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?
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