Refusing to see beyond one’s need More than lack of civic sense
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Lack of civic sense. This is a one line statement that generally comes to mind when one sees the wastes, particularly plastic wastes strewn around at places that come within the understanding of public spaces. And this is where one should look at the ‘lack of civic sense’ summation and admit that the force driving this senselessness is nothing but selfishness. A line of thought that gets ingrained in the minds of the people that ‘as long as it does not inconvenience me’ it is okay. So it is that one sees vehicles parked mindlessly all over the place, overtaking from the left, mindless blowing of horns, the incessant honking one is subjected to when one stops at the red light, the plastic bottles, dirt and filth dumped into the khongbans and by the roadsides. All these are nothing but manifestations of a line of thought that has always refused to look beyond the ‘Me’. Unacceptable. It is with a reason why The Sangai Express has focused on the piling dirt and filth in public spaces, particularly at the market areas and more such stories will continue, but it is more than obvious that such stories have not compelled anyone to hang their heads in shame. Swanky cars coming in full view and dirt and garbage being thrown out of the cars are scenes that have been captured and gone viral on the social media very often but no one seems to have given any thought to this. Reels of youngsters coming together and getting down to the job of picking up plastic wastes and discarded bottles have also emerged but it is doubtful if such video footages have had the desired impact or not, for the story remains the same. The sky is yet to open up fully and once it does, then one can expect a replay of what happened in the last two/three years when Imphal and the adjoining areas reeled under localised flooding. Only when roads and leiraks are flooded, when the water refuses to run its course smoothly in the river and other running waters, such as khongbans will the people repeat what they have been saying in the past, that is not to block the natural ways with wastes and more wastes particularly the plastic wastes generated from each household. As with many Government initiatives the ban on single use plastic of a certain thickness, has remained that, just an announcement, with no tangible follow up action. The Sangai Express has on more than one occasion advocated the idea of putting a steep price on the plastic carry bags to discourage shoppers from using the same. Make the consumer pay more, say Rs 10/15/20/25 more to pack a kilo of dressed fish or chicken or pork in a plastic carry bag ! It is more than obvious that just a ban will not work and the Government will need to think out of the box and making the people buy the single use plastic carry bags could be one such step.
The people do not expect miracles from the Government. All that is asked is to ensure rule of law and make life smoother. Expecting regular power supply is certainly not asking for the moon and so is expecting the Government to ensure regular water supply. It would also tremendously help if the Government takes some steps to ensure that there is proper co-ordination between the different departments. Absolutely makes no sense when a freshly laid road is dug up for another project, most notably the Imphal Sewerage Project, a project that has been ongoing for decades now ! Time also for the Government to drill into the heads of all its suited, booted officers that it makes absolutely no sense to talk about traffic rules and regulations when any of them move around and expect everyone to give them the right of way. This is particularly true for the uniformed service personnel, who have come under the impression that they can overtake anyone, anytime from the left and honk their way through. The traffic red light means the signal to stop and anyone violating this should be pulled up but is the Government ready to do this ? At the same time, the people too should reciprocate and learn to look beyond their immediate selves and note that public spaces are not their heirlooms.
The people do not expect miracles from the Government. All that is asked is to ensure rule of law and make life smoother. Expecting regular power supply is certainly not asking for the moon and so is expecting the Government to ensure regular water supply. It would also tremendously help if the Government takes some steps to ensure that there is proper co-ordination between the different departments. Absolutely makes no sense when a freshly laid road is dug up for another project, most notably the Imphal Sewerage Project, a project that has been ongoing for decades now ! Time also for the Government to drill into the heads of all its suited, booted officers that it makes absolutely no sense to talk about traffic rules and regulations when any of them move around and expect everyone to give them the right of way. This is particularly true for the uniformed service personnel, who have come under the impression that they can overtake anyone, anytime from the left and honk their way through. The traffic red light means the signal to stop and anyone violating this should be pulled up but is the Government ready to do this ? At the same time, the people too should reciprocate and learn to look beyond their immediate selves and note that public spaces are not their heirlooms.