When it comes to civic spaces, we flout all rules

Vandalising the Tejas Express shows a serious disregard for public property

Before the prime minister embarked on his mission to inculcate cleanliness across the country (Swachh Bharat), he obviously did not reckon with the inherent lack of civic sense among the majority of us. Sabhya Bharat (civilised India) should have preceded the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. How else does one react when one hears that India’s first high-speed luxury train has been vandalised on its first journey. Launched with much fanfare from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus last week, the Tejas Express boasts of impressive frills and features as automatic doors, nine-inch infotainment screens for every seat, beverage vending machines, vacuum bio-toilets and touch-free taps . But the manner in which some of the travellers behaved was in extremely bad taste. The toilet facilities were stinking within an hour of the journey beginning as people left a mess with no thought for fellow travellers.

When the train returned to Mumbai from Pune, the staff realised some passengers had tried to yank the customised LCD screens off, by pulling on the hinges. At least 12 of the high-quality headphones provided for infotainment screens were missing. When the government provides efficient and comfortable means of connectivity, the public has no right to trash it. In fact, the railways should enforce much stricter penalties for vandalising trains and littering.

This behaviour is not confined to trains. We have learnt few lessons in community living even as urbanisation grows at a rapid clip. So, we find that garbage is disposed in public places with no thought to the fact that communicable diseases for which garbage provides a breeding ground will affect all of us. If the anti-social behaviour seen on the Tejas is anything to go by, we cannot really blame the railways or any other public or private sector organisation for not wanting to invest in amenities which are difficult to guard and maintain.