Shillong: The drums are silent. The crowds have vanished. Shillong now faces the massive task of scrubbing the streets clean after the Durga Puja festivities. While pre-festival hype focused on cleanliness drives and organized waste collection, the real test of civic duty begins right now.
Waste piles up once the party stops. Puja committees must manage the trash generated during their events, while visitors need to use bins instead of the pavement. City authorities carry the heavy burden of clearing the remaining mess from public spaces. Sanitation workers do the heavy lifting that most people ignore.
Occasional cleanup drives do not fix the problem. Lasting habits matter more than one-off events. As the article notes, "a city’s cleanliness is measured not only by how it prepares to celebrate, but also by how responsibly it cleans up afterwards."
True civic pride requires more than just decorating the streets. Extending the spirit of the festival to the environment keeps the city functional. Shillong needs to treat trash removal with the same focus as it treats the celebration itself.
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