When we move out on roads in any city, small town or villages in India, why do we always get a shock to seeunpleasant, deplorable scenes all around us?

Let’s talk about the significant aspect of a “Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan”, an active initiative undertaken by the current government of India. Here we all are geared up about the step rightly taken and we also go ahead in all means to stop by and request/instruct people around us to stop creating the mess. But, it might come as a shock to many of us, that the root cause may actually be the unseen!

We lack a basic drainage system in the country.

Many of us, living in the capital city, are we aware that 46% of Delhi, home to nearly 4.5 million people, has no dedicated sewerage system?! In these areas, filth flows freely through stormwater drains. Talking of drainage system, have you ever thought of bad water and worse water? For a layman, bad water will be soiled water, or maybe the water we use to take a bath or to wash our utensils. Then what is worse water? Of course the water that we flush. So have you ever thought how this water should move out of our system? Well the primary intention is to keep these two types of dirty water separate from each other. That will make the system a whole lot easier. The bad water named storm water, and the worse water termedas sewage waste.

The so called system of ‘nalas’ in our country is a living proof of the mixing of these two types of water. The unfortunate part being that a lot of people are subjected to actually live very close to these gutters. The funny part being they are not even aware of the hazards nor threats caused by the gutters!

There are several canal redevelopment projects in the pipeline aimed at turning the filthy decaying canals into spaces for social interactions and to reconnect parts of a city along with addition of numerous roads built over these canals. Many of us have experienced the foul smell that may sometimes even reach the insides of our cars, despite closed windows. Most of these places are the so called prime locations in a given city. Or they may be a major connecting points of the city. Whatever may be the case, there is still a possibility of developing these places as habitable. For some places that are not in regular use, maybe out of city limits, may be developed into recreation spaces, for which there is a major lack of enthusiasm and willingness among the policymakers.

The earliest of the South Asian civilizations had a well-planned drainage system, be it the Harappan, or the Indus Valley civilization. A little study of these documents will arguably shame us to the core with reference to the existing situation.

It allows the free flow of water and in most cases prevents accumulation that can lead to flooding. Drainage systems also prevent the accumulation of stagnant water, which can encourage mosquitoes to breed. We may just turn out to be a mosquito free country.

‘Nala’ redevelopments are some of the important projects running that will ensure the health and life of our future generations. However, awareness and participation lacks in these projects. We never bother to even find out about the running projects, leave alone our own contribution. So just stopping by to request someone to not throw garbage on the road will not suffice. Why don’t we take a step forward and see if we can do more of such little things to contribute to a better world.

No city can dream to be a smart city unless it has a strong foundation. the foundation will decide the rigidity and structure of a place. Lack of proper drainage system contributes to alarming effects such as floods and collapsing infrastructure.

The main effect of increase in population is the encroachment of open spaces. We attempt to correct some anomalies, however remote in character and intentions. The outcome of this is disastrous as people find it difficult to maintain a balanced relation with nature. The people who have encroached these spaces and who live close to these ‘nalas’ are also the ones to spread the diseases. Therefore, the foremost thing to do is to remove the encroachments in the ‘nalas’. Also, the various obstructions due to various utility services in the flow of water should be removed. Due to systematic disposal of storm water from catchments to creek, water logging & flooding situations will be reduced. On the other hand, these spaces are unused for better purposes. The land is available and may be turned into a positive use with the right kind of steps taken. Once these steps are taken, the annual maintenance for repairing ‘nalas’ will be automatically reduced. We must redevelop underutilized parcels of land in important parts of a city to improve quality of life. Engaging youth in environmental protection not only creates direct impact on changing youth behaviors and attitudes, but possibly influence their parents, relatives and families.