Let’s step out and make a difference

In the aftermath of the long Independence Day weekend, I am sure you do not want to read about the Prime Minister’s lacklustre speech and our squabbling politicians. However, since the celebrations were seriously overshadowed by the tragic deaths of children in Gorakhpur, I feel we must give serious thought to certain glaring holes in our civic system.

I have little hope that the official or free media will do anything more than put out stories that either defend or attack the government’s efforts. The time has come for all of us to take responsibility for the priorities we have set in our lives and ask whether in New India, can we continue to carry on as always?

When two-thirds of our population is young, what can be more important than their welfare? By this I mean health and education should be our most important areas of reform. For years we have bemoaned the rapid unravelling of the country’s public education and health system and yet, what have you and I done to make a difference? Learned educationists and social scientists have submitted reports commissioned by the government but these lie unread in some dusty corner. Huge sums of money are set aside and no one knows whether these funds are being utilised properly. In the case of hospitals, private and public partnerships are set up to provide healthcare but more often than not, these sums are siphoned off in that famous Indian ‘Vanishing Trick’ perfected by years of rampant corruption and neglect.

These facts are known to all of us and yet not one of us does anything about it until a tragedy like the Gorakhpur children’s hospital breaks. If this can take place under the nose of the state’s Chief Minister and one who is seen by many as a doer and incorruptible person, then what can one say of the rest of the country? True, our enormous population defeats the good intentions of any government and a lack of funds and medical personnel are severe handicaps but the time has come to recommend some out-of-the-box ideas and try them out. Here are some that I can think of and I am sure readers will add many more. 

Community centres (such as Kejriwal’s mohalla clinics) need to be set up in all municipal wards. They need one doctor, one nurse, one pharmacist, one lab technician and a cleaner. Every mohalla has people who can volunteer to clean, assist and provide support to the patients. There are many retired people who will willingly help out if asked to give an hour or two every week. Why not tap the services of those who have the experience and will to give?

In addition, there are doctors who are willing to work for free once a week to provide additional help and expertise to lessen the load on the local doctor. Space can always be carved out from within the area itself. I was recently in Kumaon staying in a village where a primary health centre set up by an NGO has succeeded in providing a neo-natal and maternal healthcare and basic medical aid. Doctors from hospitals of nearby towns come in a regular cycle and conduct mobile clinics to reach those who live in inaccessible places. Patients are then recommended for further treatment in the larger hospitals. All this has eased the pressure on hospitals where a large number of patients do not need anything more than a simple consultation. I am confident that there are enough philanthropists and volunteers who will open their hearts and purses if they know that the money they donate is well-utilized. 

Similarly, our primary education needs an injection of fresh support. In my own colony there are at least 20 people I can name who are retired schoolteachers or can help with extra tuition and help in English and maths (the two subjects that need most attention). The club has enough room for a durri and a blackboard that can be set up to hold remedial classes for the children of the household helps who spend a huge chunk of their wages on sending their children for ‘toosun’ to illiterate teachers because they have no time or expertise to oversee their children’s homework. This can also become a means of supervising the quality of education being given in our local government schools and putting pressure on absent teachers to come regularly. In short, community effort has to step in where the government is unable or unwilling to do more.

We all agree that Swachch Bharat is a very noble movement but the reason it has been so slow in implementation is because those who live in swachch areas see no reason to help others clean their surroundings. Every gated community is spotless but step outside and you have to jump over piles of garbage and filthy drains. I have been reading on the net of citizens’ endeavours in Bengaluru and Mumbai and lowered my head in shame at our own indifference. In Gurgaon, young couples who lead busy weekday lives don masks and gloves to clean their areas every weekend. How difficult can it be to ask every colony to do the same? One visit from our local MP or municipal corporator can make a difference but how long can we afford to wait for them? 

Gandhiji was the last person who made a difference because he led by example. Reflect on that and step out.