Swachh Bharat Mission — A Clean Environment; A Healthier Environment
A clean environment is the key to a disease-free and healthier life. Be it your home, streets, or public offices, cleanliness is necessary for efficiency as well as happiness. In India, there’s even a greater need for awareness about the importance of a cleaner environment. Because initiatives are only born when the seeds of awareness have been planted. In 2014, Swachh Bharat Mission campaign was launched in India and its primary objective was to clean up all the Indian streets, roads, infrastructures, cities (Swachh Bharat Urban) and villages (Swachh Bharat Rural). But to achieve the dream of a cleaner India, we need a micro Swachh Bharat Mission in our personal lives. Here are six things you should and shouldn’t do that will help keep your environment clean:
1: Reduce your carbon footprint
Carbon footprint of a person refers to the amount of CO2 s/he releases individually through their daily activities. As an upstanding citizen, our role should be to reduce our carbon footprint as much as possible. This can be done by using energy-efficient products and cutting down on the unnecessary use of electrical appliances.
2: Walk, use a bicycle or carpool
Vehicles are a major cause of air pollution (and even noise pollution). One easy way to help keep the environment clean is to reduce your vehicular use. Need to go somewhere close by? Walk or better yet, use a bicycle (that way you can also stay fit). If you need to go somewhere far away, carpooling is the way to go. Today, many websites and apps offer carpooling services.
3: Cut down on your plastic use
Do not accept plastic bags from shopkeepers, demand a cloth bag or better yet, carry your own when you go out shopping! Plastic is a clean environment’s archenemy because it is non-biodegradable.
4: Take it to the streets
When you see any piece of trash lying by, just pick it up and throw it in the nearest trash-bin. Make it a habit to do it at least 5 times a day. This small act, if performed by many, can make a huge amount of difference. But don’t worry about the ‘many’, just start yourself, others will fall into line.
5: Use less paper
It’s the digital age; avoid using paper. Try printing less, don’t use paper bags, instead use cloth bags. Papers are made out of dead trees. And if we want to save our environment, we need more trees
6: Become a part of an NGO or any organisation working for a clean environment
This is perhaps the easiest way to make a mark. It’s only when a lot of people come together, they can achieve significant change. Initiatives like India Sanitation Coalition are actually working day and night to materialize the dream of a clean and healthy India.
