Teizeen:
So far, we have probably walked several miles on Indian streets. We think we're averaging 5-6 miles a day of walking, and since we've been here for over a month, that comes up to more than 150 miles of walking so far. Most of this (so far) has been amid bustling city streets, with people trying to sell us their goods, child beggars asking for spare change, and spectators staring at us from the sidelines. We're also slowly becoming expert jay-walkers; you'll be waiting on one side of the road forever if you wait for the traffic to clear. So, you have to weave through the traffic whenever you want to cross the road.
Most of the cities so far have dirty streets, scattered with litter, the odd roaming cow (and piles of cow poop to match), and skinny stray dogs curled up in odd corners. I'll be frank: the streets are dirty, with wifts of poop and urine in many places. There is no centralized wastewater treatment, so there are open sewers lining the streets, funneling liquid waste of all sorts downhill to the nearest river or stream. Delhi recently had to close some of its water treatment plants (and water supply/delivery to several areas) because of high levels of ammonia in the river. There are also obvious spots where men urinate on the side of the road. We've become used to the dirty smelly streets now, watching our step and warning each other about the next pile of cow poop.
So, when we arrived in Chandigarh (north of Delhi), the streets almost caught us by surprise: they were clean. Not only clean, they were straight, in a grid-like pattern. We hadn't realized what we'd become used to until it wasn't there anymore. There were trash cans, and underground sewers. And now, we have come even further north up to Shimla, where there are state laws prohibiting littering (the fine for littering can be a hefty Rs. 5000 = $ 125 !! There is also a fine for spitting, and plastic bags are banned). There are also public bathrooms.
I don't know about the history of Shimla's litterling laws and how they got implemented, but it seems like the city (and the state it is in) a model for the rest of the country. However, the town is small, while most of the other cities we've been to are much larger in population, which makes the problem much more difficult to tackle. Also, Shimla is perched amongst steep hillsides, making open sewers less feasible simply because of topography. If there were open sewers here, they would be like mini-waterfalls!
Right now, I cannot see how the transformation from dirty streets to clean streets can happen in a country of this size. It would require drastic behavior change from every individual who walks the streets: no littering, no spitting, no urinating. When Ryan and I need to trash something while we walk the streets, we have no options. We end up carrying our waste back to our hotel room's trash can. But who knows where that end up; I haven't seen big dumpsters anywhere. Individual efforts may be in vain until the whole system changes at a massive scale. And when I say massive, I mean massive: some way to change the behavior of over a billion people who walk the streets of India, and one that treats the waste generated by them.
I'm sure there are genuine efforts to do this in a country of this size, and I may not have the chance to experience the results during this trip. Nevertheless, the magnitude of the problem remains immense.
So far, we have probably walked several miles on Indian streets. We think we're averaging 5-6 miles a day of walking, and since we've been here for over a month, that comes up to more than 150 miles of walking so far. Most of this (so far) has been amid bustling city streets, with people trying to sell us their goods, child beggars asking for spare change, and spectators staring at us from the sidelines. We're also slowly becoming expert jay-walkers; you'll be waiting on one side of the road forever if you wait for the traffic to clear. So, you have to weave through the traffic whenever you want to cross the road.
Most of the cities so far have dirty streets, scattered with litter, the odd roaming cow (and piles of cow poop to match), and skinny stray dogs curled up in odd corners. I'll be frank: the streets are dirty, with wifts of poop and urine in many places. There is no centralized wastewater treatment, so there are open sewers lining the streets, funneling liquid waste of all sorts downhill to the nearest river or stream. Delhi recently had to close some of its water treatment plants (and water supply/delivery to several areas) because of high levels of ammonia in the river. There are also obvious spots where men urinate on the side of the road. We've become used to the dirty smelly streets now, watching our step and warning each other about the next pile of cow poop.
So, when we arrived in Chandigarh (north of Delhi), the streets almost caught us by surprise: they were clean. Not only clean, they were straight, in a grid-like pattern. We hadn't realized what we'd become used to until it wasn't there anymore. There were trash cans, and underground sewers. And now, we have come even further north up to Shimla, where there are state laws prohibiting littering (the fine for littering can be a hefty Rs. 5000 = $ 125 !! There is also a fine for spitting, and plastic bags are banned). There are also public bathrooms.
I don't know about the history of Shimla's litterling laws and how they got implemented, but it seems like the city (and the state it is in) a model for the rest of the country. However, the town is small, while most of the other cities we've been to are much larger in population, which makes the problem much more difficult to tackle. Also, Shimla is perched amongst steep hillsides, making open sewers less feasible simply because of topography. If there were open sewers here, they would be like mini-waterfalls!
Right now, I cannot see how the transformation from dirty streets to clean streets can happen in a country of this size. It would require drastic behavior change from every individual who walks the streets: no littering, no spitting, no urinating. When Ryan and I need to trash something while we walk the streets, we have no options. We end up carrying our waste back to our hotel room's trash can. But who knows where that end up; I haven't seen big dumpsters anywhere. Individual efforts may be in vain until the whole system changes at a massive scale. And when I say massive, I mean massive: some way to change the behavior of over a billion people who walk the streets of India, and one that treats the waste generated by them.
I'm sure there are genuine efforts to do this in a country of this size, and I may not have the chance to experience the results during this trip. Nevertheless, the magnitude of the problem remains immense.
Chandigarh is in the Punjab which is the breadbasket of India as well as the Pakistani side. Btw, Jodhpur's nickname is the 'Pink City' but while so many of the historical buildings are still pink, quite a bit of the town itself seems to be changing colour - to blue! I've been looking at your pics and they are wonderful. Thanks for bringing back memories of my own trip and of the constant crowds one has to contend with not to mention the dirt and the stench, of course.
ReplyDeleteJodhpur is known as the 'blue city' (at least, according to our travel guide), and Jaipur is known as the 'pink city' because of its sandstone buildings. It is easy to get all the 'purs' confused (Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jaipur, Fatehpur...)
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, you're right! I actually meant Jaipur and it's a relief to know that it's still 'pink'!
ReplyDelete