India begins ambitious campaign to clean up dirty cities and villages. The country"s #$% billion &lean India campaign aims to install more toilets. Aims to end open defecation, impro'e trash disposal and educate citizens.
Original Description:
Original Title
India Begins Ambitious Campaign to Clean Up Dirty Cities and Villages
India begins ambitious campaign to clean up dirty cities and villages. The country"s #$% billion &lean India campaign aims to install more toilets. Aims to end open defecation, impro'e trash disposal and educate citizens.
India begins ambitious campaign to clean up dirty cities and villages. The country"s #$% billion &lean India campaign aims to install more toilets. Aims to end open defecation, impro'e trash disposal and educate citizens.
Commuters pass through an alley as a civic worker dumps waste in Kolkata, India. (Bikas Das/!" By #ama $akshmi %ctober & at ''()& * NEW DELHI With brooms in hand, politicians, bureaucrats, police officers and citizen groups descended on the streets Thursday to seep aay trash as part of an ambitious ne effort to clean up India! The country"s #$% billion &lean India campaign aims to install more toilets to end open defecation, impro'e trash disposal and educate citizens about the lin( beteen sanitation and public health! Thursday"s launch as timed to coincide ith the birthday of independence leader )ohandas *andhi, ho as assassinated in $+,-! We ha'e to gi'e )ahatma *andhi something on his $.%th birth anni'ersary, in /%$+,0 1rime )inister Narendra )odi said! 23ust li(e the hole nation united to fight for freedom bac( then, e ha'e to or( together to clean India no!0 4n hat is usually a public holiday, officials ere ordered to report to or( to clean their offices and grounds, and to pledge to de'ote $%% hours a year to cleaning! 1ublic spaces in India"s cities are often eyesores full of rotting piles of trash along the streets, in neighborhoods, public par(s and playgrounds, outside fancy air5 conditioned malls and e'en fi'e5star hotels! 6lthough other politicians ha'e long ignored the problem, the garbage is )odi"s pet pee'e! He has urged clean5ups in se'eral speeches since his party on a resounding 'ictory in )ay! )odi"s campaign coincides ith a nascent stirring among India"s affluent middle class that considers the garbage problem a national shame and has begun sporadic cleanliness dri'es in se'eral cities in recent years! I ill not litter, I ill not allo others to litter, is hat e must resol'e if e are true children of this motherland,0 )odi said Thursday! Earlier, he 'isited a street seeper"s neighborhood, sept the street and dedicated an eco5friendly public toilet in Ne Delhi! 2When e tra'el abroad, e are so impressed by ho clean other countries are! The secret of their cleanliness is the discipline of the citizens in those countries!0 7ar aay from )odi"s e'ent, 3oginder 1al, /85year old municipal seeper, cleaned the sideal( ne9t to a 2&lean India0 sign that featured an image of *andhi"s round eyeglasses! 1eople are alays blaming seepers li(e us for dirty streets! They forget ho much they litter e'eryhere and all the time ithout any regard for cleanliness,0 1al said! 2If this ne program ma(es them aare of their on responsibility, then it ill be effecti'e!0 Indians generate more than 8- million tons of solid aste e'ery year, a .% percent :ump since /%%$, according to a /%$/ report by &olumbia ;ni'ersity! The figure is e9pected to increase to $8% million tons by /%,$! <ut fi9ing the trash problem on"t be easy! India"s cash5strapped municipalities, ith too fe trained urban managers, are oefully ill5e=uipped to tac(le the problem! 7orty percent of India"s aste remains uncollected and unprocessed! Human seage flos directly into the ri'ers in many cities! 6bout ,8 percent of India"s homes ha'e no indoor toilet, ,+ percent of the population defecates in the open and the rest use public toilets, according to census data! It is refreshing that a topic that has ne'er been considered important in India is suddenly getting the spotlight,0 said >hammy 3acob, founder of >aaf India 7oundation, a not5for5profit group that trac(s Indians" attitudes toard littering! 2<ut I hope this doesn"t end ith :ust cleaning the streets ithout or(ing on beha'ioral change, ithout as(ing fundamental =uestions li(e? Where is this garbage going@ 6re e segregating aste@ Is it getting recycled and disposed in a sustainable manner@0 <efore the high5profile launch, ministers sept their office corridors and streets, did surprise chec(s to inspect dirty offices and pulled putrefying trash from ri'ers! >tudents sept their school grounds! It is not easy to change old habits,0 )odi said, and he urged citizens to upload 'ideos of their cleaning acti'ities on the program"s social media page! 2If Indians can reach )ars ith so little money, hy can"t Indians clean their neighborhoods@0 6cti'ists said the campaign ill be successful if aste collectors are treated ith dignity and the or( is made less hazardous! Waste collectors are not organized, their health problems are not e'en ac(noledged,0 said <harati &hatur'edi, director of &hintan En'ironmental Aesearch and 6ction *roup, in Ne Delhi! 2They pic( all (inds of trash ith bare hands, and carry it home in their slums to segregate them! 6re e creating safe space for segregation@ What rights do they ha'e@0 #ama $akshmi has been with +he !ost,s India bureau since '--). .he is a sta/ writer and India social media editor 0or !ost 1orld. 1osted by Tha'am