Cleanliness drive in the hills

The word “cleanliness” , “hygiene” etc always makes our educated minds feel strange. Its like we’re being pushed forcefully to enormous responsibilities. Come on! Cleanliness is no more a forceful thing. Rather cleanliness should come from a good habit and a healthy way of healthy lives. And by heart, We do not want to take this risk from our end and usually remain in a habit to bypass the stuffs by saying – ‘is not my work actually.’ But people from the high altitudes are more sincere about ecology & environment than us.Himalayan ‘Clean village’ program is not something new. They have got the education environmental balance, which we do not utilize in real lives, even after getting a lot of education.

Though from the very beginning of my life, I grew up as a responsible kid, who used to take care of his own stuffs. Even from schools we were taught like this. Now a days, when I found a 6th or 7th standard kid garbage the floor, it really turns me off.

cleaning village activity by volunteers in Gangulakunta village, photo: www.thehansindia.com

I was in a Darjiling trek 03 years back. There I found every home of the villages, carrying a separate dustbin front of their house. well you may think whats new in that, even we also carry dustbins in home. But the interesting thing here is that that blue colored bin placed in front of home is not for the family members. They already own a separate one inside. Rather this blue one is for the passers by.

As this village is situated by a trek trail, often travelers used to litter by dropping plastics, beer cans, chocolate wrappers, other non-bio degradable stuffs. In hills as lifestyle is already tough, they have found this way more suitable instead of collecting them themselves later.

I really appreciated this initiative. After a little talk with the village elder, I understood how much vulnerable these things could be. Because due to its nature, plastics are non-biodegradable. So if I talk about landslide, hills are at the very first place. so I promised him I will never litter and will also encourage others not to do so.

In the tiny hamlet of Mawlynnong in the northeast, plastic is banned and spotless paths are lined with flowers. photo: www.thehindu.com

Whenever I travel, I have a separate chamber in my backpack, which becomes activated as a garbage collection vault. I use to carry them all the way. On way back to home, I use to drop them in a proper place in plains.

A village scene in Mawlynnong vilage, photo: famousplacesinindia.in

So this is my request to everyone please be a sensible, responsible traveler or trekker. This is our Earth, we have to save it for our own sake.