Jairam Ramesh says India is the filthiest country in the world. And he must know, he is a minister. Rural development is his subject. I suspected this all along. Sigh! Now that's something I am not proud of, though I am proud of my country. He says people own mobile phones but not a toilet.
A friend of mine had this project which would involve constructing a toilet for Rs 2,000 (approximately the same cost as a basic mobile phone). He told me the project ended in failure as there were no takers. They either wanted flashy toilets with tiles and stuff or none at all. So most of my countrymen prefer to commune with nature in the lap of nature rather than inside a claustrophobic toilet. Yetch.
The reason I don't travel much is because I don't know what sort of toilets I would get in different parts of the country. I clean my own toilet and keep it spic and span. A bottle of acid cost little, a brush costs little, but people would rather keep their toilets filthy. I guess they don't have the aesthetic sense to revolt from dirt and filth. They would even write filth on the walls and draw lurid pictures.
Ahem. There was this urinal at V.T. station that was inaugurated with great fanfare. It had granite walls, air-conditioning, the works. If you look at it now, you would retch. The smell is rank and the place is dank and there are holes where the air-conditioner used to be.
I am @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. I blog here.
2 comments:
80 percent of people live below the poverty line in this country and you talk about these things.When ten people stay in 10 by 10 room,they dont have time and mood to think about these things.
Even though 80 p.c. of people live below poverty line, maintaining cleanliness is possible. Its just a matter of common sense. Even if the toilets are present, people don't use it. Ppl litter in the public place. All this can be changed only if the government collects fine from the people for littering.
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