Lucknow a Smart City?

A Down Turn in City's Cleanliness.

- Stuti Mishra

Standing at the busiest place in Lucknow, Charbagh Railway station, one can see crowd moving in flash in order to catch their respective trains and be wherever they want to be on time. Just outside the station one cannot miss the site of people ruthlessly chewing Tobacco and spitting the betel juice anywhere they want to, without any sense of guilt. This is the state of today, the mindset, where people of all sections of society have forgotten their own ancestor's master piece. The Charbagh Railway station which is more than 100 years old now, is known all over India for its architectural marvel, with its domes and minarets,representing a beautiful amalgamation of Indo-Saracenic architecture. The structural design which is supposed to enthral the tourist at the onset of his journey stands stained with dirt, spit, and other human left over today. Irony is, till 1867, Char-bagh as the name suggests was a large orchard. A similar situation exists in every nook and corner of the city, people continue to forget that, this is the city which was known for its cultured dwellers. the question is, will Lucknow continue to be the 'the golden city of the East' or will it loose its identity of so called 'nawabi-city'?

There are countable public toilets, which people are hardly using; instead we see entire area being used as a pee ground. There is already an accepted fact that women public toilets are nonexistent as a concept which lead to open defecation. Places which are most populous like Charbagh, Alambagh and Husadiya Chauraha with people coming and going, in & out of the city have sadly become a hub of litter. There are so many small and big portion of lands which are serving as passengers clutter. On goers keep these coming. The junk is continuously rising with no accountability. But who is to be blamed here? The common people who do not see any dustbins around? Or those who are not aware of the ill hazard of these acts?