HYGIENE – OUR (India) & THEIR (UK)

PARAMETER	OURS	THEIRS
TOILETS	A rare concept in rural India. Cleaned weekly if exists Equipments & accessories not up to the mark. Those that are up to the mark are too costly to afford Public toilets are dirty even after a paid service Despite best efforts to have clean toilets in trains, privatisation has kept them somewhat clean! Concept of hygienic disposable toilet seat covers is so new that most of the literate users of the commode do not know about it's existence	A must must have Cleaned daily or on alternate days Equipments & accessories are of excellent make and are not of bounds for the commoner Public toilets are clean Toilets are fit for human use Pay & use toilets are super clean
FOOTPATHS	Concept of minimalism Dirty if they exist at all Squatters and vendors occupy ¾ A good source of income for the local police, the councillor ot municipality and the local goon A good place to dump garbage/refuse Not meant for pedestrians at all	A must must have We take photos sitting on them Squatters/Vendors – a strict no no. Separate areas earmarked Concept to dump garbage unimaginable
ROADS	Some roads are cleaned/washed in a few cities – thanks to the Raj. We learned from them but don't want to carry on the legacy of the RAJ Mostly narrow. And, so narrow that can be accessed only on cycle rickshaw or bicycle Lack of vision and foresight on futuristic requirement A place to throw garbage and refuse including new born unwanted babies. A place to hold rallies, demonstrations and offer prayers No concept of all-weather roads No upgradation in building materials. Still following pre independence era in engineering No quality control in maintenance or new works	Dedicatedly clean them and ensure that they remain clean Educate their citizens by imposing hefty fines for littering Width and quality meet durability Excellent vision and foresight to serve the populace for at least 100 years Not used for loitering
GARBAGE	Collected during working hours Spillover on roads that are never to be cleared Liberty of the free citizen to dump it anywhere convenient No segregation of garbage before disposal in semi urban areas. Segregation exists in urban areas but poorly conducted/followed	Collected before working hours No concept of spillover on roads as collection mechanism is faultless and trucks are well covered. No such liberty of fundamental rights Segregation is strict
WATER	A rare and scarce commodity except in some metros where good networks were developed during the RAJ Quality is doubtful Need to heavily invest on water purifiers that are sold at a premium to gullible customers who don't feel short-changed at the hands of the unscrupulous	A rare and scarce commodity well managed Quality is assured Save such investments (purchase + AMC)
HEALTHCARE	Hospitals are in pitiable condition Inhuman healing touch No value for life Duping the ill is an accepted way of life	Healthcare is very costly Effective healthcare
TRANSPORT	Prehistoric Everyone waits for the rains to clean the vehicles pressed into public transport system At the mercy of the drivers and the conductor No regard for traffic rules No regard for safety It is easy to compensate victims of an accident rather install security devices that could save lives and public property - INHUMAN	Neat and clean Very systematic Punctual Flouting traffic rules is unimaginable Flouting safety norms is unimaginable

OVERALL CONDITION : Unliveable.... Sh. Bhanot is after-all correct by our standards.

Despite open bungling of public money, citizens cannot do anything to bring the culprits to the book. Moreover, they'll escape through high security channels whenever there's a case registered to apprehend them.

Perhaps time is the biggest healer! May we go 60 years more into post independence to realise our follies!