A video showing a worker sweeping up trash scattered on the floor of a train has sparked a heated debate on social media about civic sense and cleanliness in India. The clip, shared on X (formerly Twitter), shows a janitor diligently sweeping garbage from underneath the seats of a train. The amount of discarded trash, including empty water bottles, plastic bags, and paper, is enough to block the passage. The caption accompanying the video reads, “It’s a shame that India will take minimum 35 years more to get a basic civic sense.”
The specific route on which his train was running is not known. However, the video has accumulated more than 1.5 million views on the microblogging site. It has also garnered significant attention from netizens, who expressed disappointment and frustration over the state of cleanliness in public transport.
Watch the video below:
It’s a shame that India will take minimum 35 years more to get a basic civic sense. 😪 pic.twitter.com/Ax84uCRICA
— Godman Chikna (@Madan_Chikna) May 25, 2024
In the comments section, while some users criticised the lack of civic sense among passengers, others offered suggestions on how to improve cleanliness in trains.
“Civic sense is a habit, and as a society we seriously lack it. It’s not like we have not taught it, we just not habituated to do so,” wrote one user. “Civic sense or empathetic behaviour cannot be taught. It’s a self-learning process,” said another.
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“What can people do if they r not provided with a dustbin to put all this trash into ? Or they found 1 dustbin for the whole compartment which was already full ??” questioned a third user. “Cleanliness is a function of administration and civilians both. Any one can’t get it right without the other contributing to it,” comments another.
Meanwhile, one user suggested, “If every one take care of their own trash – half our problems will get sorted.”
“Yes I agree but they provide 1 small dustbin for the entire coach which isn’t cleaned in the entire journey so passengers either will throw it on tracks or like in this video under the seat. Railways also has to increase the efficiency of services they provide after taking so much amount from people,” said another.
“Need a generational shift in people mindset and strict public rules,” commented one user.
