Lucknow struggles to shed its ‘spitting’ image
Once known for its beautiful evenings, parks and walkways, the ‘city of nawabs’ is yet to see an aggressive campaign against public spitting
Vidhan Sabha speaker Satish Mahana has brought the spotlight on a civic issue that is usually put on the back burner but impacts each and every citizen. On Tuesday, he chided an MLA, though he didn’t name him, for spitting ‘pan masala’ or chewing tobacco on the carpet at the entrance of the main Assembly hall.
Gutkha or paan stains on footpaths and public walls have earned the state capital a bad name. More often than not, Lucknow’s streets are also littered with biscuit wrappers, leftover food, eggshells, half-eaten fruits and the like.
“When people spit out gutkha and stain a small portion of a wall or road, they also leave behind a permanent scar. In Lucknow, public spaces are treated like open trash cans. People who recklessly toss a wrapper or packet out of a moving rickshaw here would think a hundred times before doing something like that abroad,” said Rohil Mehta, a concerned citizen and orthopedic surgeon.
Why does one spit? This simple question does not call for any thought-provoking answer. According to some medical practitioners, while spitting is a necessity for those who chew paan and gutkha, for others it may be an act to display. “Some do it to get rid of frustration and beat stress while others use it as a tool for expression of resentment, disgust, disrespect, disapproval and a wide variety of emotions,” Dr Mehta said.
This abject lack of civic sense not only makes the city look ugly, but makes a mockery out of the taxpayers’ money that civic bodies spend to keep the city clean. Worse still, there has been no campaign or drive to stop people from spitting in public places in Lucknow. In recent times, the district administration, with the help of some voluntary organisations, may have painted pictures of religious figures on the walls, but the endeavour failed miserably.
Spitting and littering seem to have become the new identity of the ‘city of nawabs’, which was once known for its beautiful evenings, parks and walkways. “Now, people don’t even spare carpets in multiplexes. Somewhere, we have lacked in educating a whole section of society, focusing only on making them literate,” said Deepak Agarwal, a businessman.
Those putting up in high-rise buildings have similar complaints. “The walls have ‘Do Not Spit’ written on every floor of the building I live in. But I am sorry to say that there are pan masala stains everywhere,” lamented Meera Srivastava, who lives in a posh locality on Gokhale Marg.
How Lucknow Metro keeps it clean
The state of the city is in strong contrast to Lucknow Metro’s stations and trains. All 21 metro stations in a stretch of 23.5 km are stain-free despite the fact that over 85,000 passengers use this public transport daily. Panchanan Mishra, the spokesperson for Lucknow Metro, said, “At the frisking points, we educate our passengers, through displays, about the ban on gutkha and other tobacco products inside trains. Before we let them in, we make sure that they lose all gutkha, pan masala, ‘loose supari’ and cigarette packets in wooden boxes before hitching their ride.”
In other metros, municipal corporations of the city concerned take up clean-up campaigns, but in Lucknow things are different. “More than a decade ago, Mumbai saw a ‘Chakachak Mumbai’ campaign. But Lucknow has not seen anything like this,” said Koustav, a Lucknowite who worked in Mumbai before shifting base to Lucknow early this year.
“Charity begins at home but it should not end there. Let’s take it to the streets also. If we can keep our rooms, home and work stations neat and clean, then why not the city, which is our very own. It is the responsibility of the citizens of Lucknow to do their bit to make the city look neater and cleaner and set an example for others to replicate,” says Dr Jyotsna Mehta, a gynaecologist.
Littering and spitting in public places should be declared an offence and proper fine should be imposed, felt Geetika Kapoor, the principal of St Teresa’s College. “We should all join hands to create a healthy environment by creating examples with our own behaviour. The first step starts from our own home,” she added.
Rohit Kant, an advocate in the high court, said: “The common attitude of people is -- so long as my house is clean, I really don’t care about the neighbourhood.”
Social activists like Anshumali Sharma felt that the lack of bins in public spaces leaves people with no choice but to litter. He said, “The system alone cannot be a driving force. It has to be driven by people and mass movement. A little bit of civic sense can make a big difference in keeping the city clean,” he emphasised.
What is the solution? Perhaps it’s time that the government considered a ban on paan, pan masala and other tobacco products, suggested another citizen. Awareness about cleanliness must be raised in schools, colleges and even offices, said Prof Rakesh Chandra of Lucknow University.
