Did People Understand The True Meaning Behind The Global Citizen India Festival?

Not even star-studded performances could communicate the message across to the people.

The Global Citizen India Festival was one that caused a range of emotions for people in India with its performance, headliners and the number of Bollywood celebrities that took the stage at the MMRDA Grounds over the past weekend. However, the whole point of the initiative seems to have not made the impact it wished to.

The Global Citizen India Movement was all about raising awareness among the people of the country on topics of grave importance like improvement of education, sanitation, hygiene and a future with sustainable development. The approach was appealing with mega band Coldplay being the star attraction of the event but in the excitement of their performance, the goals for development were blurred.

The official count of attendees was an impressive 80,000 but there could have been more present at the venue with the green zone at the back occupying most of the Action Ticket holders. These tickets were given at no cost to people who were socially active in creating a space online to discuss the highlighted topics mentioned above but people still left trash, empty water bottles and cups all over the venue.

(Credits: facebook)

After the day was done, the firecrackers which were used for various performances as well as the confetti which was helpful to catch Instagram worthy pictures were left lying around, people did not talk about the trash while some did take to social media to highlight the occurrence. Usually when it’s an event to stop pollution and create a more sanitary environment, these things should be discouraged. Politicians were more bothered about how carrying the country’s National Flag in the pocket of Chris Martin’s pants was disrespectful.

(Credits: facebook/Harpreet Singh)

There was a cleanliness drive held the day after the concert in order to clean up the mess left behind but only a few turned up. Though a few people at the concert were making it a point to clear up any mess created from the food and beverages being served, many did not do anything.

With such a staggering amount of people and such stir about this initiative in the country, we need every single individual to take matters like these into consideration and not turn a blind eye towards it. It is not only the responsibility of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or the BMC but also a collective effort on the part of the people to make a difference, even if it is taking two minutes to find a garbage can.