The adage “Cleanliness is next to Godliness” is very rightly said.
In India, we give our Gods and Goddesses a lot of significance.
Why then, do we not give cleanliness an equal amount of importance?
Cleanliness plays a very important role in our lives. It leads to good health which in turn leads to progress.
So if we, as a nation, must progress, why not embrace cleanliness?
Now that we have figured out that cleanliness is key,
who is responsible for the clean-up?
You, me, the government? It's time we stop passing the buck!
Mahatma Gandhi once said, "Be the change you want to see in the world."
So, it is up to each one of us to do all we can to make India a clean and healthy country that we can be proud of.
So what can we do?
We can stop littering and spitting in public and encourage others to do the same.
Since children are the future, students can be given special cleanliness projects to keep the areas around their schools clean.
Since we have so many schools in India, most of India will therefore be kept clean.
The Government needs to work together with these schools. All these ideas apply to both urban and rural areas.
Children studying in schools located in the rural areas should be involved too, so that they understand the implications as well. This will ensure uniformity in the country and a clean India.
The local authorities should fine people who litter and spit on the streets and make them clean it up immediately.
Dustbins should be placed at regular intervals. Separate dustbins should be available for wet and dry waste to make recycling easier.
School children can be made in charge of ensuring these dustbins are regularly cleaned. It should be made illegal for owners to let their pets defecate on the streets without cleaning it up.
Young people who are willing to clean up their country on their own will should be given incentives by the Government. These young citizens should also be given proper protective equipment to go on beach cleaning drives and road cleaning tasks. After all, their health is also important.
My friends and I can take the help of our school to push these ideas forward so that the government can start these school-level initiatives.
Once we accept a clean routine, cleanliness will become a habit and eventually a lifestyle. Thus the generations to come will follow it blindly, resulting in a healthy environment as there will be lesser diseases due to clean surroundings. An increase in healthy citizens only means a nation’s progress socially and economically.
This is the future I see for my nation,
and I for one will give it all it takes to contribute towards a clean healthy country.
After all, “Healthy and clean… makes the perfect scene!”
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