On the filth in India and potential solutions

[rootyme]

Let's have an organised debate on this by mentioning the problems/rants as well as the potential solutions in every response. Feel free to mention your location if you wish to, for added context.

Problem:
Just watched two mini-documentaries on the Ganga and Yamuna rivers and I can safely say that I have never felt dirtier in my life.

Chemicals, plastics, pesticides, dead bodies, and defecation! I just don't get how human defecation is allowed to get into these rivers when we literally worship them as our goddesses! How can toilet water be considered holy water? People around the country pay for this water; go to great lengths to take dips it in and taste it! We have it in our home as well, specifically for auspicious occasions. I just can't wrap my head around this.

I also got to know that the residents of Delhi and nearby states are consuming the toxic vegetables farmed right in the banks of these rivers. How are you guys surviving all that chemical intake?

Everywhere my eyes go, filth is all I see. Nobody cares. Forget the labour class, the youth are filthy as hell. People spit on roads as if it's some toilet or sth. Some guy walking to the left of the main road almost spit on me the other day and I was riding to his right. Can you picture that? He literally chose the middle of the road as his spitting spot. His excuse blame upon confrontation was that "Road khaali tha tab thuka tha wo tum aa gaye to mein kya karun?" Tr. "It's your fault that you happened to pass by me as I spat." His friends wholeheartedly agreed with him as well. I was speechless.

Our state govt., with the help of the municipality, has been trying hard for over five years now to keep the city clean. Electric mini trucks pass by our premises every morning to collect garbage. Yet things have not changed much. It feels as if we don't deserve such facilities. The local food-stalls, hotels, workshops, they all dispose their garbage directly in the drains every single day. They couldn't care less. Our district administration has installed roadside drinking-water stations (sinks) that provide 24x7 access to clean-hygienic drinking water. And, the thelewallahs, hotels; they all wash their dishes right in the basins of those sinks! Some people drink straight from the faucet. By that I mean the faucet enters their mouth. Oh, and beware, that one of them cows chilling nearby can run into you at a very slow pace of 100mph. Some of my relatives have already sustained injuries from such attacks.

Solutions:
I can't think of any if we take India in general. AFAIK, nothing is being done about the Yamuna pollution. I am unable to trace the progress made by the Namami Gange project. Please provide any relevant sources if you have.

 

[blr_p]

Solutions:
I can't think of any if we take India in general. AFAIK, nothing is being done about the Yamuna pollution. I am unable to trace the progress made by the Namami Gange project.

There is a simple reason for the lack of progress and it's down to cost.

I was reading up about a similar clean up project for the Thames river in London which would be like a small stream compared to the mighty rivers we have with a fraction of the population and the bill was £50bn

Yeah, not happening.

 

[kiran6680]

Yup, I don't understand why we are worried about anything other than this. We are literally eating, drinking and breathing poison, but conversation about this is so rare. 37 out of top 50 most polluted cities in the world are Indian, heavy metals are 100 times the allowed concentration in our vegetables if we test at all.

When the problem is so large, we need to prioritise. If we attack the lower priority items first, we will be worse off than not trying, because we will have paid the cost and still not achieved the real success. This is my prioritisation about water and food pollution :

1. Heavy metals : no chemical reaction can fix them. Thousands of degrees Celsius, presence of any catalyst or reactant, it is very unlikely to go away once in the environment. And they accumulate in humans, and the animals we eat . So not releasing out the heavy metals has to be the highest priority.

2. Pesticides and other poisons : while some can be burned away, treated away, made less harmful by careful processes , but still very chemically stable and harmful. It is unlikely anyone will or can practically remove pesticides so they are second priority.

3. Human / animal waste, shit, spit, urine, phlegm, sweat : while disgusting, these are almost harmless as compared to the other 2 categories. RO, boiling water, cooking food well, not swimming in publically available water are some simple strategies we can use until we become a civilized country. Let's not focus our energies on this category of pollution, otherwise the categories that truly matter may get left out.

 

[archie_arch]

Even if we clean the river, the river will get back to its current state in some days.

The Ultimate goal is to keep clean, foremost solution is to stop polluting river. This itself completes around half of the work need to be done. Having a solid and liquid waste management reduces it further. Every individual must take responsibility not to litter on these public places, keep the river clean.

 

[JMP]

I just don't get how human defecation is allowed to get into these rivers when we literally worship them as our goddesses

Most people don't know that Bangalore has a river called Vrishabawathi, just like Thames in London. Today residents don't even recognizes it as a river anymore, it is considered the city's main sewage line because people and industries have been and are releasing so much residential and industrial waste into it.

Yet things have not changed much. It feels as if we don't deserve such facilities.

They couldn't care less.

We are a law enforcement deficit state, the day we have enough enforcers per unit population and there are real consequences for misusing public property we'll begin to see a change.

