This is suuu shameful

It is not just the city of Delhi that has to prepare for the Commonwealth Games in October next year. It is also the people of Delhi. As Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has said, to be good hosts, Delhiites need to give up a number of ingrained bad habits. What are these? Littering, jaywalking, eve-teasing, honking needlessly, among others.Sometimes desparate, always unapologetic

Every year, thousands of tourists flock to see Manneken Pis, the bronze naked boy who has been making water at a street intersection in Brussels since at least 1619 AD.

HT Image

Every day, thousands of genteel folk in this city wince at the sight and stench of their fellow Delhiites taking a leak beside walls, over drains, on pavements, under trees…in short, everywhere.

And it’s one sight that tourists visiting Delhi next year for the Commonwealth Games will have to encounter untold times.

While people relieving themselves in public is a great image-breaker for both the city and the country, the fact is that the people are not always to blame.

HT spoke to some of the men wetting walls across the city, and found that lack of awareness was as much to blame as the poor state of public urinals and restrooms. Often, these facilities were conspicuous by their absence.

The time has come to address both sides of the problem, and fast.

See Graphics