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Healthy environment for healthy people
Healthy environment for healthy people, the two are inseparable ideas in a state like Kerala. Food and lifestyle is not only the factors determining for staying healthy, we have to create an environment optimum healthy and safe. As Keralites, we have to strive hard for a ‘ Zero waste Kerala ‘.
When you take a closer look at the condition of the road on both the sides, it resembles more of a municipal waste dumping site. This is where hundreds of people come to take an early morning walk towards better health. More importantly, this is the same stretch of roads that our international and domestic tourists have come to see from faraway lands. Even though not officially designated as a waste dumping site, Kerala roads serve that purpose. Wastes of various kind,i.e, construction related waster materials, municipal solid waste, food waste, tender coconut waste, packing materials etc are strewn right across the whole length of the road.
We, Keralites, claim ourselves to be literate and educated, when it comes to public well-being, we are very slow to respond. As open dumping is prohibited by law in Kerala, mainly this dumping takes place because the local people do not object to this or some wastes are dumped by local people itself. We are very much caught up in the ‘Not in my Backyard’ syndrome. We take much effort to maintain our house and surrounding compound clean. But all public places are considered as wastelands. We don’t realise that water, air, smell, flies, mosquitoes etc…, are not limited by our compound walls.
In the case of many waste like plastic, tender coconut husks, many other wastes retain water for very long time and act as perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other vectors. Keralites have not yet fully recovered from the attack of Chickenguniya, through our consumeristic lifestyles leading to higher waste generation and its careless disposal in open public area, we are very much inviting other epidemic outbreaks like this. This needs to change.
Each individual should be a responsible citizen and not only take care of his house and family, but should also be concerned about his surrounding environment and society. Individually we can’t achieve anything, but standing together we can. A healthy environment nurtures healthy citizens, thereby leading to a healthy society.
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