Cleanliness is still a distant dream

Despite the hype around the cleanliness drive after Prime Minister’s clarion call for Swaccha Bharath Abhiyan, filth is still visible in the narrow lanes and beside national highways in Dakshina Kannada district. 

With the dumping of garbage on both sides of the national highway at various locations, many a time people using the road are put to inconvenience by the stench that emanates from the garbage dumped indiscriminately. Inspite of awareness on why use of plastic should be avoided, people continue to use plastics. It forms a major chunk of the garbage dumped along the national highway.

Disposal of garbage continues to be a challenge faced by the civic authorities. Officials say that the city corporation alone can not keep the city clean. A change in attitude among people towards the issue of cleanliness is need of hour.  Responding to the call on Swaccha Bharath Abhiyan, Mayor Mahabala Marla had announced that the cleanliness drive will be implemented for one whole month. If any associations come forward to clean the mess, then the MCC will extend its helping hand by providing needed materials and men, he had said. 

Mayor said that a few schools and colleges had responded to the drive for two to three days. “There was no good response from the public. A total of 31 associations including schools and colleges had approached the MCC. A few had taken up the drive on October 2, on its own. The MCC will take up a drive to check and eradicate Malaria shortly.”
 
“There was no need to take up a cleanliness drive for ‘clean Mangalore.’ If the garbage is collected daily, then Mangalore can be clean and beautiful,” said shopkeepers. A large number of people come to Central Market for their daily purchases. But lack of cleanliness add to their problem. Geetha, a home-maker said:  “We can not keep our shopping bags on the ground because it is dirty.”

“People have the habit of dumping garbage on the streets and pavements. Adding to this, construction debris is also dumped. It is the responsibility of the house owners and contractors to clear the debris. There is a need to implement a policy for an effective disposal of construction debris,” said Srimathi, a resident of Yekkur.

Looking at the outgrown grass and other vegetation beside the highway from Talapady to Mangalore, a daily commuter said that Swaccha Bharath Abhiyan is not clearing the garbage alone. Even the vegetation grown beside the roads should be cleared. The authorities should remove the weeds and cut the grass at the earliest.  At a few places in the city, people have recklessly thrown garbage on the drain along the roads. As a result, the drain is clogged and garbage is strewn around. After bus shelter at Yekkur and Gorigudda were removed to facilitate the work on fourlaning of the road, the spots has become a mini dumping yard. Debris along with garbage have been dumped at Jeppinamogaru and Adamkudru on the highway.