As a child, I observed my Mother would never throw down anything on the pavement. Like her, I carry home a banana skin, a used paper napkin if I cannot find a dustbin. Everyone thinks they are the only ones flinging out a tiny piece of uneaten apple out of the car window.
But when many hands do that, it becomes a smelly heap.
Cleanliness is about consideration for others. It begins with each hand vowing not to litter. If we could adopt just this one habit and pass it on to our children and grandchildren, we could make a huge contribution to a clean India.
A beautiful deep blue gorge strikes a note of dissonance when empty coke cans, used paper plates, dirty rags, chucked into its waters by careless hands, are seen stuck among the romantic boulders. Do those hands even once think of the damage they are doing to the environment? If I want a clean India I must teach my hand a little discipline, a little responsibility. It takes just one hand – my own- to behave mindfully to keep my country clean. If 1.3 billion hands acted with consideration towards our plains, hills, valleys, waterways our Bharat would develop a swachh siddhi.
Cleanliness is next to godliness. There is peace in cleanliness. If the collective hand of India stops littering, garbage mountains wouldn’t rise. The power of the hand is enormous. I would teach my hand some manners to make India clean.
Note* The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation had organized Swachh Sankalp se Swachh Siddhi Essay Writing and Short Film Competitions which went live on 17th August, 2017 on the MyGov portal and ended on 8th September, 2017. It was an all India competition announced in all newspapers. To help implement the Honourable Prime Minister’s vision of “Filth- Quit India”, Swachh Sankalp se Swachh Siddhi Essay and Short Film Making, the competitions were organized as a major step in making Swachhta a Jan Aandolan. Individuals were invited to participate in the competitions to actively play their role towards achieving a New India by 2022.
Essay Topic – What can I do for a Clean India?
Short Film Topic – My contribution towards making India clean.
The competition saw a huge participation (3.2 crore participants) on the MyGov Portal. The entries received on the portal were sent to the State from where the contestant came from. The states were then requested to send the three best entries received both offline and online. A jury of six, chaired by Mr. Akshay Rout, Director General, Special Project, picked the best three from the winning entries from States. Prof. Viney Kirpal won the National Award in the Senior Category from among 12,400 entries. The award was given special mention during the live ceremony where the PM was the Chief Guest.
