Cleanliness is next to Godliness. It is a saying that we hear right from our childhood, but when the time comes to put it into practice we find a multitude of excuses. Some people, however, believe in the saying and take effort to practice it.
Promita Banerjee had looked forward eagerly to come to Kerala when she came to know that her husband Wing Commander Kalyan Raman was being transferred here. The images of clean, green and pristine places came up in her mind. She was thrilled to set forth to her new home in one of the most beautiful places on earth. She, however, got a terrible shock when she arrived here and saw garbage everywhere. Garbage and filth has defiled God’s own country!
Taking a firm and steadfast decision to make a difference, she, along with nine children and backed by Air Force Wives Welfare Association (AFWWA), started a mission to clean the streets of Kakkanad and surrounding areas. However, as with everything novel, instead of appreciation and support all she received was ridicule.
“People think it is convenient to do nothing. As a result, the streets have turned into dumping ground for garbage,” says Promita. “Cities abroad are as beautiful as our place. But it is cleanliness which enhances their beauty.”
Promita, who is the president of AFWWA, found ready reckon for her ideas among the parents. The children, whose summer holidays have begun, too were very happy to do something constructive and socially relevant activity. Her small warriors, aged 8 to 17, took upon the task to rid the streets of filth with zeal and determination. In the past one week, they have collected non-bio degradable waste dumped by the shopkeepers on the roads and footpaths. They disposed the waste by incinerating the non toxic ones and recycling the non-biodegradable ones.
However, this army of child social workers had to bear the brunt of harsh criticism instead of the praise of which they deserve the most. All these children come from defence background and are being supported by AFWWA which provided them with masks and gloves needed for their operation.
Promita said that such a negligence towards cleanliness is least expected from the residents of the most literate state. “Moving from Bihar to Kerala, I was very much surprised. The most illiterate state was way cleaner,” she says.
She also pointed out the prevalence of bias in the city shocked her. “A few days ago, a child who was engaged in cleaning the waste was asked by a shopkeeper, where he was from. The child said that he stays in Kerala, but is not a Malayali. Hearing this, the shopkeeper questioned the child’s need to clean a place where he did not belong,” she says. She deplored the absence of the sense of belonging among Indians. “People identify themselves as a Malayali, Punjabi or a Bengali. But at the time of a war or a disaster, these won’t help them,” she says.
Criticisms don’t deter Promita from continuing her mission. She has decided to recruit the youngsters to further her mission.