I don’t understand Indore. How the logical, sensible people who understand civic duties and needs like cleanliness forget their responsibility towards traffic sense and rules?
Indore The Cleanest City
The city, which changed how its average citizen treats and disposes garbage, has failed with other initiatives. Indore has been the cleanest city in the country for almost a decade now. It is said that Indore processes over 1,900 tons of urban waste every day, which helps the city fuel its buses and gives it crores of rupees. And hold it, Indore segregates garbage into six distinct categories at a collection point. It must be happening, but I am yet to witness it at the household or society level.
However, the truth remains that it has been declared the cleanest city repeatedly. The credit goes to the management (Indore Municipal Corporation) and more to the citizens of Indore who have undoubtedly played a significant role in making the city neat and clean.
A clean city is only possible when the habits of the citizen and their outlook toward cleanliness are changed. The change is evident in the surroundings.
So, someone knew the magic spell- the trigger to press and the pulse of the city.
It is the same city that was ranked 25th in 2016 in the list of 73 cities and then has continued to rank 1st in the following years of the Clean India Mission Surveys.
There Are Chinks in The Clean Mirror
One sees the work and processes that keep the city clean. However, the status may be the cleanest city, but the ground reality does not evoke the same confidence.
Yes, there are public toilets at a fair distance. And you don’t see people urinating or defecating in the open.
The roads are mostly clean. At least the main roads are.
My doctor treating me for an upper throat infection, instructs me not to go for a morning walk on the main street as it is dusty with the morning weeping of the roads.
People take pride in their city being the cleanest. However, most of the cleanliness drive workers are without gloves or masks.
The affluent (and mostly literate) pet owners do not pick pet poo from the roads. No amount of logic works. More so, they give you a weird look as you diligently pick the poo- place them in the bags and deposit them in the dustbin. Their looks question you. It shouts. Are you mad? Why, someone will pick it up and will you pick the poo of the stray dogs too! I don’t know where the Indore pride of the cleanest city vanishes on such occasions.
There are spots along the roads where families leave their trash in plastic bags, which are picked up by the workers. It is clean but not as clean as the cleanest village in the northeast.
Something has worked for the cleanliness drive.
You can’t be No 1 in everything.
Being No 1 for a long has somewhere instilled the thought as a habit. James Clear would appreciate it- because, yes, cleanliness is somewhat of a habit in Indore. However, the system and the citizens are misguided in knowing their limits to behaviour change.
Indore must have been the cleanest election. You hardly saw posters- banners or loudspeakers in action. No one is talking of the manifestoes and the need for the promises to be made. However, towards the end, there was an intense activity by Congress for people to go and vote NOTA.
As the city wanted to achieve the highest percentage of voting and become number 1 in voting- even Voting for NOTA in an almost No-Election was desirable.
The thought was right, but it was an over-expectation. It was doomed to fail. Even the ‘Run for Vote’ Marathon had limited participation. There were orphaned posters and sponsored by retail chains and educational institutes promoting an attempt at maximum voting plastered over the city. A waste of time after BUMB the Congress candidate withdrew his candidature and joined the BJP. The task of getting the voters to visit the booth during the heat wave made it further challenging.
Here is the cause to be the No 1. TRAFFIC
Indore citizens are proud of their cleanest status and now even shun the otherwise welcomed comparison as a Mini Mumbai. They are in a Zone of itself. I am not from Indore and, hence, I have many cribs, unlike a person from Indore who has adapted to life and thrives in the scenario.
Whatever has worked in the cleanliness drive has failed to show results in another aspect of governance or initiative. And I fail to understand it.
They are the same citizen. The initiatives are for their benefit. So, why do they refuse to follow them?
Are they rebels? Or has the cleanliness drive had some negative impact, too?
Are people feeling let down?
Do they think that if they join in for any other initiatives, they will be trapped? It is a one-way street, and they will lose the freedom they so enjoy and want.
Being the best puts pressure to behave continuously. Then being just Good is not enough.
Indore needs Traffic Sense.
Can someone help the town with a sense of driving?
It is illogical. It is mayhem. It is depressing, irritating, and frustrating.
People crisscross without any respect for lights, police, cameras or zebra crossing.
In the main squares, it is like the WhatsApp videos you see of traffic going from all directions. Well, the light gets green just for sufficient time for the person to sprint to the next side. And you better sprint and find your way to the next side. Surprisingly, there are hardly any accidents.
The service roads convert four-way traffic to 16-way traffic. And that excludes the BRTS.
Everyone is in a hurry. No one wants to wait.
The traffic police watch uninterested.
A Revenue Stream in Waiting.
Trust me, if the traffic violators were to be diligently challenged in just two main traffic crossovers a day, Indore could get huge revenues.
Additionally, maybe the Indore rebels will be tamed.
Maybe we need a start-up or an NGO to do it with the Indore Development Authority and Indore Municipal Corporation.
Pedestrians have perfected the art of crossing the road through this Brownian moment traffic.
Hardly anyone wears a seat belt or helmet.
However, you find abundant use of the Chunni guard. The woman wraps around their head and faces to save their skin from sunlight and pollution.
It proves that Indore people do have the logical sense to make the right choices.
The food vendors have their own stalls on the service roads or covering the footpath. But they all have a waste basket for the trash.
Can Indore grow from Cleanest to a Model Smart City?
So, do we have anyone who completely understands what worked for the cleanliness drive? Will someone take the initiative to do the same for traffic control?
So that Indore can grow from being a mere cleanest city to the most model city worth living.
Net-net
Yes, Indore is clean, and even the street vendors keep the place clean.
However, if it really wants to be the best city and a smart city, the citizens of Indore must grow up and follow the rules. Maybe then the pride could swell. Maybe then the other cities could understand and follow the way. The citizens of Indore have demonstrated through the cleanliness drive that it is the place for such experiments. So, if you do want to be number one is something, I have a list- but can we start with Traffic?
If you want to read more about the Indore Cleanliness Drive- read it here – INDORE SMART CITY.
