Dirty India, who to blame?

There is a Tamil movie dialogue that goes like this, "Kalanchi irundha than veedu, illati athu museum”. Will that person hold the same logic while booking a hotel room?

This is really funny. I spent one year in US and went to India for Vacation. In that one year, I really admired the cleanliness of US and how everyone contributes in maintaining a cleaner environment. I throw chewing gum in dustbin, I wipe the place where I spilled something in a restaurant or wherever I go. I am just following what they do. I thought I changed after being in US. But, I instinctively spit the gum in the roadside right after I landed in Chennai. Suddenly I realized I have not changed. I just did something which I was not doing for the past one year. So I found environment do affect instincts.

Looking at the Chennai roadside gives a feel like, spitting there won't change anything as the roadside is already filthy.  

We all have fondness with cleaner things that is why movie songs are recorded in bare streets of foreign country. Given a choice we all like to lift a clean baby instead of a baby with butt full of shit!!

I feel the reason for cleaner USA and dirty India is not the people, the reason is, lack of Dustbins. We really suck at waste management.

During my wedding vacation the bus I travelled stopped in a newly started tea/snack shop which I assume was started just 2 - 3 days earlier. Everything in that place was new and shining, in short, that place had all except for one basic thing. There was no dustbin in that entire place. Every day hundreds of peoples stop there to have coffee and tea and they all threw the plastic cups right in front of the hotel. That spot had around 1000-1500 cups. Neither the owner nor the employees cared for a dustbin. Obviously the cups on the ground will be cleaned once a week or more frequently, but until then?

Lack of dustbin is the foremost reason for dirty India and the people’s attitude comes second. How many of you trash waste in roads when there is a dustbin nearby. In US when I think of trashing/throwing something 90% of the time I find a Dustbin nearby. Sadly that is not the case in India. Had that restaurant had a dustbin in place, at least 30% would have used it intentionally and 60% would have just followed them. Remaining 10% will need some more time to change or leave them as exceptions.

How to have a cleaner environment? If I were given power to decide on this, I would direct the NSS/NCC of schools and colleges to do that. Small portions done by small set of peoples when carried nationwide will have great results. Someone will not like to throw garbage in a place which his/her kid just cleaned. The National Service Scheme (NSS) is not doing any national duty. When I was in my school my teacher took us to places to clean, but I am sure this practice has reduced drastically.

Kindle younger generation and sow the seed. They are very fertile and the change WILL happen.