Comments on No man's land?: Good things begin at home :)

^^ Thanks for the responses ladies and gentlemen. ...

2009-10-14T07:56:09.931+01:00

^^ Thanks for the responses ladies and gentlemen. :)

@ Nitin, I know and follow the activities of Tidycity and appreciate the works you guys are doing :applause:

Hello I like this blog because from this blog I ha...

2009-10-13T12:36:18.486+01:00

Hello
I like this blog because from this blog I have got so many new information about different topics.Its really very nice article to read.Thank you for sharing this with us.

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Thanks for this post Scorpio. The idea is good, bu...

2009-10-03T11:47:20.483+01:00

Thanks for this post Scorpio.
The idea is good, but this is going to be a tough law to implement, there was to be a parallel initiative to spread awareness too. Yes, Kudumbasree going a great job, hats off to whoever conceived the idea.
btw, here's a link you may be interested in - http://tidycity.org/

Thoughtful and heartfelt post.. "The greatest pr...

2009-10-01T11:55:39.326+01:00

Thoughtful and heartfelt post..

"The greatest problem with mallus is we are too much of a socialist. Hence breaking the laws is the law...." Exactly the problem and the solution in itself... :)

Great post! You are spot on when you say that Civi...

2009-09-30T12:31:19.836+01:00

Great post! You are spot on when you say that Civic sense cannot be taught, it just has to be realized by each. Dumping waste in somebody else'vacant compund is another one. In an attempt to ensure cleanliness in one's house, we end up duping waste in somebody else's compound. I see that happening frequently in Cochin.

Interesting read, thanks.

2009-09-30T10:29:42.421+01:00

Interesting read, thanks.

There is responsibility for both the people and th...

2009-09-29T15:21:43.047+01:00

There is responsibility for both the people and the government. Govt has to ensure that waste is collected daily from households and disposed of properly. The main idea should be not to persuade people to throw it away on the roadside. In Trivandrum I have observed that waste is not collected from houses daily. And as Mathew commented "ivan evidathu karanaada" attitude of the common man must change. I liked this post...

I guess with a little bit of push, awarenes, and o...

2009-09-28T20:45:03.959+01:00

I guess with a little bit of push, awarenes, and organization, with categorized litter bins at every needed locations, we keralites could do a good job. We just need that small push. We are willing and we are aware to some extent.

A great post as usual…. Nd when these same people ...

2009-09-27T11:10:26.345+01:00

A great post as usual…. Nd when these same people are placed in another environment they automatically do the right thing… in Kerala, we are quick to make rules but they are never enforced…

it is great to read about Kudumbasree…

@ Jon, I've broken the red light on a few occasion...

2009-09-27T10:08:57.995+01:00

@ Jon, I've broken the red light on a few occasions, especially the pedestrian ones but not intentionally but because I was preoccupied. ;) Doesn't make a difference in front of the law though but in Kerala it is done deliberately.

@ Interesting point there! About Europe after the plague..I dread the thought of a plague anywhere now but there was a documentary about Surat after the plague and how well the people and authorities have changed after the infamous epidemic.

@ Small talk, hahaha thats the problem here. People get ridiculed if they follow the law and so we're forced to follow the "law of the land", that is lawlessness!

@ Sanju, true buddy, our training get lost somewhere along our lives and we forget the finer characters instilled into us. Well, our society has transformed us to be like all this.

Scorpio, another thaughtfull article from you. Wel...

2009-09-26T11:44:26.543+01:00

Scorpio, another thaughtfull article from you. Well one point of you struck me the most was about our school days, defenitly we were all taught to be and behave like a good citizen, we, most of us here have good civic sence, but as u said our laws are not enough for us to make it practlcal!! we have seen us Indians doing all those unhygenic things in India and when once we are out in a new country were there are strict laws against this, we are the most obediant citizens there, we wont feel any difficulty to behave like that, because we have it inside us, only thing is that there is nobody to control us here in India, and lazyness being a human behavior our attitude changes to "ah cheylega" tone!! so thats the reason why you were fined in Mysore Zoo!! and not because that u dont have civic sence!! we must have strict laws so that we can rejuvinate our rudimentary Civic sence!!

As a policy I dont litter.... The day I decided nt...

2009-09-25T11:43:30.688+01:00

As a policy I dont litter....
The day I decided nt to litter I found tht nearest dustbin ws never far away...I travel often by Indian railways and I hv never felt the need to dump things outside the window....its sad to notice hw rail lines are littered with plastic cups and chip packets....
Last weekend wen travelling from Kerala to Bangalore as I put my empty plastic tea cup back to my bag...one guy commented sayng "verde style kanichuttu vella avishyam ondu" (sorry my translietrary skills r nt gr8)
Many people nt only unappreciate bt also ridicule few of us who go an extra mile nt to litter....
Alappuzha canals are painful reminder who hw littering damages ecology....these days canals closely resembles gutters.....

great article aliyaaaaa.. loved the analysis and ...

2009-09-25T00:46:34.256+01:00

great article aliyaaaaa..

loved the analysis and the emotions behind the post!!!!!

you are right in everything you say. We indians just cannot follow civic rules and though many people take the effort to keep clean, the general public do not believe in it.........

it is almost a complete contrast to maybe 500 years back. we were one of the cleanest people in the world at that time when much of europe passed thru one plague or the other........

but yes, it starts young when we should instill in children the importance of being clean!!!!

a great post!!!!!

Great blog, man...Very much true, we Mallus must b...

2009-09-24T17:57:51.574+01:00

Great blog, man...Very much true, we Mallus must be a race of people with lowest civic sense.

A few instances that I witnessed

One fine Sunday Morning few people where standing in a bus stop. I was one among them. We were standing away from the stop and towards the place where road turns.

