Uddhav Chandan Shive, assistant engineer in K West ward and part of the squad, said that the main challenge was to bring about a change in the mind set in order to put an end to open defecation.
The BMC introduced 'Good Morning Squads' in September to prevent people from defecating in the open. The squad visits areas prone to open defecation, and persuades people to use toilets instead. Though the job profile may seem peculiar, the squad members took it upon themselves as a challenge to change people's mind set.
Uddhav Chandan Shive, assistant engineer in K West ward and part of the squad, said that the main challenge was to bring about a change in the mind set in order to put an end to open defecation. "Despite there being provisions of toilets in homes, there are a section of people who wish to go in the open for defecation," said Shive.
Shive has been assigned the Gazdarband Nullah area, near Bandra, which is frequented by people from the slums of Juhu-Kolivada.
When Shive was assigned the job in September, 100 to 150 people could be seen defecating in the open along the Gazdarband Nullah. However, after the squad's efforts, the number has come down substantially.
"There are some people who accept their mistake and stop coming but there are some who don't bother whatever they are told," said Shive, adding, "We have to then resort to the last option which is penalising them".
However, penalising is the most challenging task for the squad as people argue and question the available facilities in their area.
"People come up with a variety of excuses when they are caught defecating in the open," says Subhash Dalvi, Chief Nodal Officer, Swach Mumbai Prabodhan Abhiyan, who is supervising the Good Morning Squads. "They say that they did not have the time to wait in queues while some make excuses like too much pressure." He adds that it is a continuous process as things will not end in one day.
Team effort
- The Good Morning Squad is a total of 36 teams consisting of five members each.
- Of the 36 teams, 33 work in all 24 wards while three teams monitor them.
- They work daily between 5:30 to 10 am.
- Repeat offenders are fined.
- 576 people were fined between September 15 and 30.
- A total penalty of Rs 57,600 has been collected so far.
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