Cleanliness Beyond Stadium

It is not uncommon to see Japanese football fans cleaning up stadiums after a match is over. They did at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, after their team’s heart-breaking loss to Belgium in the quarter-final, earning praise from people across the world. The Japanese supporters did it again at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as they were seen with rubbish bags, picking up waste left behind by spectators at the Khalifa International Stadium after the country’s win over Germany, as well as in other matches their team wasn't involved in. Their act and sense of cleanliness won many hearts. In a similar gesture, the Konyak Students’ Union Kohima volunteers took the initiative of cleaning the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Kohima after the match between Mon and Dimapur districts earlier this week in the ongoing Dr. T Ao Trophy. It’s a laudable act, something worth emulating, and something that should be continued in the rest of the tournament and outside of it. Well, the visuals of the stadium taken during the ongoing tournament tell that it requires at least a repaint, if not a complete overhaul, as the gallery is seen defaced by betel nut spit, a nauseating sight you will see at shopping complexes, public offices, parking lots and government facilities, including healthcare centres – in short, literally everywhere. It reeks of a lack of civic sense so extensive that a few cleanliness drives in a year will prove ineffective in addressing the issue. A change in mindset towards cleanliness is the need of the hour.

Social events, be they sports or festivals or concerts that draw big crowds, often generate substantial waste in the form of leftover food, single-use plastic items and decorative materials, posing significant health and environmental hazards. And Nagaland is often called the "Land of Festivals", with over a dozen communities celebrating their respective cultural and traditional festivals throughout the year, besides religious and other social events. This calls for the need to cultivate good hygiene practices by avoiding littering. Such practice should not be limited to large-scale social events but public spaces, including government facilities, tourist destinations, picnic spots, etc. As Nagaland is witnessing a significant surge in tourist footfall over the years, with the Hornbill Festival alone attracting lakhs of visitors every year, avoiding littering and implementing sustainable waste management practices is crucial. It is a collective responsibility. We should make cleanliness a way of life.