Most people these days relish and are even inspired by the sight of the high and mighty wielding brooms and cleaning up dirt and grime. Some have done so with a mask and a pair of gloves while others have used their bare hands. All these people are elites who live in complete aseptic environments and probably would not condescend even to wipe the dirt on their own shoes. Not only this they are NOT the people who litter and pee in the public. Heck, they hardly move around in open spaces occupied by the hoi-polloi. But, then, who doesn't do a NaMo to authority and power?
Looking back it would seem more appropriate to have chosen the Navratnas from the hoi-polloi. They should have been administered an oath not to litter, pee or defecate in the open and then asked to rope in more people in the manner of a Ponzi scheme. Though the hoi-polloi might have asked, "If not in the open then where?"
Surprisingly while high and mighty responded well to the call, those who are responsible for keeping the public spaces clean, remained more or less immune. Employees of various municipal corporations, their supervisors and corporators, even those from BJP, remained unmoved. For them it won't be ceremonial but mean an honest day's work each day! You certainly cannot be that harsh upon them! They also vote, don't they? And to be honest, the call was never addressed to them. In the Indian politics there is only one man fool enough to proclaim loudly and clearly that public servants must perform. We all know what has befallen him.
Ultimately it was this immune proletariat that had to take a firm stand against all this swachchhata drive. After our Pradhan Sevak wielded spade at Assi Ghat to clean up accumulated soil and dirt, authorities moved in some heavy machinery to give finishing touches to the job. They have now been asked by Forest department to put a stop to all this nonsense. They have been told that it is a turtle preserve and should be left untouched.
These Forest department people must be very wise and farsighted. They probably know where all this concern for cleanliness is leading to. Today it is threatening the peaceful proliferation of the slow moving turtles. Tomorrow it might be them and people like them. Nip it in the bud as the wise men say.
Looking back it would seem more appropriate to have chosen the Navratnas from the hoi-polloi. They should have been administered an oath not to litter, pee or defecate in the open and then asked to rope in more people in the manner of a Ponzi scheme. Though the hoi-polloi might have asked, "If not in the open then where?"
Surprisingly while high and mighty responded well to the call, those who are responsible for keeping the public spaces clean, remained more or less immune. Employees of various municipal corporations, their supervisors and corporators, even those from BJP, remained unmoved. For them it won't be ceremonial but mean an honest day's work each day! You certainly cannot be that harsh upon them! They also vote, don't they? And to be honest, the call was never addressed to them. In the Indian politics there is only one man fool enough to proclaim loudly and clearly that public servants must perform. We all know what has befallen him.
Ultimately it was this immune proletariat that had to take a firm stand against all this swachchhata drive. After our Pradhan Sevak wielded spade at Assi Ghat to clean up accumulated soil and dirt, authorities moved in some heavy machinery to give finishing touches to the job. They have now been asked by Forest department to put a stop to all this nonsense. They have been told that it is a turtle preserve and should be left untouched.
These Forest department people must be very wise and farsighted. They probably know where all this concern for cleanliness is leading to. Today it is threatening the peaceful proliferation of the slow moving turtles. Tomorrow it might be them and people like them. Nip it in the bud as the wise men say.
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