I really do not know what has struck me of late....I have actually been thinking on things around me more deeply than I ever have....Please excuse me if you find this post too vociferous as it might just be...
It is related to a class of people which we usually call "under-privileged".My mother,who resides in the City of Joy(wonder if the city's worth that name!!), mentioned the other day about this strange profession she noticed .It was a man who had immersed himself till the neck in a filthy gutter to retrieve all the polythene wastes that might be clogging it...And more so,as mom found out, it turned out to be his full - time profession. I mean , how outrageous is this....a gutter which we refuse to even pass by as they threaten our olfactory cells, is actually a person's workplace...
I had read in the papers sometime back about the Government being pro-active in making India a better place by eliminating traces of poverty....Ah!!I thought ,another tall claim....But today when I think about it...It compels me to wonder....How exactly does the Govt. intend to implement this claim?Whose life would be at stake if such a thing is actually put to force?
It is indeed a great idea to eliminate poverty,to make the people around aware (I keep wondering how...though!!) and be more environment conscious. If one doesn't pollute the environment with polythene bags then this man down there in the gutter is spared from his filthy job.....but does one think he' s thrown out of his job...??!!What does he do for a living then?
The state Govt. of West Bengal is pondering on abolishing pull-on rickshaws that have been so far been a trademark of Bengal.True, they are nothing but subjecting a poor person to utter misery as he sweats through the streets as a rather well-fed Babu/Bibi enjoys the "ride".I confess of having "enjoyed" the same as a kid .....But then what does he do when the rickshaws are shoo-ed off the streets??Does he not earn the label of "Bekaar" in the process,thereby adding to his woes???
Intentions may be noble , but as long as they do not unite with practicality,have no meaning what-so-ever.So if we actually have to release these people from the highly in-human job they do.....we have to arrange for an alternative profession.Else we shall never achieve what we intend to....
Here's to the noble intentions!!!!
6 comments:
""If one doesn't pollute the environment with polythene bags
then this man down there in the gutter is spared from his filthy job""
But then what do we do with them... even waste disposal guys shy away from taking plastic in... so what do we do with all these plastic stuff we have... Lets Abolish Plastic.. then??? half the stuff around us will not exist. I think its what most percieve as a "Necessary Evil". I think the push should go in the direction of pondering for more environmental friendly ways, say a "Bio Degradable Plastic".
But thts never gonna happen, as more and more ppl shy away frm sciences into the ever growing Tsunami called the IT/ITES Industry. Who the heck will invent then, when bright ppl move away from ways that make the world a better place to live in....
JUST A THOUGHT :)
My dear Priyanka you are really thinking to much these days. Well I think you and Raghu both missed the point here. Yes, I agree the man's job is flithy and neither me nor you would ever do it but somebody has got to do it.
Look on the brighter side, this man is earning his living. And thats what is important to remove poverty. Well I am not sure how much he earns by this job but still if he collects say even 100 such polythenes a day and say get a minusicle amount of 25 paisa for each, he still has earned enough to eat for his day's worth. He is still better off than thousands of others who would be shamelessly begging for money, and rich Babus and Bibis will continue to shun them.
Necessity is the mother of invention. But an invention is an idea evolved. Why talk about 'Bio-Degradagle Plastic' or use names such as 'Necesary Evil'?
I think it is a noble idea. Best is to capitalise on our already gigantic manpower and 'fix' things which cannot be changes overnight and India a better place or in this case a little more 'tidy'.
An interesting read though,
Cheers,
Ck
will we ever achieve what we want to anyway??n in the first place,what exactly do we want to achieve???do we want to bring those still below the poverty line to the so-called 'acceptable' standard of living,or do we give these inhuman-work doers an alternate source of livelihood??or do we try n give the totally unemployed some means of income??or..well i can think of a million ors..but since u insist..i'll stop here..n mayb start a blog myself..
and as for ur blog:its really nice n i appreciate the wide range of topics uve already written about!
well i cud ve posted a better comment but for ur constant bugging!!!
all in all:great posts!!way to go gurl!!!
I agree with you priyanka
Neetu
Noble intentions!
In Delhi plastic bags were banned in a matter of three days. Thanks to political will, civic bodies actively promoting paper and bags made of other materials, creative banners asking you to "stop killing Delhi". And it is achieved.
What angers me is that in my City of Joy, its only intentions that are noble and these intentions are not meant to do anything about correcting a problem.
Maybe they will launch a march against plastic campaign, hold public meetings, bring out a white paper, a thesis even but not reverse the problem. And oh yes they care..
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