Avilie Nagi
Nagiville, Kuda Village C- Khel
Throw it and forget about it, that’s how many of us treat the garbage we make. Well, getting it out of sight and out of mind doesn’t really mean it’s gone forever. That empty plastic bottle of water or that empty can of soda which you tossed out from the window of a moving vehicle can still be found even after one year or more has passed by if you have a good memory and remember the exact spot where you tossed it out from, provided nobody cleaned it up after you.
I have come across many garbage dumping sites and just sneered at how lacking in common sense some people can be, the burnable wastes left unsegregated with the unburnable wastes making even the wastes which can burned not burn out properly. Drainage systems turned into garbage dumping sites, causing floods during the monsoon season. Some people don’t even burn their garbage, they would just let them linger as if all of it, even the plastic wastes would just decompose into oblivion. And then, when these people are affected by the floodwaters, they complain to the municipality or the Government. Some people do nothing but complain; you have no right to complain when you have done nothing today which could’ve changed the outcome of a future event. On the streets, I have noticed that for some people, the favorite spot to dump garbage is right at their feet. This one time, I saw a man tear open a packet of pan masala, empty the contents in his mouth and then drop the empty packet right at his feet even though a trash bin was there just inches away from where he was standing. I almost said to him, “Don’t you know what this is? It’s called a trash bin; don’t you have any knowledge of why it’s placed here?” but I kept mum.
Over the years, many people have written about civic sense but I see no changes. Every day, it’s the same; every day, I see people littering just about everywhere. Every day, when I walk outside, I come across trash lying around on the streets of every town. Civic sense begins with the individual. We, Nagas have this monkey see monkey do attitude. Why should I be any different when everyone else is doing the same thing (littering) - This is where we went horribly wrong. We should instead have the attitude of saying, “I will not litter; I will keep my city/town clean”. Keep in mind that a city/town doesn’t belong to you or I alone; it belongs to all of us so please keep it clean. Also please quit turning beautiful picnic spots into garbage dumping sites.
I watched a couple of kids who may have never been to school even for a single day collecting empty plastic bottles from the streets just the other day and I thought to myself, “what’s the point of education if you litter everywhere only for it to be cleaned up by illiterate people?” If you are driving or riding in a vehicle, make use of the vehicle as a temporary trash bin; if you are walking on the streets or in a forest or anywhere, make use of your pockets as temporary mini trash bins. It doesn’t matter what kind of post you hold in an office or if you have a Master’s degree or a Ph.D., if you litter everywhere you go, you’re still a savage. If you truly consider yourself as an educated and a civilized person, then act like one; quit littering everywhere, quit being a hypocrite.
