Watch Your Head, Mr PM

Even Narendra Modi cannot rescue this city, sighed a friend of mine. We were discussing, what else, the PM’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. There were smirks and all-knowing smiles, the consensus being that even Modi can’t help those who do not want to help themselves. In many areas of the ancient town, walking through the narrow lanes is risky.  Neither autorickshaws nor cycle rickshaws can get into them, indeed two motorcycles coming from opposite directions can trigger a brawl. But the risk I was referring to was the refuse carelessly tossed from the balconies. Dr Bina Singh, an associate professor of English at BHU, did a door-to-door campaign, pleaded with residents that she and her students would collect the garbage every day if they promised not to fling them out of the window at unsuspecting students and teachers walking to college. But the pleas were ignored. Walking is not an option in the town unless you go through the lanes. There is little or no space left for pedestrians. Godhulia is just four kilometres from my ancestral house and in my younger days, I remember covering the distance in 10 minutes. Now if I have to go to Godhulia, it takes me an hour-and-a-half. It is impossible to walk along the Boondi Parkota Ghat in the morning because people there make defecation a social event. They sit in semi-circles merrily discussing matters of state or of the heart while relieving themselves. There are of course no public toilets in the town and the roadsides are freely used at all times of the day and night. 

Of course, the Banarasi paan is the city’s greatest leveller. Paan stains can be seen on the walls of the newest mall and the fanciest buildings. Temples, meanwhile, clean their premises every day and throw the garbage right outside. Can the PM inspire his constituents and voters to change their habits, their lifestyle? Unlikely. Nothing has changed since Modi was elected from here. The mayor, Union ministers, local BJP stalwarts, they are all busy getting themselves photographed with brooms. The BJP here has controlled the municipal body for decades and the town has three elected BJP MLAs as well. But the town is still full of filth, overflowing with garbage and visitors continue to be overwhelmed by the stench. We of course have nobody to blame but ourselves.

By Amrita Dasgupta in Varanasi

(A Varanasi native, the author works among disabled children.)