A year on, garbage heaps still litter whole city

Meerut: It has been one year since Prime Minister Narendra Modi picked up the broom to make India free of open defecation and clean up public places, but the city still grapples with heaps of garbage disposed in the open. TOI team takes a look at changes that the Swachh Abhiyan has made in the city.
Enthusiastic authorities and residents who took part with photo ops and protests demanding sanitation seem to be equally complacent now with littered streets.
“Only a handful gained awareness about sanitation through this drive. People still throw garbage on the streets even if dustbins can be found standing only 10 steps away from them. Attitude of residents have hardly changed. It will take a long time for actual change to take place,” said Dinesh Gupta, a city businessman.
Mayor Harikant Ahluwalia, who was seen doing rounds of the city last year during the cleanliness campaign, meanwhile remained unavailable for comment. Interestingly, many places which carried extensive banners of Swachh Bharat campaign could be found littered with garbage heaps on Thursday.
Vishwajeet Bembi, member of a city-based NGO called ‘Pahal – Ek Prayas’ that is dedicated to cleanliness, said, “A lot of people have become aware about cleanliness after this campaign but the ground reality still shows that it will be a while when everyone is sensitized about it. Our NGO has been spreading awareness about cleanliness. We have been cleaning various spots in the city for a long time now but sadly even when we paint walls to discourage people from throwing garbage, they continue to paste posters and create dirt.”
Perhaps it’s time that the Meerut Municipal Corporation’s tall claims of a clean Meerut translate into results.