SATHAPPAN NARAYANAN
The other day, I visited a LIC office in my neighbourhood. This particular office is in a high traffic location of L B Road in Chennai which is bound to attract a large number of customers.
Customers generated litters and as well dust generated due to high vehicular traffic. The premise is of very basic quality with normal cement flooring. The moment I touched the first step of the staircase, I was awestruck by the thoroughly swept condition of all the steps and cleaned walls without any stains of chewed pan which are otherwise customary natural scenarios in such offices. I entered the office with all praise to the person who did the cleaning job and after completing my job, I expressed my happiness to the assistant manager on duty who asked me to go to a particular room to meet and personally express my appreciation to the housekeeping staff, which I did to their unexpected joy. I feel such up keeping is very rare and needs due appreciation so as to keep up such good work and be a motivation for others.
Are we giving adequate importance to keeping the toilets and premises of public places, offices and our homes clean? Whether you are a foreigner or Indian returning from an abroad trip, the first thing you notice through your senses is, sorry to mention, the foul smell emanating from the toilets. Cleanliness helps control the spread of infectious diseases, such as gastrointestinal infections and respiratory illnesses. Proper waste disposal, regular cleaning of public spaces, and the availability of clean water are essential components of disease prevention.
Even in this highly informed digital age there are people who throw food wrappers, empty water bottles on the beaches, on the roads. There are those insane people who spit and throw cigarette buds in the public urinals. Throwing cigarettes and chewing gum into the urinal are not only unsanitary, but can also cause costly repairs and maintenance issues.
India has been making efforts to improve the cleanliness of public places through a number of initiatives including Swachh Bharat Abhiyan - also known as the Clean India Mission; this nationwide campaign was launched in 2014 to make India clean and open defecation-free. The campaign includes efforts to build toilets, promote hygiene and sanitation, and raise awareness about cleanliness.
In spite of a long 10 years of government effort, and huge investment, still we are lacking a lot on cleanliness. It is for anybody to guess, who is at fault. The government can allocate funds, but the executors need to have empathy and ensure top quality in establishing the people-friendly facilities without giving room for corruption triggered poor quality.
Last, but not least, the people should also come forward to use each of the facilities with utmost care and ensure proper maintenance.
Researchers at Yale University and Columbia University collaborated with the World Economic Forum(WEF) to measure the cleanliness of 180 countries around the world. To accomplish this task, they created the Environmental Performance Index (EPI). As per the study, Germany’s EPI is 74.6, while that of India - 27.6 and of Pak - 25.5.
The need of the day is responsible practices in day-to-day life by each one of us and self-restraint from abusing any facility in public or private properties so as to help, influence other fellow users while motivating house-keeping staff to continue their good work.