Now, dabbawalas may also deliver swachhata message

NEW DELHI: The government has reached out to the “dabbawalas” of Mumbai to spread the message of “swachhata” (sanitation). The urban development ministry has sought the help of the nearly 5,000 tiffin box suppliers to promote good sanitation practices and paste the messsages on lunch boxes.

Dabbawalas supply around 1.7-2 lakh tiffin boxes daily to office-goers in the country’s financial capital. The government has named Mumbai’s tiffin box suppliers as ambassadors of the Swachh Bharat initiative.

In a letter to Raghunath D Madge, president of Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association, last week, the ministry sought their help in disseminating the message of “safe sanitation and hygienic practices” among their clients. It suggested that the messages, to be pasted on the top cover of the tiffins, could be “wash your hands before eating” and the underside of the top cover could contain a message saying “dispose of leftover food in waste bins”.

“The intention is to ensure that a sizeable section don’t miss the messages while eating. This will also lead them to carry the message home,” an official said. The association has been asked to share their stickers for emulation of this model.

Meanwhile, the ministry has also launched a fortnight long intensive exercise to rope in residents welfare associations and mohalla committees for sanitation and awareness programmes. The Centre has asked states and cities to felicitate well-performing RWAs and also to rank them, if possible.

Officials said these initiatives were being taken to bring change in people’s behaviour, which is the biggest challenge in achieving complete sanitation by 2019. Filth in cities and improper disposal of municipal solid waste are concerns difficult for the government to address without public participation.