Make it a ‘habba’ in the true sense

Make it a ‘habba’ in the true sense
Deccan Herald

Ganesha habba is here again. It’s time for the modakas and the celebrations. Keeping in mind the unusual heavy rains at this time of the year, the colourful Ganeshas in blue, green, yellow and red are wearing tarpaulins over their heads to protect them from running colour. I am not sure if any of the artisans who come out every year with the Ganesha theme for the year, whether it be cricket, war, or tsunami as it seems to be this year, have thought of bringing this year's Ganeshas with a built in umbrella to protect them from the vagaries of the weather!

Being one of the most popular and enjoyable Indian festivals, the Ganesha Habba naturally would seem not much fun without colour, buntings and streamers. But once the habba is over, nobody seems to care about the filth on the streets. Take for example market areas like Ulsoor, Malleswaram, Wilson Gardens, Basavanagudi or Jayanagar, where the plantain leaves, flowers, fruits and the rest of the decorations are sold before the festival.

Go back the next day after the habba and you will see a filthy street, strewn with dry fronds, paper, withered flowers, et al.

And whose responsibility is it to clean these streets? We conveniently think it is the duty of the civic authorities. Why don't we realise that each one of us is responsible for all the filth and dirt that we leave behind on the streets and in our lakes, after each festival.

We do not hesitate to come down heavily on the civic authorities for the poor infrastructure, bad roads, blocked drains, traffic jams… But we shirk our responsibilities.

We have seen with the heavy rains in the last few months, how choked drains were one of the main reasons for flooding of roads and low lying areas.

As easy as it is to blame the civic authorities, how much of the plastic bags and garbage in the drains were thrown away by us? Aren't we equally responsible to maintain cleanliness of our neighbourhoods?

Bescom has requested people to celebrate a safe Ganesha habba and the Lake Development Authority is running a campaign to protect the City's lakes. Lakes, including Ulsoor Lake, Sankey Tank and the Lalbagh lake have all been cleaned up, desilted and the debris removed, so much so, that the lakes are looking their magnificent best, sparkling in the glow of the morning sun, giving hours of pleasure to those who walk by their side.

Through the campaign, the authorities are asking people to use immersion ponds within the lakes or mobile tanks to immerse their Ganesha idols. Ideally the small Ganeshas could be immersed in a bucket of water at home itself.

As a responsible civic society, we should celebrate the Ganesha habba keeping the safety of our family and friends and neighbours in mind, as much as of the society by not leaving behind a dirty city.

So have a great habba!