Representational pic
Nagpur: While not wanting to sound negative and kill-joy, just wanted to know what is the image of our city after Diwali? Not a very pleasant sight, is it not?
Tall claims of Swatchata Abhiyan relegated to docks!
Be it the posh Civil-Lines area or the not very posh areas of the city, the remnants of the fire-crackers lie strewn on the roads and the streets. The Sweepers (Safai Kamgaars) employed by Sanitation Department of Nagpur Municipal Corporation are seen sweeping them, making mounds and finally collecting them on wheelbarrows to the point from where the vehicles of Kanak Resource Management pick them up for disposal. A herculean task, indeed?
Why did these people who were so busy preaching and propagating the concept of Swatchata Abhiyan not pick-up the remnants of the fire-crackers immediately or the next day. The floral Thoran or Jhalar (Festoon) too were dumped unceremoniously on the roads and streets. This just showed that all the lectures of Swatcha Bharat were nothing but sheer farce.
Sound pollution continued unabated
While most citizens preferred to light diyas, a few non-sound-making fire-crackers, many youngsters chose to burst a few loud sounding fire-crackers too. Many adhered to the time limit (before 10 pm), but many chose to ignore the rules of silent hour and continued unabated even after 12 midnight. They chose to ignore the very fact that many senior citizens were trying to sleep. Many had called the cops to quell the bursting of fire-crackers after 11 pm.
Traffic Jams!
The cops including the traffic cops were deployed on all the roads and squares. However, many people especially on four-wheelers chose to violate traffic rules, park their vehicles in such a way that it prevented smooth flow of vehicles especially in the streets. These motorists displayed apathy towards the other road users.
By Samuel Gunasekharan
