IS CLEANLINESS NEXT TO GODLINESS?

#beyourself #beyourownvoice #appliedempathy #sustainableenvironment #healthyhabits #wastemanagement #garbagemanagementtocontrolpandemic #MissionGarbageManagementToCheckCORONAPandemic  #OperationSanitationToControlCORONAPandemic #empathy #love #respect #trust  #sustainability 

This animated photo collage has photographs of garbage dumped by the side of Bachi Raichur Highway by the inhabitants of habitations near S.C. Motors, Kudachi, Nilaji, Mutaga, Sambra, Balekundri, Panth Balekundri, Honnihal, Basava Colony and, Panth Nagar.

I photographed them on March 26, 2020, when my cousin and I drove from Panth Nagar to S.C. Motors-Airport Road Area to purchase groceries and medicines. This area is part of Belgaum Rural.  Two police personnel patrolling the area on their bike asked me, "Ma'am, what are you taking photographs of" I replied "Sir, I am photographing the garbage dump and mound beside the habitations and the highway." They immediately replied, "It is not our responsibility; Panchayat is responsible for cleaning the garbage dumps. Our duty is to follow the Lock-down." I smiled, "Sir, I am not accusing or complaining about anyone. All of us are responsible for keeping our habitation and surrounding clean. We are responsible for sanitation and clean environment for our health, and happiness. If Panchayat fails in its responsibility, then we also fail, for they represent us, the people. It is our, the people-the inhabitants', duty to enable the Panchayat to fulfill their responsibilities. I am going to share these photographs so the administration can solve this problem and maintain sanitation of the habitations in Belgaum Rural to check the spread of bacterial and viral disease." With a sigh of relief they said, "Do share the photographs Ma'am. Let us do it." They smiled along with me and rode  off to patrol the area: 

 At present Government of India along with States and their units of Local Self Governance viz. Zilla Parishad, Talukas(Tehsils) and Local Panchayats with the help of the police force are taking precautionary measures viz. "Social Distancing, Self Isolation, Quarantine" to control the spread of the Corona(COVID-19) virus. They have to ensure clean and sanitized environment in every habitation as an integral part of their effort to check the spread of COVID-19 virus.

The photographs in the animated collage, make me wonder how mere lock-down can control the virus with the mounds and piles of garbage and waste dumps right beside the habitations. In Panth Nagar, the inhabitants walk across and dump plastic carry bags full of garbage and household waste in the trench dug up beside the highway. The trench is a semblance of a drain that was hurriedly dug up before the Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha elections.   

A sad fact, most of these garbage dumps are near schools and educational institutions, where the children, the future generation educate to become wise, empathetic and, responsible individuals before training for any vocation or profession. Ironically, the students are more focused on successfully clearing the exams with high grades and impressive percentage marks. Somewhere, both the educational institutions and, the parents/guardians are responsible for not fulfilling their responsibilities towards their wards, their children. Before the festival of colors, Holi a group of children visited every house in the area collecting money for the Holi celebration. The same organizers can ask the children to visit every home to collect money for the welfare of animals in the area. Spaying and vaccinating the dogs and cats, who directly and indirectly safeguard the place. The organizers can also ask the children to visit every household to make them aware of healthy habits for health and sanitation

Few prominent educational institutions located on the highway are: Poddar International School; Lengade College of Engineering and Polytechnic; a secondary and high school in Mutaga; Kendriya Vidyalaya (Central School) in Sambra; Janata College in Balekundri next to Sambra Air Force Station; Madarsa in Honnihal-Balekundri; Nirmal Nagar School in Nirmal Nagar; and many private primary and middle schools function in this area.

"Is cleanliness really next to Godliness?" is a question I ask myself ever since the family shifted from Bangalore to Panth Nagar in Belgaum Rural*. Every time I travel from Panth Nagar to Belgaum city and back, I ask myself the same question.
The arch in the photograph highlights the reason why the vehicle riders and drivers should drive carefully. It was set up in 2017. Just beside its pillar is garbage piled up as a proof of habitations much more than the arch proclaims. "Follow Traffic Rules" becomes a farce when we see the agriculture land on both sides of the highway has been indiscriminately converted into Non-Agriculture Lands. Houses, restaurants,  commercial buildings, and complexes have mushroomed on these once lush green crop fields.
Since 2011-12, most of the farmers have sold their farmland due to erratic monsoon pattern. The realtors who purchased the lands from the farmers converted them into residential plots and sold them to the people at a bargain price, enticing them with the prospect the land's value will increase for its proximity to Belgaum city, National and state highway and, above all, the Sambra-Belgaum Airport. They easily lured the buyers into buying the residential plots, who, unfortunately, ignored the absence of proper infrastructure and amenities needed for "Healthy, Happy, and Harmonious Life." This area is part of Belgaum Rural* and is not under the purview of Belgaum Municipal Corporation. Local Self Governance in the form of Taluka and Gram Panchayats have ignored the norms they, the local panchayats and the habitations have to abide by in providing the inhabitants with basic infrastructure and amenities viz. well-constructed roads, bridges, culverts; uninterrupted electric supply and water supply; and, above all, sanitation through the effective drainage system and implementation as well as proper garbage and waste collection & management.
In 2019, as an inhabitant of Panth Nagar, that is under the jurisdiction of Balekundri (not update data) Gram Panchayat, thrice we submitted written application to the Panchayat for the basic infrastructure and amenities:

