Bengaluru: Swachh Bharat Abhiyan which was initiated by PM Modi on Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary has failed and the campaign is not visible on the roads, say residents here in Bengaluru.
Speaking to sources Diwakar, president, KR Market Vendors Association said, “Vendors keep their shops and premises clean. But waste is dumped in the cellar of the market complex, in front of the flyover and also near the mosque. The waste stays uncleared as either villagers near landfill sites protest or pourakarmikas do not come,” he said.
“Though the campaign was launched with much fanfare, it has fizzled out. In Bengaluru, there is a nexus between elected representatives, garbage contractors and BBMP officials” said N S Ramakanth, BBMP Solid Waste Management Expert Committee member
N Radhakrishna, member, Koramangala Resident Welfare Association, said that it is not the duty of the Prime Minister to hold the broom and sweep the streets.
“When Modi initiated the Abhiyan, some politicians in Bengaluru posed for the camera with brooms. In our country, just creating awareness is not enough; it should come with a penalty clause,” he said. He said that awareness among the younger generation is less than their previous generation.
N S Mukunda of the Citizen Action Forum said, “It requires a paradigm shift in the way we think, which needs hard work at ground level. Meetings within four walls will not make any impact. We need to take action against the defaulters.”
One of the contract pourakarmika, said she does not know any details about the Abhiyan. “For me, sweeping the streets means getting two square meals a day. It gives me salary (many times once in three months). But at the end of the day, it is my livelihood,” she said.
