SLC-S29/W1-“Thinking and Ideas!| If You Were in Charge!”

Hello dear fellow Steemians, how are you all? I hope you are doing well. Today, I am here to participate in this contest, and I hope I will be able to express my ideas clearly and do justice to what has been asked of us. Although there are many issues in our community and country, the one I want to talk about here is the menace of dumping waste into beautiful streams that contain crystal-clear water. So here I go.

If you were given full authority for one year in your community or country, what is the first issue you would address?

I wish I were given full authority in my community—not in my country, but at least in my own community. That would truly be a phase of my life dedicated to the well-being of my society. What I would do is ensure that the streams which have already been polluted to a great extent are cleaned, so that we once again get the same crystal-clear water we used to have some 10–15 years ago. Back then, even if there was no rainfall for months, we never faced any scarcity of clean drinking water, simply because these clear streams were available in our vicinity.

But now, with the increased consumption of materials bought from the market, most of which come wrapped in polythene and plastic, the situation has changed drastically. Since our area does not fall under any proper authority, and there is no responsible body for collecting this waste, people have found it easy to dump it along the banks of these streams. Eventually, this waste rolls into the water and makes it dirty. The water that we once used for drinking and cleaning purposes is now considered toxic, and people do not even want to wash their feet in it. Many consider this water to be highly allergic, all because of the waste that people themselves have added to it.

If I were given authority even for a short period or for a year, I would definitely mobilize people to clean these streams. This would not only help us restore nature but would also ease our problems to a great extent. During times of low rainfall in the summer season, we are forced, even in this modern age, to carry water from long distances because there is no alternative source other than the drinking water supply provided by the government. Even though a stream flows right beside our homes, unfortunately, we cannot use its water.

Why did you choose this issue over others?

Despite having so many issues around us, I have chosen this one because where there is life, there is everything—and if the essentials of life are missing, nothing else really matters. For all living beings, water is something we cannot survive without, and for that reason, ensuring the availability of water for my society would always be my top priority. Any other issues we face can be addressed later, but matters that are essential for life hold primary importance.

I know the difficulties we face during the dry summer months when there is no rainfall for long periods. I have seen people carrying water on their heads, in vehicles, and over long distances just for drinking purposes. The stream that flows through our village could have been a great source of water, and we would never have felt any scarcity, even if there were no rainfall throughout the year. We could have easily accessed water from this source without putting in much effort.

What is that one difficult decision you would have to make?

The main difficulty I would face in doing this would be mobilizing people and providing them with alternative dumping sites where they could dispose of their waste easily, without much effort or investment. This would certainly be a challenge, but with a concerted effort, it would be possible to identify suitable sites. There is a large amount of land on the outskirts of our village that does not belong to any private individual or authority and is owned collectively by the village as a whole. Such places could be identified and developed as dumping sites.

However, people who own land nearby or live on the outskirts of the village would likely oppose this idea, as these dumping sites would undoubtedly produce foul smells and attract birds, dogs, and other scavenging animals. This would again be a challenge. Still, I believe that with collective effort, public participation, and proper guidance, these obstacles can be overcome. Through crowdfunding, we could arrange machinery to segregate waste and also decompose it in a scientific manner.

It could also become a source of income generation. A nominal fee could be levied on commercial units in the village as well as on households, which would help in maintaining and running this machinery. But all of this would be challenging. First, people would need to be made aware of the importance of sanitation, and establishing a sustainable income-generation mechanism would not be easy. That, in my view, would be the most difficult part of the entire process. People who currently dump their waste freely into open streams would naturally question why they should pay a fee for proper waste disposal.

How would you explain this decision to people who disagree with you?

Explaining all this to people would definitely be challenging, especially when some of them may be unemployed or reluctant to change. Still, I would put in all my efforts to make people understand the importance of sanitation and the vital role these streams play in our lives. Clean streams can truly ease our daily struggles, and I would try my best to make people realize this by organizing awareness activities that clearly convey these messages.

I would also hold meetings with responsible and respected members of society who could help me mobilize people on these issues. Along with awareness, we would take practical steps—such as testing the water at regular intervals while simultaneously removing waste from the streams in different phases. The results of these tests would then be shared with the community, as visible improvement would definitely motivate people to a great extent.

I would make posters and banners, and also circulate video and audio messages on social media. This would greatly help us in mobilizing people and spreading awareness on a larger scale.

Making the stream crystal clear again is my dream as clear as it used to be some years back.Removing waste from it and restoring its purity would, I believe, inspire everyone and encourage collective responsibility toward protecting this invaluable natural resource.

At last i would like to invite @mahadisalim @ulfatulrahmah and @dove11 to take part in this contest.

Thank you for going through my post. Have a great time ahead.