In the news for all the wrong reasons in the last couple of years, August 5, 2017 however scripted a different story as Churachandpur made it to the news for the right reason.
And this is something which not every district in Manipur can lay claim to.
So from the three Bills of 2015, to the manner in which some cadres of SoO groups have been running riot in the town of Churachandpur, to the outbreak of diseases ranging from Rabies to Dengue and Japanese Encephalitis, Churachandpur today is in the news for waking up to the reality and launching a massive cleanliness drive in the heart of the town.
Due credit here should be given to the district administration under its Deputy Commissioner and if at all there is a lesson to be learnt from the drive launched at this town, it is the plain fact that it is the senselessness of the people which is largely responsible for the outbreak of seasonal diseases, such as Japanese Encephalitis and Dengue.
Piling garbage on the road sides everywhere, clogged drains, filth and dirt are an open invitation to mosquitoes and while the Government may have its agencies to clean the town and other places, it remains that it is the people who largely dirty and pollute the town or a place.
This is not only about Churachandpur but about the whole of Manipur.
The dirt, the piling garbage, the clogged drains and water ways all tell a very important story on the mindset of the people and it is this which needs to be corrected in the first place. And this correction should start from the home.
Let each home be the training centre for every child that public space is not the dumping ground of anyone.
The public drains or khongbans that run through each and every leikai are not dumping places.
The rivers that run through Imphal are not water ways to carry away the domestic waste.
Let these lessons be drilled into the heads of every young child from home and the State Government may also study the possibility of introducing a subject which can sensitise the young minds on how and why not to litter public places.
The Government may go one step further and impose a strict penalty on anyone found littering public places.
Let anyone caught spitting on the road be made to appear in Court and pay a fine.
Penalise all those who do not think twice before dirtying the road sides.
Strict measures are needed to drill some sense into the heads of everyone and a look at the market places in Imphal will testify the need for the Government to start cracking down on all those who violate the sanctity of public places.
Churachandpur has gone ahead with a cleansing exercise and while this should serve as a lesson to all the people, this should also remind the Government that they need to come out with tough laws to penalise anyone found dirtying public places.
Source: The Sangai Express
