The peepal tree opposite JSS Public School has become a convenient dumping place for all sorts of used pooja materials, ranging from dried flowers to broken idols to discarded photo frames of gods and goddesses. What’s worse is that these lazy anonymous ‘waste dumpers’ don’t even bother to remove items from their respective plastic bags before leaving them under the peepal tree. The unsightly mess under the tree is fast becoming an eyesore. The double standards of these ‘bhakts’ never cease to amaze me. On one hand, they worship the peepal tree and on the other hand, they treat it like a convenient dump yard. A quote I read as a teen comes to my mind- “What people do and how people act when no one’s watching is who they really are”. I have found this to be true across the board for everyone I’ve met.
I will reiterate a point made by the editor of this magazine time and again- ‘Punya ki jagah paap mat kamaiye.’ This also holds true for animal lovers who dump food items along with plastic bags in a bid to ‘feed’ hungry animals. I once saw a Black bull swallow a plastic bag along with the rotis because he couldn’t separate the two. Kya kamaaya khilaane waale ne? Punya ya paap? And then people whine and opine about how the animals litter the place. The animals merely forage and eat. The littering bit is entirely the human doing. There’s nothing wrong with feeding animals. However, please do not fling your plastic bags/foil plates along with the food items. There are parks nearby and each park has multiple dustbins. All you need to do is take a few steps towards the bin and dispose of the plastic/non-biodegradable waste there. If you can’t do even that much, why even bother calling yourself educated?
These waste dumpers are now spreading their tentacles outside parks and other apartments too. All societies must try to install surveillance cameras at strategic points to catch and curb the nefarious activities of these educated illiterates.
