Don’t they deserve more respect?
As the mood in Hyderabad gets somber with some early morning fog, it reminded me of a night, driving at around 03.00 am on Tank Bund, when it suddenly started drizzling. And what do I see on the roads? Few middle aged women and few men, with transparent raincoats that don’t cover their body completely. And what were they doing? Sweeping Roads. They were infact M.C.H (Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad) workers.
Yes, the MCH sweepers, whom we all despise when they ask money for cup of tea, were picking small pieces of paper, even though they were getting drenched! The drizzle didn’t stop from them sweeping, nor did the cold wind.
This left an indelible impression! But being a regular visitor to Ameerpet few things surprise me. Just visit Ameerpet, the abode of many would-be software professionals. Early in the morning, you will find a street like any other in Hyderabad. But come here in the evening, you will see exactly what Hyderabad stands for – Chaos!
All the would-be software professionals find it tough to carry their garbage to a dust bin. What they do is simply pick a pamphlet from any body and if they don’t like it, they throw it on road. It is not an exaggeration, if I say, one can hardly see the road as it is covered completely with paper! So much for Hyderabad – the ever developing city!
I still remember visiting a friend in Osmania engineering hostel! The students were so busy yearning to be engineers that they found it tough to keep their bathrooms clean!
Somehow with all this it hurts. No not me. But it hurts the effort put by the old sweepers, who can only work at night, braving all sort of hazards, including humans! Sometimes, I feel it just isn’t right to be an MCH sweeper. No body cares for them!
I didn’t want this post to be preachy. Please excuse me, if it is!
If we, were in Singapore, we wouldn’t dare litter! But because we stand in our own city, we litter it as it were our birthright! May be we don’t respect ourselves, or our cities enough. Hyderabad, or for that matter, India can never be a place like Singapore! Not because we are a land of dhoti clad ryots but because the ‘educated’ have never come out of “How does this one piece of paper matters?” frame of mindset.
Gr8,
To add to this, ive been throwing paper(garbage/ popcorn plastics/choclate wrappers) whatever kind, only in my pockets from atleast 5 years.I learned this from one of my college mate, who learned it from one of her friend and so on.
I lacked in spreading this to my fellow mates else i would have continued the chain, ill try this from now.
prakash
20 Feb 07 at 12:45 am
boss… hats off to you !
but i personally believe companies who hire those irresponsible and uneducated kids to distribute those pamphlets to people are also equally responsible!!!
sabko apni padi hai bhaiya … maybe you would also have just thought about it and left it had it not gelled with your task of blog writing…
i’ve been doing something similar to what prakash has been following and the credit for passing it on to me goes to elder bro… i still remember him walking over a 100 metres just to find a bin for his empty fruity carton… and in his UP style saying that hum log bolte hain ki thasi padi hai par yeh nahin kehte ki hum hi thaas rahe hain uski !!!
i try to speak with my actions and follow this rule even more stringently when i am with some one vulnerable!
anyways you carry on with your stuff buddy… kya pata aisi cheezon ko padh ke kuch logon ka hriday parivartan ho jaaye
Sandeep Hemnani
20 Feb 07 at 2:18 pm