India - The Open Trash Can

One of the most common things you see in India is probably the amount of trash lying on the streets. No matter which state, which district or which city you are visiting, India definitely has a unanimous voice in this matter: the streets are your trash can. Many a times, I have seen people traveling in their big, imported, air-conditioned car and the moment they eat something, the windows roll down and the empty bag of chips meets the road. Its amazing how many cigarette butts Delhi produces everyday. When I walk down to college from Panchsheel, I see the sweepers sweeping the trash everyday which consists mainly of dead leaves, chips bags and cigarette butts. The next day, I may not see any chips bags but the amount of cigarette butts do not change. And this despite the fact the cigarette smoking is not allowed in public.

Its weird that in so many years of independence and having so many different countries to look up to for examples, India is still an open garbage can. On my recent visit to Kerala, I discovered, to my utter shock, that nobody had a garbage disposal system. Everything was just thrown out into the backyard of the house. The potato peels and the plastic covers. And when I asked people about it, most of them laughed at my face and said that where else would they throw it? Its accepted, and that’s the way its done. Period.

Apart from just the amount of trash, its also the colored stains. No matter where you go, you always see one wall which has been mercilessly colored from top to bottom with tobacco stain. By the way, even this is against the law.

So how come no one does anything about it? How come there is no one to question these people? How come everything is just chalta hai? Something must be done. If the government thinks that they have done their job by bringing out the rules, then the citizens must do their part by ensuring that they throw away things in the trash cans put up. We must stop being lazy and let everything just happen and let go. So the next time that you see your neighbor’s four year old daughter throw her ice cream cover on the street, pick it up and explain to her that she must throw everything in the trash can. I’ve heard that the first step is usually the hardest step, and the rest just follows. In that case, be brave. Take the first step. The rest WILL follow.