The one thing uppermost is everyone’s mind is how the state of Goa is going to grapple with the ‘garbage bomb’ that is threatening the state with dire consequences. But the fact that is always forgotten is that cleanliness has more to do with the state of the mind. A clean mind is not limited to just clean thoughts but also about thinking on how to keep our surroundings clean. Everything about cleanliness is all up there in the mind. But many a times we refuse to accept this fact. How clean we want our surrounding to be vastly depends on our perception of cleanliness and to which areas this cleanliness should extend. Some may be living with the impression that the garbage that we produce should end up in the neighbours’ compound. So we do not think twice about dumping the garbage we produce in the neighbour’s compound in the darkness of the night.
For many, cleanliness is limited to the space within the four walls of their homes. Many have the feeling that keeping the surrounding areas outside of our homes is not their job. It is the task of the municipal workers. So we do not think twice while dumping the garbage on the pavement, by the roadside and in the open spaces. Some could even be living with the false impression that open spaces are spots meant to dump the garbage. “Out of sight is out of mind” so they say. Many probably feel that this is all the more true when it comes to garbage disposal. So they pack the garbage bags in their vehicles and dump it in the open fields far away from their dwellings.
