MUMBAI, October 23: In the recent past, prominent citizens have been out to make this a better place to live in, their efforts ranging from banning fire-crackers, to penalising people for littering the streets, to holding exhibitions for public awareness.The impact, though, has barely matched the fervour of the endeavours.In their effort for change, some went a step ahead by advising the public to condem the culprits: Say `Chee', proclaimed an advertisement to those who wanted to express their disgust for those who litter. The latest to hit the road is a campaign against noise pollution, with Diwali round the bend.Sheriff Usha Kiron has appealed for restraint on fire crackers, as it is one of the single largest source of sound pollution. She launched the campaign when she took over as the Sheriff of Mumbai in December last year.The best way to spread the good word is by inviting the public for open debate to perceive their reactions to the campaign, says Kiron. ``When I took over as the Sheriff and was asked about my priorities, I singled out noise pollution. However, it was only during the Navratri festival that the issue came to the fore."She further added, "I am not waging a war, only creating an awareness." During Navratri, she toured the city accompanied by police, to check if the Mumbai High Court order against playing loudspeakers after 11:30 pm was being followed. She found that instead of adhering to the court orders, people questioned her as to why the same strictures were not implemented during other festivals as well. Kiron said, people took offence at her efforts and gave it a communal colour.Likewise, her open-debates also did not seem to serve any purpose. A discussion organised at the University of Mumbai on October 20, turned out to be a damp squib with meagre attendance.The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation also pitched in to "clean the city". Mayor Vishakha Raut launched the KhoobSurat Drive on January 1 this year, to rid the city of garbage. Six months later, the heaps of garbage remained. This, despite BMC officials and Raut's frequent visits to some chronic spots.Later, the corporation re-packaged it to declare August 15 as zero garbage day. So far, the BMC has spent about Rs 70 lakh, informed officer on special duty Subhash Dalvi. However, the corporation has cleverly recovered the same amount in the form of penalty for spitting and littering the streets. About two lakh people have been penalised, with amounts ranging from Rs 50 to Rs 5,000, per person.Although initial enthusiasm has dulled, Dalvi maintains that efforts to clear the garbage on a day-to-day basis is on. He feels drastic changes can now be seen in some parts of the city which had been neglected for years, including private slums which is under the BMC purview. The drive has made an impact in areas like Sagar Kutir in Versova, where the residents have adopted vermiculture. Also, at Ranade Road, Dadar, shopkeepers have started using dustbins to dispose their vegetable waste.Meanwhile, the Save Beach campaign, spearheaded by residents of Versova, lost momentum mid-way. Rahul Barar, one of the campaigners, claims that beaches cannot be cleaned completely until the slum-dwellers here are relocated and rehabilitated. Says he: ``Any amount of cleaning will not help and until the state government does not rehabilitate the hutments, the beaches will remain dirty.''He added that the collector and the municipal corporation has not taken any action at Versova so far and the access to the beach is still depressing. The money needed to keep the beach clean is contributed by the residents, said Barar. Even security guards have been employed at Versova beach to keep a check on the people littering here.
