If you were one of those who happened to pass by the bus stop near the Rajiv Gandhi Statue on Saturday morning, chances are that you would not have escaped the hectic activity at the community tap assembled on an ad hoc basis. Slim chance also that you would have gotten away without participating in the symbolic act underway there.
Leading from the front in the Global Handwashing Day observance was Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi who rallied women from varied backgrounds around her in the campaign to promote hand hygiene.
Ms. Bedi, who has shown that she hardly minds getting her hands dirty when she joined the conservancy brigade to clean a canal, was this time fronting a campaign for keeping hands clean.
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Once an aide poured a few drops from a liquid dispenser, the Lt. Governor proceeded to provide an elaborate demonstration on what is a simple enough act, but with a serious message.
As Ms. Bedi went through the sequence — wetting, lathering, scrubbing, rinsing and wiping dry — groups of motivated women around her joined in with gusto. In fact, enthusiastic volunteers were also seen cajoling everyone who passed by to have a handwash wherever they were headed to.
No action yet on tackling monsoon
While Puducherry government is holding several meetings and preparing comprehensive action plans to tackle the monsoon, nothing much seems to have changed at the ground level.
The Puducherry Municipality has started desilting to clear the clog in the big and small canals at several places. The silt removed from the canals is left on the roads without being cleared for days.
While the officials claim that the waste removed from the canals can be transported only after it is dried, it is left on the road and then washed back into the canals again during rainfall.
The vigour and momentum shown to frame policies seems to wane away when it comes to clearing the silt. Will the government officials reach the goals set before the onset of North East Monsoon?
( By M. Dinesh Varma and S. Senthalir )