MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan picked up brooms as they cleaned up the JJ Hospital complex in Mumbai, as part of the NDTV-Dettol Maha Cleanathon campaign on Saturday.
The state will have 50 Swachch (clean) cities by October 2, Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary, said Mr Fadnavis.
“We are not here to give speeches. We are here to become examples and hope this movement continues, and we can keep our cities clean,” Mr Bachchan said at the event, which saw a large crowd, including celebrities get down to cleaning up one of the biggest hospitals in India’s financial capital.
The 73-year-old veteran filmstar, who was seen using his bare hands to pick up garbage and collect them in cane baskets, also commented: “If everyone cleans up 10 yards around their home, the entire city will sparkle.”
As a large group of people, including politicians and celebrities, dedicated themselves to the clean-up, they found mostly plastic trash.
K G Surendran
September 3, 2016 at 7:00 am
The extreme diligence of the Modi government on Swach Bharat is indeed commendable because it will take a lot of effort to make India clean considering our huge population and resultant density. However, each one of us should also do our bit for cleanliness.
SURENDRA NAYAK
September 3, 2016 at 9:26 am
I am a resident of thane west.from the railway station to brindavan society where i stay we can find garbage,encroachment/s,parking on the foothpath .Posted so many posts.but no action till date. Hopefully NDTV. will request somebody to act.
Pitam
September 3, 2016 at 11:12 am
Don’t just get an opportunity for photo.
If you are really serious, give an end side opinion, which is waste management. Clean up is not as simple as gathering from one corner with Broom, and piling at another corner.
It needs logistic, investment and dedicated mind. If you are serious, give me the task. I will not charge any salary in the name of nation. Only condition is all my requests/file should be cleared up in 24 hour and full financial back as per approved budget.
Jai Hind
Rajeev Panda
September 3, 2016 at 11:23 am
This is certainly an aggressive but much required target set by the CM of Maharashtra and I appreciate his apprehension to take responsibility and charge to clean as many as 50 cities by Oct 2nd. So how will he do it? Probably he knows it better than you and me, but I dont think the photo opportunity (in a positive way to motivate the followers) was done responsibly – If you observe no one is wearing gears for cleaning, that gives out a wrong message for the safai-karmacharis (& curious children) to continue to use their bare hands and shouldnt expect any gears from the civic authorities and continue to risk their lives. Because, on a day to day life, people can ensure they clean their home and ensure handing over the dry-wet waste, BUT they wouldnt come out and clean the streets daily (and its damn impossible to do so) BUT its the team of sweepers who would be doing it (the work that has been delegated and they are paid from our tax money) – I wish they get all the required trainings & gears all the time since they work under tremendous risk of air-borne and water-borne diseases pretty much every minute of their work.
My comments must not be taken against or biased since I have written it down for those who are cleaning the streets to survive and run their families. I was just expecting the CM to take cognizance on this too, but may be they are doing it.
Dr Harry Das
September 3, 2016 at 11:40 am
I live in city of 0.5 million in the West. It, like almost all other cities in many of these nation, is spotless and immaculate come rain or shine, there is no flooding despite having much higher rainfall them say Mumbai, Kolkota or Delhi. It is so for the following reason:
1. Excellent drainage system, which are cleaned and maintained by local council, so male the local council answerable.
2. All power and communication lines are underground, so none of the eyesore
3. No need for gimmick like with actors, politicians media circus as the task done by 100,000 men with broom is done by one street cleaning trucks that sweeps and vacuums at the same time. So adapt and employ mechanised cleansing.
K R NATHAN
September 3, 2016 at 12:17 pm
While people are aware and conscious of the necessity of a cleanliness, lack of trash baskets at market places , busy localitis, and tardy waste lifting by local bodies, all create a dirty situation. All local bodies must install trash baskets in all public places, markets, busy localities. These trashes should non reusable ones to avoid theft. Local vendors must be advised to make of waste baskets , especially eateries. Sanction for roadside bhadaras should be strictly based on the undertaking the parties will clearn the locality after the bhadara in case of littering with a clause for fine for littering. Govt has taken the right inititiave, but this cannot be achieved without individual and community participation and responsibility.
Varun
September 3, 2016 at 4:07 pm
Good initiative and needed very badly in our country but it does not happen by just picking broom by CM or Amitabh it should come from within and municipality should do more rounds.
How many times have you guys taken a broom and cleaned your house, look within before preaching. Inspire people and have trash can / dust bins in every nook and corner.
Thinker
September 3, 2016 at 4:10 pm
Why do we Need policemen and media persons while cleaning
SS Gill
September 3, 2016 at 5:08 pm
We are TIRED of photos op.
Please do some real work, where an average Indian feels the difference.
As CM how many times, he visits the District Head Quarters – full of filth and people stand in long queuqes to get the small work done?
Sunil
September 3, 2016 at 11:55 pm
All citizens are responsible, take onwership and begin from your home and living area. It must be sustainable.
Good job, keep going. This is the beginning……
Manohar Menghani
September 4, 2016 at 12:31 am
These cleanliness should be taught in schools along with shown on PBS kind of programs on TV as a mandatory service to keep TV license. As PBS shows that the dirt/unclean environment creates bacteria (magnified) that again when ingested creates all kinds of diseases. It costs almost nothing to keep hands clean before eating any food vs going to doctor & suffering some diseases.