Swachh Bharat: Hry Roadways driver’s novel idea helping keep bus clean

His novel idea to keep a Haryana Roadways bus neat and clean has worked and he is happy that not even a single commuter now litters the bus he drives.

Inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Vinod Kumar, who drives a Haryana Roadways bus from Sirsa to Suratgarh in Rajasthan, came up with an innovative idea. “As everyone knows drivers are very fond of music. Raagini, Haryanvi folk song, keeps the drivers’ mood on. I thought of replacing Raagini with recorded messages for passengers to keep the bus neat and clean. I went to a studio and recorded such audio messages,” he told HT.

“Keeping the bus clean is the duty of the driver and conductor. There was a time when I had to work hard to clean the bus after finishing my journey from Sirsa to Suratgarh. You will not believe that I daily ended up with a sack full of garbage, including papers, groundnut shells and dust,” he added.

Talking about the effectiveness of his new technique, he said, “I can see the change just within a month of starting recorded messages about the importance of cleanliness. As against the messages written inside the bus which the passengers usually ignore, the repeated audios effectively bring home the message loud and clear.”

Besides, there are other safety-related messages, telling the passengers not to board or de-board a moving bus.

When contacted, Haryana Roadways Sirsa depot general manager (GM) Suresh Kaswan said, “Sound system is provided in the bus for the drivers as music keeps them alert while driving. I too came to know that Vinod Kumar uses recorded messages to spread the idea of cleanliness among passengers. This is a very good idea. It is good to keep public property neat and clean.”