 

[6pack]

All these channels - DW, BBC, Guardian, etc dont mention the positive things on India. None of them have even mentioned the Indian navy taking back control of the ship lost to pirates or India's sun mission or that chandrayan was flown back to the earth's orbit. I know we have dirty cities, pollution, dirty rivers. So do they. Do you know what happened to the countless train derailments in USA that spilled toxic waste over their lands and water bodies? They took the toxic waste, shipped it to other states and spread it there. They didnt even bother to clean up the ponds or lakes or streams filled with dead fish. No documentary on that though. No documentary on nuclear waste being disposed improperly in USA. No documentary on Thames or other dirty first world country rivers and beaches. These channels have one target - to always show India in a bad light. For some reason they have put India on a pedestal higher than their own countries. They never question their own policies. These are just paid for hit episodes done for some rich nut jobs who only have jealosy on their minds. Always india is a big democracy but heh heh heh look at the poop and pollution and rapes and men ogling at foreigners. look at the poverty there. so poor. dirty, smelly, brown people think they are as smart as white people and need to be shown the truth. let's make documentaries on them while ingoring the poverty in our own country and the drug addicts or gun crimes or rapes or lawless immigrants running amock or companies buying out our politicians for a few thousand pounds or dollars and passing laws favourable to them. No, just shit on India and China.

Rant over, I'll come back on topic. The fault lies with us. We need to educate the public for our own sake not to dirty the rivers or shit in them or flush toxic industrial waste in them. I see only black rivers and streams and it does pain my heart. An educated population will stop or reduce the waste going into the rivers or on the roads. We need to brainwash kids right from school not to dirty roads or anything and to maintain our nature. Brainwash is an unfortunate word but that is the necessity of the times. We dont obey rules until it hurts us. Even when it hurts us, we just blame the govt for everything. Govt is just us - people of our own country. If being dirty and nasty was the dark side, humans will by default, go to the dark side due to it being easier and "everyone does it" reason. People wont take the extra effort to maintain cleanliness. They don't see anything wrong in throwing waste here and there. They don't see anything wrong in carving their names on centuries old architecture. They need to be schooled right from birth why not to do such things. Unfortunately, our schooling system does not give importance to such civilized topics. Being clean and having clean rivers actually benefits us mentally and physically, but no one cares. Having clean air to breathe, having clean rivers to fish or swim in or have sports, having clean beaches, having clean cities - not a priority, sadly. These documentaries will go on so long as we dont give priority to cleaning, developing and maintaining our nature. We need to look after our wildlife too. Our country is not made for humans only. Plants, trees, wild animals, rivers, mountains everything have a bigger right. We are literally destroying their environment. They came first. Their land first. Their planet first.

 

[kiran6680]

All these channels - DW, BBC, Guardian, etc dont mention the positive things on India. None of them have even mentioned the Indian navy taking back control of the ship lost to pirates or India's sun mission or that chandrayan was flown back to the earth's orbit

No.

Chandrayaan-3: India Moon mission's propulsion module returns to Earth's orbit

Isro says the return of Chandrayaan-3's propulsion module is significant for future manned missions.

www.bbc.com

Chandrayaan-3: India makes historic landing near Moon's south pole

Chandrayaan-3 has created history by landing near the little-explored south pole of the Moon.

www.bbc.com

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-asia-india-66576580

Aditya-L1: India's Sun mission reaches final destination

Aditya-L1 has been travelling towards the Sun for more than four months since launch on 2 September.

www.bbc.com

 

[TEUser2K1]

For countries progress, extremely low pollution, cleanliness, organized residential building structures, water management (including rain water), pristine nature, protecting nature, etc. are extremely important.
However our poverty, both in economical and principled thinking is preventing progress.

@archie_arch
> The Ultimate goal is to keep clean, foremost solution is to stop polluting river.

However, everybody is trying to sell properties around rivers and dumping waste there.

 

[archie_arch]

We lack a long term goal, allowing industries without an proper waste management plan, Which in turn dumps into river, land polluting environment. Having industrial zones away from river, agricultural land and properly monitoring their waste and emission can reduce the level of pollution. Instead of spending hundred millions for cleaning, we can spend some millions for proper management.

From individual perspective, everyone must realize what a small action of them can do to a whole environment before it is late.

 

[rootyme]

Just a heads up. You can track the monthly progress of the Namami Gange project here.

नमामि गंगे

A registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860,is the implementing wing and its General Body is chaired by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation

nmcg.nic.in

And this is the latest news on the project that Google fetched:

Of 457 projects under Namami Gange project, 280 completed: Minister - ET Infra

Out of the total 457 projects taken up under the Namami Gange Programme at an estimated cost of Rs 38,438.05 crore till December 31, 280 projects have been completed and made operational, Lok Sabha was told.

infra.economictimes.indiatimes.com

All these channels - DW, BBC, Guardian, etc dont mention the positive things on India.

No.

As Kiran said, that line is not factually correct. But you can say they have a net negative bias towards India. And it's not new.

1. That title.. https://www.nytimes.com/1974/03/24/...er-beggar-image-the-eternal-problems-the.html

2. https://www.indiatoday.in/india/sto...ogises-mars-mission-cartoon-208801-2014-10-06

I will be happy to be proved wrong here.