusually high sense of civic responsibility of every citizen, is itself enough to make them deal with their garbage with an unusually high concern for their environment and the quality of life they lead. Today, every one of our citizens, knows what harm our garbage is doing to our lives, health and environment and yet we are unwilling to make even the slightest change in our sordid habits and lifestyle. The unfortunate part is that even the most responsible and environment conscious people, who do their part without breaking the rules, have to suffer the pain and ignominy of living in the mess that is generated by a few of their completely thoughtless and unmindful neighbours. While the latest action of the BSWML have been applauded by most suffering and distressed citizens, there are some who feel that this measure is rather high-handed and arbitrary, although they too are unable to suggest anything more effective in the present situation. The management of solid waste is not at all an easy job for any agency that is vested with this responsibility and most Civic Authorities are at their wits end in devising means and way of doing it in the most effective and environment-friendly way. Countries across the world have been struggling to find solutions to what has now clearly become a global problem, due to our growing population and the newer and newer kinds of non-biodegradable waste that we are generating day after day, with our fast-changing lifestyle. Waste disposal itself can have its own hazards. It has to be done with utmost care, without polluting the air we breathe, the water we drink, the crops that we grow and the food that we eat. While this difficulty of disposing waste safely, holds good even to meticulously collected and properly segregated waste, the gathering of tons and tons of carelessly strewn garbage, of every imaginable kind, from across our roads and streets, is clearly an impossible task. The fines with which offenders have been threatened, simply do not seem to be working, because people continue to dump their garbage by night, under the cover of darkness and during the daytime, in places where they are sure that there are no video cameras. And, we all know very well that it is certainly not possible for the Authorities to install garbage monitoring video cameras across the entire length and breadth of every, city, town and village. It may be like asking for the impossible but it is worthwhile to install solar powered, night vision video cameras, at least in all the strategic places and penalise the offenders with high penalties. So, the present treatment strategy, of paying the offenders with their own coin, although seen by some as unusually harsh, may be the only one that is likely to be effective in breaking the stubborn lethargy and insensitivity of some people, who refuse to budge and change their ways. And, when you look at the problem, these are not always the illiterate and uneducated people who are guilty of this crime. We see even the so-called, most elite people committing it, including the ones who have travelled abroad and lived in countries where they would never have had the nerve to do even the slightest wrong. They do not toss a piece of used tissue or a cigarette butt through their car windows, as they cruise along the roads and they do not break any of the traffic rules there, however minor, but they simply cannot do likewise here in our own country. Why is it that, while we can be such law-abiding and patriotic citizens everywhere, outside our country, why are we not able to be likewise, on our own soil? Is it in any way less dear and less precious to us? Do think about it! e-mail: [email protected]
