Look Before You Pee, Swacch Sewak Might Catch You

Men in Delhi will have to take care when they want to answer the call of nature in public. New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has announced that 28 turbaned, brightly-coloured mascots will be deployed around Lutyen’s Delhi to teach people in public spaces to use bins to throw waste, not to pee in public and not to spit on the roads.

There are a large number of men who go around peeing in public near the dumps and in slum areas. It makes women around them uncomfortable and some spaces even reek of urine.

These mascots, named ‘Swacch Sewaks’, will survey 14 sanitation circles under the jurisdiction of NDMC. It is a new development in the Narendra Modi-led Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

“The decision has been taken by the Council taking into consideration the upcoming Swachta Sarvekshan 2017 being conducted by the Ministry of Urban Development from January 4 onwards," a senior official said, as reported by DNA.

These Swacch Sevaks include people from both the civic body’s sanitation workers and others employed to do the job. The main area of focus will be populated areas that people visit on a daily basis like markets, railway station, bus stop, parks, slum clusters etc.

“Special attention has been given to spots such as JJ clusters and along railway tracks under the jurisdiction of NDMC to curb the practice of open defecation and urination," the official said.

The NDMC’s approach to the Swacch Bharat Campaign has been active. Last year, it was ranked fourth in the list by the Urban Development Ministry. This year, NDMC is eyeing the first spot.

ALSO READ: Women In Indian Village Take it Upon Themselves to Build Toilets

“If a person is found defecating or urinating in the open, the mascot will blow a whistle, catch the person on the spot and take action," said the NDMC, as quoted by The Hindu.

Public defecation is one of the issues that have its roots in rural Indian culture where earlier people used to go out in the fields to relieve themselves. It has also facilitated many crimes against women. Since women have to be more conscious of when to relieve themselves, it makes them more vulnerable. They either have to wake up early or go out late in the night and both the times have proved to be quite scary.

Public credit- One India