Encroachments on footpaths and by the roadside are so common that most of us barely notice them. We have to step around these vendors, be very inconvinienced by them and their customers and yet we choose to ignore them. We do not even hesitate while buying things from these very vendors that cause us so much trouble everyday. Why?
A clarification before I get into the subject: I am not against IITs and IIMs. They are wonderful institutions and I respect the handful who get into these institutions.
The IITs and IIMs have not failed the nation. It’s the nation that has failed the core idea behind these institutions.
One of the big problems in Indian society is the lack of civic sense. This manifests in various forms, one of the most common being the way in which we litter and convert roads and neighbourhoods into garbage bins.
The common argument is that the administration isn’t doing its job of keeping the city clean. However that argument has no substance. We spit on the roads, dispose plastic, paper and even daily household garbage by the road side.
How can India possibly become a developed nation if we do not fix these basic flaws in our society? It’s not just illiteracy and poverty that’s the cause, as I have seen even rich and supposedly well educated people do the same things.
I feel the solution lies in a change of our prioirty list. Development issues always must be top priority. Basic things like water supply, clean and habitable cities, power supply… should be the only things that matter at election time.
Anyway, garbage dumping is a big problem on the road beside my building. We try telling people to stop and instead use the corportation bin just a minute away, but that hasn’t really worked. So I have now created and put up the following posters on the road. I am hoping that this will lead to some improvement in the situation.
1) Poster 1 (English) - Please Do Not Litter (WASTE BIN JUST 1 MINUTE AWAY)
2) Same mesage in the Marathi language
It feels good to finally be writing something positive about the Pune Municipal Corporation. Have you noticed the number of new footpaths being created and the resurfacing of some old ones?
The new footpaths opposite Deccan Gymkhana and BalBharti on Senapati Bapat Road, the resurfacing of the Bhanadarkar Road stretch are very heartening and reassuring changes.
Footpaths I think are the key to any city being well organized. The reason why Kothrud seems such a mess is the lack / absence of footpaths and trees by the road side.
I hope this is just the beginning of a PMC drive to create new footpaths and improve existing ones. Please also plant trees by the road and ensure that these nice new footpaths don’t end up being hawker zones.