So buses were stopping almost in turning point causing a problem for other vehicles. A police man saw this and asked us(politely) to move to the proper bus stop. We were moving when an old woman started shouting at the cop for no reason. Then few other people joined her. I was wondering 'these so called decent people are far worse goondas than the orginal ones'.

Another instance. A fine morning. When there is no traffic blocks vehicles rush around at high speed. I saw a woman casually passing through red signal in a scooter with a child at her back. She should have been there in some Hollywood stunt movies. Because passing through a red light with a child possibly your own when there is a great possiblity of some vehicle coming in from a different road (where the signal is green) can smash you to pulp requires a lot of courage.

If there was some civic sense we could have avoided a lot of road accidents

And I appreciate you for mentioning Kudumbasree. They collect our garbage just to make their ends meet. They make our city a better place. Before this started we used to throw our garbage at an empty plot near by. But the sad and shocking part is there are well off middle class people who refuse to pay them 30 rupees a month.

The greatest problem with mallus is we are too much of a socialist. Hence breaking the laws is the law....

@ Philip, of course it should be pan-India. The ri...

2009-09-24T15:04:10.702+01:00

@ Philip, of course it should be pan-India. The right way is to deal with it state by state, and Kudumbasree is a good example all the states could adopt.

@ Mathew, lol that true. To be honest, if you're indicating when you change the lane on road, people are going to look at you as if you're a clown. ;)

@ Layman, good points. The wise thing to do is to crack one behaviour at a time. I agree, instilling road sense is the most difficult one but env hygiene is a compulsory area we need to get out acts right on .

@ xylene, I'm not sure about Bangalore but Kerala cities have their own Garbage Treatment plants in place which is a big boon. As you put it, if there is a bin there is a way :)

@ Chowlaji, good Q. Well, lets see how the Kerala Gov implement this one.

@ Dreamer, we have to sustain this as we have found a way of dealing with it now. So I hope to see a change this time.

@ Anish Thomas, Most Indian cities are dumps, except perhaps B'lore, Chandigarh or Gandhinagar. Doesn't mean Kerala is spotless though ;)

It is so good to hear all these.But my question is...

2009-09-24T14:51:29.323+01:00

It is so good to hear all these.But my question is will it remain in the papers for ever or they will impliment it.
What i feel is changes should start from the root.Elders and youngsters should be a modal to next generation by keeping there house and sorroundings clean and obeying laws ,rules and regulations.
But i still feel compared to other places in india,kerala(cochin is an exception)is far better.though that is not an excuse for further steps
Lets hope kerala govnmnt try there best to keep there promises

@ I still wear 'mundu' ......ROFL, good one :)

It is really a good step. But the problem in Keral...

2009-09-24T13:55:47.228+01:00

It is really a good step. But the problem in Kerala is never with great idea or it's initial implementation. The problem is how long they can sustain this.

Kerala Govt needs to be complimented for making an...

2009-09-24T13:51:19.238+01:00

Kerala Govt needs to be complimented for making an effort.
At the same time,let us not forget that we have plenty of laws for whatever.....where is the will to implement the laws?

I used to think that most of the people are ignora...

2009-09-24T12:01:38.033+01:00

I used to think that most of the people are ignorant or have a 'don't care' attitude about littering. At my church whenever coffee was served in plastic cups(!!!!) the old/young folks used to drop it under every coconut tree in sight. When the new 'Trustee' (the one who manages the church accounts etc, considered to be Trustable :D) bought few bins and placed it under each coconut tree, people dropped it at the bin.
My point was, if there is a bin, there is a way.
There were times, I have dropped some litter on the road when there was no bin in sight or when the bin is overflowing and you cannot move any closer to it because of the stench !
I guess when goverment is planning to slap fines, they should also start efficient clearing of garbage.
Our apartment pays a garbage wala to collect trash. We pay him, he collects thrash. Not sure where he drops it !!!

I wonder how effective it will be. As you mentione...

2009-09-24T08:09:00.112+01:00

I wonder how effective it will be.
As you mentioned all good rules (helmet, smoking in public, seat belt..) have already disappeared into oblivion. Our media is too sympathetic (there were editorials on how inconvenient it is to drive with helmets in peak traffic), people are too unwilling and politicians.. well they have "cattle class" and "austerity drives" to think about.

The problem with our country, IMHO, is

1) It is too easy going. You spit on the road - no problem. You pee on the road - no problem. You put posters anywhere - no problem. You write whatever news you want - no problem......
Who would want to give away this vulgar freedom for some "idealistic" civic sense!!

2) There is no alternative. If nature calls, then the option for most of us is to reach home as soon as possible or to attend the call at the nearest isolated (not necessarily) place. Public toilet - is another discussion topic in itself. Where are the dustbins? How long can one walk around with litter in his hand looking for dustbins? Even the ones with civic sense are demotivated by the lack of infrastructure. Then, as you said, where are the lanes? Where are the good roads for people to follow these speed limits?

I know there is a lot we can do as citizens like not jumping lights, not littering the streets as we please and so on. But cultivating civic sense in people is impossible as long as there is no infrastructure to support it or proper law and motivation to enforce it.

so well put a post..you echo exactly my sentiments...

2009-09-24T07:25:54.325+01:00

so well put a post..you echo exactly my sentiments...and the sad part is when we tell someone not to throw the banana skin to the road while travelling everyone looks at us like "avan evidinnu vannavannaa..."..when our intent is genuinely to adapt good practices...Following rules of the land is something we indians still have not learned...the only way is heavy fines and uncorrupt policemen to enforce it..

its time some strong laws against littering and di...

2009-09-24T06:28:52.106+01:00

its time some strong laws against littering and dirtying the environment and streets is brought up. also the law should be pan- India and not restricted to some city/state.