I am a resident of Kanpur but currently in US.

I want to bring your attention to a small locality in Kanpur . My family lives there. The place is Awadhpuri, Lakhanpur, Kanpur .

Awadhpuri is a nice place to live in Kanpur . But there has been consistent problem in some part of that locality (From House # 1 to 30). The problem is about sewage disposal. As informed by my family few days back the problem has been again a big one currently. We are trying to get rid of this problem since past many years (more than 15 years now). Many solutions to this sewage overflow problem have been encouraged and brought into action by our community. But none of them is effective in any way. I feel this problem if not dealt then can result in extremely dangerous health issues for the residents there. After all we all know the aftermath of sewage overflow on roads. We all community members try to get it cleaned from time to time investing our money but still we can't get rid of the litter. Although spending money on such a job is not our responsibility rather responsibility of the Govt. which also lack interest in such matter.

I feel if we all want our communities to mimic the developed countries like US then we need to address and get literate about such small problems which are root of bigger problems in our country.

Prevailing situation in Kanpur with regard to environmental degradation or upgradation can be considered as a prototype model. Solving problems of this model can be a good starting point to understand the related issues of the whole country. I feel the most important issue to be addressed in this regard is public awareness. Living in US for past 4 years, I have observed that people in this country are very literate in this regard. If you are walking in airport with a cup of coffee in your hand and you spill the coffee on floor by mistake then it is your duty to wipe and clean the floor before you move ahead, Something which even I have done because this also shows a respect to duties of a janitor working at that place.

I have lived in Awadhpuri, Kanpur for more than a decade and I have observed that people care less about their surroundings. Getting literate in this regard will not cost money and will only cost your own common sense. For example a problem of overflowing sewer in my residential area is a big challenge. Residents are not trashing their trash in proper place. The owner of the dairy farm is not disposing the animal excreta properly. You will find cow dung all over the place in that area especially during rainy season. This is extremely harmful for society as a whole. Society can't flourish with this attitude. No society has ever. When you have litter everywhere on the roads then roads get more damaged and need more frequent repairs. This costs money and labor and the system in Kanpur is not that well equipped and prepared for such demands. It took almost 10 years for my father and other people in the society to get that road built. Can you believe that! In 5 years a country like US launches its next mission to moon and we are still dealing with such problems. The roads are horrible in the area.

Most importantly sometime I find many residents in the area also throwing out their trash on road itself which is not acceptable at all because there are trash containers kept on the road which is never being used. Think about the diseases such a litter can cause and think about the next generation which can be affected by that! Government and local authorities are also to be blamed in this regard. Government never does survey of the localities. I never saw a food and drug administration official visiting the area and asking a fast food owner to keep his environment clean. I also never saw any janitor in the area doing his job properly. They have to be straightforwardly blamed if they are not doing their jobs properly. No one gets paid for doing nothing on this earth and it is the duty of law enforcement bodies to take action of them.

I also remember that one of the electricity pole ( carrying high voltage line) is standing right in middle of the littered place which is not only littered but is like a small pond of dirt. If you think carefully then this pole is made of iron and this will rust slowly and if someone is not going to take action then this will fall one day on the houses and will definitely lead to human casualties.

A developed country means a place where each citizen understands his duties and responsibilities towards a society in which he/she lives. It's too late to ask citizens of India to understand this concept but rather the action has to be taken fast. Its just not information technology that will make India a developed nation, it will be a simple man or "sadharan ya aam aadmi" who will make this nation a developed country. All developed countries are developed because of their fantastic infrastructure and especially about environment. Every year US spends billions of dollars for environment only and every citizen understands that and that's why assists in keeping the environment clean and this is how we can be a developed nation. Spending money can only repair things but consistent efforts will necessitate fewer repairs and will improve our environment.

It takes very less effort and just common sense to keep our environment clean. I heard of a saying: if there is a place for everything then everything should be in that place. This is what we need to follow to address a small aspect of our society so that our societies can thrive well and be acknowledged.

Looking at the situation of Kanpur , I feel we need lot of work to be done to even think of being a developed nation. These factors will be contributing a great deal when PM Manmohan Singh comes to US and asks President Bush "We, Indians, should be given a seat among UN decision making authorities".

I can go on writing but it's more important to act in this regard and make our people aware of what's good for all of us.

Nitin

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