Atanu Ranjan Tripathy

Classics

3  

Atanu Ranjan Tripathy

Classics

Cleanliness matters the most

Cleanliness matters the most

5 mins
12.9K


The earth smiled and looked admiringly at the group of young kids cleaning the streets and alleys of their colony. The kids with their little pair of hands we're trying to remove all the garbage littered all over the place in the colony. Nobody advised them to do so, no suggestions came from their parents or teachers but it was the way the kids muse about the well being of the society. They very well understand the pernicious things present in the garbage can cause perilous effects on the health of the community and the outcome may be equally detrimental for the atmosphere.

Raju, Sunny, Rohit, Mitali and Sania all decided to start the cleaning operation on a Saturday evening after they came home from their school. What inspired them or who encouraged them was not important but what they started from the next Sunday morning ashamed all the older ones living in the Royal Society colony of Kolkata. Most of the elderly people including their parents all looked from their balconies and windows with amazement. They not only cleaned the roads with brooms and wipers but also collected the trash from every household and put them in the blue and green coloured bins kept in an open space at one end of the colony. They didn't finish their work there but went to the nearest municipal corporation office and requested their cleaning staff to come with their vehicle and collect the garbage that evening.

It was a strong lesson for all the senior members of every family that stayed in the society most of whom were used to litter the streets at will. Most of them thought that to be no one's responsibility but of the municipal corporation exclusively. And some members who were a little bit more conscious we're not willing to take the initiative. Kailash was one such young man who was willing to maintain the cleanliness of the society but no one was ready to cooperate. But the kids opened his eyes and he joined the group of kids and as the senior most was given the responsibility of leading the group.

As the leader of the group Kailash asked every adult member of the colony to dump their entire garbage into a cardboard box or plastic container and to take the responsibility to handover the garbage bin to the vehicle collecting the garbage. Every household was supplied with either a cardboard box or a plastic container depending on the availability of them. Each household was asked to contribute a sum of 100 rupees per month for the purpose of purchasing the brooms, the wipers, the baskets and the plastic containers. For sanitisation and disinfection purposes phenyls, bleaching powders and other pesticides we're purchased. Kailash then arranged a meeting and addressed the members of the colony. He said, " uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters of the Royal Society colony, I request all of you to draw inspiration from these little kids who took the initiative to keep our colony clean and disinfected. We adults should at least take a leaf out of their book and try to address this issue as our personal one's rather than ignoring or neglecting our individual and collective responsibilities as we have been doing so far. I personally feel really ashamed to learn these fundamental lessons from Raju and his friends. We will look into the cleanliness of the roads and outer parts of your houses but every individual family will have to take care of the cleanliness of the inside of your houses including the proper disposal of garbage and handing them over to the municipality vehicle."

Kailash again went on after a brief pause, " as we move on we will like to meet the officers of the municipal corporation to prepare a good dumping yard away from the domicile so that the dumped garbage gets sufficient sunlight and air space to check breeding of bacteria, fungus and other pathogens. Considering the present situation of the country and the whole world reeling under the murderous effect of the COVID 19 virus this becomes our prerogative to take care of the cleanliness of our environment. We must ensure the safety of the future of ourselves and our children by planting more trees, preserving water and other natural resources along with giving much emphasis on the cleanliness. So I request each of you to join hands with these brilliant kids to keep our colony and our environment clean and free from the dangerous disease-causing bacteria and germs. Thank you."

The entire mass of people who were present in that meeting pledged to keep their society clean from that day onwards.


But there are some people who are either whimsical or obstinate to abide by the rules and regulations of the society irrespective of the consequences. Ranjit was one such unscrupulous, indignant man who always believed himself to be something special. He didn't attend the meeting with the pretext that nobody invited him to the meeting. He also didn't feel the necessity to collect the garbage or giving them to the van collecting garbage rather he threw them around his house. He kept on throwing garbage here and there, some times on the road and the garbage kept on piling on a heap in front of his house. Rats, stray dogs and even the cattle regularly scattered the garbage all over the place searching for food. Foul smell rotted the area. Despite warnings and repeated requests by Kailash, Raju and the other kids he never pay any heed to their appeals. After a few days, Ranjit was affected by an unknown disease with loose motion, vomiting and high fever made him completely sick and he was admitted to a nearby hospital. The doctor made all kinds of tests and medical examinations and diagnosed him to be affected with a bacterial infection. After a prolonged stay in the hospital he was finally released from the hospital the doctor advised him to keep his surrounding clean if he wanted to keep himself away from such infections in the future. Ranjit was now convinced that it was a must to keep his surrounding clean and free from the trash.

Consequently, Ranjit joined hands with Kailash and the other people and kept his vicinity clean. Everyone should take care of his environment to live a life safe from diseases otherwise situation would give rise to further spread of pandemics like the COVID 19.


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