Saffron turban, yellow t-shirt and aqua blue Jodhpuri pants! This striking image of a mascot will be introduced on New Delhi streets. He will now be a whistle blower for open defecation or urination on the streets and near Railway platforms. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has now introduced these ‘Swachh Sewaks’, cleanliness mascots, to stop open defecation.
According to reports, more than five lakh people in Delhi opt for open defecation. Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, which is a government slum development organization has been given the task of making the NCR region defecation free. There are supposedly 259 open defecation places in New Delhi. The organization issued that there is a need for 24,306 toilet seats in the New Delhi constituency.
The mascot will be an NDMC employee in the costume. He will blow the whistle anytime he finds someone openly defecating, shaming them and the offender will be caught. A senior NMDC official said, “We don’t want to fine them immediately. So we will just shame them.”
As of now 14 constituencies out of 70 in New Delhi have these mascots. The mascot plan came up as a part of the Union urban development ministry’s Swachta Sarvekshan 2017. The NMDC official also said, “In case any person is found defecating or urinating in the open, a whistle will be blown by the mascot and the person will be caught on the spot. Appropriate action will be taken against him.”
The Centre also decided that if this Swachh Sevak Mascot program is successful, it will be implemented in all major cities across the country.
