'Swachh Bharat' anniversary: A tale of two colonies

Around 10.30 am on Sunday, a busy group of residents of Valmiki Colony, located in the Mandir Marg area, could be seen making arrangements for a wedding. The task seemed more onerous than usual as they were also ensuring that there was no littering on the streets, at least on the third anniversary of Central government’s Swachh Bharat Campaign.

The colony, mostly occupied by sanitation workers, had made headlines in 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had wielded the broom on its streets and kicked off the campaign.

“That’s the exact spot where the Prime Minister had wielded the broom. I saw that on television as we were not allowed to step out of our houses during his visit,” pointed out 42-year-old Shanta Devi, as she weaved another flower in a string.

Gareeb Das, another resident, said: “Sanitation has never been an issue in our locality. It has always been clean like this. Where sanitation workers live, the area will be automatically clean.”

Some residents, however, claimed that things actually changed just in the last three years. “Earlier, people used to throw garbage on roadsides but now we have dustbins placed on the streets. Also, municipality vehicle comes to collect garbage every morning,” a resident said.

According to locals, municipal workers have been sweeping the streets both in the morning and evening for the last three days. “This is happening because of the Swachh Bharat Campaign anniversary. Generally, they come only once a day or sometimes in a couple of days,” said Shankar Das, who works at a pan kiosk.

Just a few kilometers away, in east Delhi’s Vinod Nagar area, the situation was a study in contrast. Around 1 pm on Sunday, dump yards in the locality were overflowing and an unbearable stench overwhelmed the surroundings.

“Half the day has passed but no one has come to clean the dump. There is no Swachh Bharat Campaign in our locality,” rued Sandeep Das, a resident.

The locals said that at a time when dengue is on a rise in the national Capital, the absence of any cleanliness drive in the area was dangerous as more and more people were falling prey to the disease. “There is a serious problem of mosquitoes in the locality. It’s so dangerous to let our children out to play on the streets,” Das said.

The garbage piles also attract cattle from neighbouring villages, creating more problems for residents. “Cattle keep on roaming near our houses throughout the day. Sometimes, they block our gates,” complained Sheila Devi. Her house is located right in front of a dump yard.

“I request the Prime Minister to visit our locality as well. Otherwise, I don’t think the authority will look at us,” she said.