SWAACH BHARAT ABHIYAN: A brilliant idea that has been scarcely implemented. The propaganda that went around for this program hardly resulted in any real life action.We don't need to look far. The waste disposal system remains pathetic with heaps of garbage dumped everywhere. Tobacco stains are a ubiquitous sight.

My own mohalla has no trash cans and the nearest dust bin is overflowing with both wet and dry waste. The drains are open and overflowing. The waste taken out from these drains is dumped by the roadside. Roads and lanes are swept only during elections and festivals. Even the cops and government officials don’t maintain basic cleanliness. Why is no punitive action taken against them? Where is our civic sense of duty?

The Swaach Bharat Abhiyan as envisioned by our Honorable Prime Minister is of great scope and I respect how he pursues it with such passion. It is admirable how much he talks about it and even encourages those in high positions to give propaganda to it. 

I live in Prayagraj, which was formerly known as Allahabad.  And like any Indian citizen, I would like to live in a city that has clean roads and greenery everywhere. But that is a far cry from the situation I am currently in. You see, the city that I live in is so different from what they show in those big billboards they make for elections and Kumbh Mela. I wish it was all real. But reality, as they say, is harsh, and in this case, it is stinky and filthy, to say the least. Everywhere I look I see blocked drains, overflowing sewers, dustbins that rarely gets emptied by the concerned Municipal authorities and cows and dogs eating from it. 

The worst is when those in authority act like they could not care less about any of these things. For instance, every day when I go to college I see cops chewing tobacco and spitting it outright in the open. Tobacco stains are found in every nook and corner of our city. It is disheartening to see pillars that were painted in bright hues for the Kumbh now disfigured with fresh tobacco stains!! Any true citizen of India will be distraught to see that even the government offices are stained with tobacco.

What can a citizen like me do to keep my city clean? I try my best not to litter. I store them up and burn it. I wish I didn’t have to do that. But I have no other choice, especially when there is not even one dust bin in my mohalla. I have never seen the lanes and sewages being cleaned in my mohalla unless it is for a festival, arrival of a minister or for the elections! And I have lived here for twenty years now! How deplorable is the condition of our Country, dear Citizens! Don’t you care?

So won’t you please sign this petition so that our Honorable Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is so keen on bringing overall development in our state will take action.

Personally, I think what we lack is not ideas or laws. What we lack are faithful administrators who ensure that basic rules like not littering roads or spitting in public are followed. The government officials who are not adhering to this campaign started by our Honorable PRIME MINISTER SHRI NARENDRA MODI should be punished. Once there is a change in the officials,  they will make sure that the citizens keep the laws as well. Because if those who create and implement the law are not practising it how can you expect the common people to?After all, it is the little things like clean streets and an effective sewage disposal system that add up to the overall development of the state and the country.