Tiny Flowers > Bigger Flowers
Product of Mr. Dianthus Barabatus ... Errrrrrr...  a.k.a Sweet William.
#Flowerpower

Lucknow a Smart city? A down turn in city’s cleanliness

Standing at the busiest place in Lucknow, that is Charbagh Railway station, I see crowd moving in flash in order to catch their respective trains and be wherever they want to be on time. Just outside the station one cannot miss the site of people ruthlessly chewing Tobacco and spitting the betel juice anywhere they want to, without any sense of guilt. This is the state of today, the mindset, where people of all sections of society have forgotten their own ancestor’s master piece. The Charbagh Railway station which is more than 90 years old now, is known all over India for its architectural marvel, with its domes and Minars, representing a beautiful amalgamation of Indo-Sarcenic architecture. The structural design which is supposed to enthral the tourist at the onset of his journey stands stained with dirt, spit, and other human left over today. Irony is, till 1867, Char-bagh as the name suggests was a large orchard. A similar situation exists in every nook and corner of the city, people continue to forget that, this is the city which was known for its cultured dwellers. the Question is, will lucknow continue to be the ‘the golden city of the East’ or it will loose its identity of so called ‘nawabi-city’?

There are countable Public toilets, which people are hardly using; instead we see entire area being used as a pee ground. There is already an accepted fact that women public toilets are nonexistent as a concept which lead to open defecation. Places which are most populous like Char-bagh, Alam-bagh and hosadiya Chawraha with people coming and going, in & out of the city have sadly become a hub of litter. There are so many small and big portion of lands which are serving as Passengers clutter. On goers keep these coming. The junk is continuously rising with no accountability. But who is to be blamed here? The common people who do not see any Dustbins around? Or those who are not aware of the ill hazard of these acts?

Infact, alongside lucknow, whole of India is dealing with similar conditions. India as a whole faces a wide gap between its existing health policies and what is needed. Adding to India’s burden is that a high level of consumption of smokeless tobacco has made India the world leader in head, neck and throat cancer. In India, smokeless tobacco products, bidis, and cigarettes are taxed too low. These “demerit goods” (an economic term for products with no health value), are not as cost effective which can lead the users to quit and deter youth from initiating it.  We all are aware of such facts (even the uneducated lot), but what is needed is a political will.

Many south Asian countries like Philippines and Thailand faced similar problems in the past being developing nations, have already sorted these problems. The government’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan no doubt is a step in the right direction but it is we who are the main contributors in order to make Lucknow a Swacch and a smart city to live in.

Lack of dustbins, washbasins, toilets is the main cause for this very avoidable problem. There is a whole cycle which goes on due to these so called ‘small’ issue which is getting bigger with uprising communicable diseases. Apart from low hygiene standards and spread of diseases it also leads to a slow but continuous destruction of the city. This lack of proper waste management is increasing land, water as well as air pollution.

In the present discourse of Pollution, there has many issues which has come up. The waste and garbage disposal does not get segregated in bio-degradable and non-biodegradable wastes, open garbage ground are the breeding ground of diseases, Non fensing of river gomti  has polluted it to a level that it is very difficult for the concerned authorities to reverse it back to its original state. High rising cases of Dengue and Chikungunia has already been accounted in so many places in Lucknow. 

The other problem is the lack of will on the part of authorities to enforce the laws regarding spitting and urinating in public. Even though the Uttar Pradesh government has increased the fine from Rs. 200 to Rs 500, nothing seems to change. A common man doesn’t even know about such ‘rules’ or ‘fines’, the government seems to have taken matters in its own mind and there has not been any direct policy to enforce these rules. Such ‘offenders’ as should be called includes all of us who are negligent on our parts and live with ‘who cares’ attitude. This takes us to another serious issue where we lack awareness as well as patience. We also seem to not care about our environment and our aesthetics. The idea of sustainable development is something which government or any institution for that matter even schools should take as a responsibility to make it a popular issue.

As nations from around the world gather in Delhi to advance the global commitment to tobacco control, this is an opportune moment for the Indian government to reflect on what it can do to significantly to advance its own health and sustainable development goals (SDGs). Effective policies can make a tremendous impact. India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) legislation, coming into force on April 1, 2017, offers the government an opportunity to use taxation policy for Public health and development; it can help India significantly reduce the Tobacco epidemic while moving towards its SDGs.

With such problems arising, we welcome GST council’s decision to assign the highest demerit rate of 28% GST to all Tobacco products. We also welcome the decision to levy an additional cess on tobacco products on top of this. Going forward, we encourage the central government to raise excise on all Tobacco products, including bidis, and to strive for a uniform excise tax system, so that prices are effectively increased. These changes would help slow India’s tobacco epidemic and significantly improve health.

Its not only government’s job to serve us all, its the duty of all the citizens as we together make our society. Building of toilets, fixing dustbins at all required places, installing wash basins at all convenient locations are the needs of the hour. Moreover, educating mass and raising awareness on such issues through all the advertising means be it radio, tv, newspapers, hoardings, in school books,  and other institution should be taken care of.

Lucknow being first, on the second list, of the Smart cities announced by the central government is right now not only lacking in basic hygiene concerns but also in technological aspects. The rules made by the government against spitting-littering should be checked with different means such as installing cctv cameras at all public places like railways and bus stations. In order to reduce expense, government can also install dummy cctv cameras so that people psychologically do not do such offense. Most importantly, the offenders should be charged for it. In many countries such offenders are made to do Community services and counselling so that they release the seriousness of the issue.

Practising rather than preaching is what is need in present scenario because it only requires a very little effort from authority as well as civilians to make our city a better place.

Our ancestors left us a beautiful cultural heritage in form of tangible buildings and even intangible tehzeeb, ask your self - what are we leaving for our upcoming generations?