It
has been a while since we saw our celebrities wielding the broom. What has
become of the “Swachh Bharat Abhyaan”
launched with much fanfare last year?
Despite
all the sporadic campaigns, many of us continues to cringe when we see children
toss empty chips packets out of school buses; car drivers deftly opening the
door of a moving car, to spit paan on the roads; shopkeepers tossing
their garbage right on to the streets, and people nonchalantly walking past
piles of litter on the streets. In our feudal mindscape it is still somebody
else’s job to clean up after we have had our fun.
Delhi
Metro has been struggling with the similar attitudes for more than a decade
now. It has been successful, to a certain extent, in persuading commuters to
stand in lines while waiting on platforms - especially at large intersections
like Rajiv Chowk and Mandi House. Inside the trains, while it has now become
rare to find men occupying seats reserved for ladies, and yet, a lot of people do
get away with littering, sitting on the floors (especially in-between coaches),
and consuming food & drinks on the trains.
I
had an experience last week that illustrates something that had escaped my
notice – the dynamics of behaviour change in our public spaces.
On
an “Odd-Even” day and I was returning home on the Violet Line of Delhi Metro.
At Khan Market, a young couple entered the compartment, their arms overflowing
with eatables - two cans of cola, and packets of chips and biscuits. The man
got a ladies seat vacated for his friend, and both continues chomping and
drinking as the train moved on.
Eating
and drinking is prohibited on Delhi Metro. Having seen numerous instances of
spilled drinks and discarded food on the trains, I ventured towards the man, apologised
for intruding, and quietly requested him to avoid eating on the crowded train
and to put away the drinks until he was out of the station.
"Sorry,
can't help it", he said loudly, "we are very hungry."
Duly
rebuffed, and not wanting to make a scene, I backed off. A few minutes later
there was a huge commotion. The fact that a polite request had no effect on the
couple seems to have rankled a lot of nerves. A number of passengers had now
taken on the couple, and their tone had swiftly moved from polite requests, to expressions
of derision, disdain, and anger.
Now
the shoe was on the other foot. Left with no choices, the drinks and food packets
were quietly tucked away, and tempers started to cool down.
As
I stood there marvelling at the way in which a tired, disinterested group of
commuters had suddenly rallied together to keep a coach clean, it suddenly
dawned on me that in a city were littering is so commonplace, we often overlook
the remarkable fact that that a vast majority of passengers on Delhi Metro do
follow the rules.
In
general, there is also an amazing level of toleration for those who break the
rules -- until a trigger makes people explode in rage. The incident also
reminded me that there is very little visible effort from DMRC when it comes to
enforcement of rules and regulations. Never once in the past ten years
have I seen anybody getting fined for breaking the rules.
In
countries like Japan, eating and drinking is permitted on the metro trains. These
are societies that value virtues of tidiness, self-control, and care for the
others, a value system is hardwired into children from a very early age. As
children turn into adults, it is not surprising to see that they need very
little external enforcement of rules. A stage is reached when people not
only regulate themselves but also take on the onus of gently reminding others
to do so.
It
is time we become more intolerant about the litter and garbage outside our own homes.