Before the 2018 Vidhan Sabha Elections, most of the roads in Panth Nagar were constructed and the work came to a grinding halt during the elections, even though the 2019 General Elections are passe, the work is yet to be completed.
In 2019, while waiting for the local Panchayat to respond and work upon our request, I doodled a few of these caricatures with the heading: IRRATIONALLY RATIONAL" in my effort to narrate and give the viewers a glimpse of life in Panth Nagar, Belgaum Rural. The photographs exhibit the ground reality:

In 2019, we even used the Government of India's Swachhata-MoHUA App to log a complaint about the garbage dumps in Sambra near State Bank of India. According to an official from Pollution Control Board of India, Belgaum, Belgaum City Municipal Corporation is responsible for Sambra Airport and Airforce Station. Though the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India has developed this App, we were able to post a complaint even for garbage dumped beside the highway next to Janata College in Balekundri, and Spinning Mill area near Basava Colony and, Panth Nagar. Result? "NIL". No one removed the garbage dumps, nor did they implement and regularize any system for garbage management.
We had posted these photographs in MoHUA App along with the complaint:

 The inhabitants in these areas burn the garbage dump to clear the place and continue dumping garbage there. It is evident in the following photo animation of Google Map along with Google Earth images, and photographs of a garbage dump in front of the Spinning Mills near Basava Colony and Panth Nagar; garbage dumps in Kuber Circle area; garbage dump beside Rani Chennamma Road; it is also Weekly Vegetable Open Market's venue every Thursday. White ellipses in the Google Earth images indicate the garbage dumps.

My cousin just now informed me the local Panchayat is clearing the garbage dump beside Rani Chennamma Road. She observed many people from neighboring houses voicing their complaints about the garbage and waste dumps to the Panchayat officials supervising the clean-up operation. A fortnight ago, just before we observed nationwide daylong lock-down, we had spoken to the local Panchayat officials on the need for cleanliness and sanitation with proper garbage management as proactive and precautionary measures with the danger of Corona (COVID-19) virus epidemic looming large. We also showed the road in front of the rented house we inhabit and how we had filled its pot-holes and uneven level by laying it with a think layer of stone chips and gravel. We had even dug up a drain perpendicular to the lower area of the road to drain out rainwater and solve the problem of all those of us using the road during monsoon season. The officials, under their breath, acknowledged our consistent written and verbal effort in drawing their attention to the problems inhabitants of Panth Nagar are experiencing.
When my cousin informed me of local Panchayat's effort in cleaning the garbage from the area I was glad but I also thought this is not the solution. We are only treating the symptoms and not taking care of the cause through proper garbage management at a top priority level. During lock-down and community quarantine, it is important to maintain cleanliness and sanitation of the area through proper garbage collection and management.
The sum-and-substance is: we should have a healthy and clean lifestyle (living habits) Only then the proactive precautionary efforts will prove to be effective in diluting, if not completely controlling the outbreak of an epidemic.
There are Primary Health Centers in Belgaum district, yet the inhabitants of the habitation in Sambra, Honnihal, Panth Balekundri, Balekundri, Basava Colony, Panth Nagar, Nirmal Nagar-to name a few, frequent the local private clinics. The localites often suffer from respiratory disease, Influenza, gastro-intestinal disease, Malaria, Dengue, diabetes, heart, and kidney related problems.

April 01, 2020:

Garbage dumps in the trench next to Anand Nagar, Spinning Mill, and vacant plots in Panth Nagar were burnt this evening. 
Click Google Photos to view all the photographs of the garbage dumps on Bachi-Raichur Highway up to Panth Nagar.

For Your Reference:

1. Balekundri (not updated information)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balekundri_(K.H.)
https://villageinfo.in/karnataka/belgaum/belgaum/balekundri.html
2. Belgaum (Belagavi)District:
https://belagavi.nic.in/en/tehsil/
https://belagavi.nic.in/en/villages-panchayats/
3. Belgaum Rural*:
https://www.datanetindia-ebooks.com/pdf_Samples/assembly_factbook/Karnataka/Belgaum/Belgaum%20Rural.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgaum_Rural_(Vidhana_Sabha_constituency)
4. Panchayat Raj in India:
https://rural.nic.in/
https://www.karnataka.com/govt/panchayat-raj-village-administration/
http://www.sanchitha.ikm.in/node/630
http://www.sanchitha.ikm.in/node/1285
5. G.O.I.'s Mission Antyodaya:
https://rural.nic.in/sites/default/files/SwachchataPakhwadaBooklet_08092017_English.pdf
6. Primary Health Centers in Belgaum District:
https://www.tabletwise.com/hospitals/health-centers-in-belgaum-karnataka?cursor=CnEKEgoMcmVwb3J0X2NvdW50EgIIABJXag9wfnRhYmxldHdpc2UtY29yRAsSCUhvc3BpdGFscyI1YmFpbHVyLTI0eDctcHJpbWFyeS1oZWFsdGgtY2VudGVyLXNhbXBnYW9uLWJhaWxob25nYWwMGAAgAQ%3D%3D&count=80