Trash Throne: When Cleanliness Officials Sit on Filth
2 min readShimla, Feb 17, Ritanjali Hastir
The Hindi idiom ‘chirag tali andhera’ seems to hold good as Shimla, known as the ‘Queen of Hills’, seems to be wearing a crown of filth at the District Administration Office. In a comical twist, the very headquarters of the Municipal Corporation (MC) — responsible for keeping the city clean — has become a glaring example of civic neglect.
Right below the MC Commissioners’ Offices, on the staircase, lies an ever-present heap of garbage. Despite several written complaints, the mess remains untouched, much like the City’s bureaucratic inefficiency. The designated sweeper cleans it daily, only for people above to toss down more waste, proving that gravity isn’t the only thing pulling cleanliness standards down. Even the doyen of cleanliness turns a blind eye when passing by during the day or after office hours, failing to take any action. Such futility from the cadre officers falls far short of the responsibilities entrusted to them.
The adjacent building isn’t far behind in this race to the bottom. Its walls, soaked in leaked sewage water, now emit a stench that could challenge the strongest of noses. Meanwhile, a drinking water station stands nearby, ironically out of order. Even if it worked, who in their right mind would take the risk?
The real joke is on the common citizen. The MC, always quick to fine vendors and small shopkeepers for minor cleanliness violations, conveniently ignores the filth within its own premises. The officials, who should lead by example, seem to think of neglect as a tradition rather than a failure.
In the end, the irony is pungent just like the smell that surrounds the DC Office. If this is the model of governance, the future of cleanliness in Shimla looks as bleak as the trash heap outside the MC doors.
