Ahead of CM Yogi’s visit, UP slum dwellers get soaps, shampoos to beat body odour

UP officials gave slum dwellers soaps and shampoos to beat their body smell before meeting Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Lucknow, May 27: The latest claim by a group of slum dwellers in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, would make you think twice about the amount of effort taken by government officials to turn VIP visits into mega events.

The residents of Musahar slum told ANI that officials gave them soaps and shampoos so that they could have proper shower and get rid of "smelly" bodies before meeting Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a public function on Wednesday.

OneIndia can't verify the claim of the poor slum dwellers, but we are not surprised too. Don't we often witness how quickly roads of various cities, towns and villages turn dust-free and get rid of all pot holes before any VIP visit?

Even several houses, parks and other public buildings close to the venue of any VIP meeting get a spruce up.

We can never forget the most outrageous act of hiding India's reality when the then Congress government in Delhi decided to hide slums with bamboo curtains during the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

The then Delhi government thought that it was apt to hide India's poverty and squalid shanty homes in front of foreign delegates and sportspersons by putting up the curtains.

In the Musahar slum episode too, officials knew that since the slum dwellers are poor and can't afford "expensive" soaps and shampoos, thus they thought to gift them basic essential items which we mortals use daily to keep ourselves "clean and beautiful". The officials, according to the slum dwellers, wanted them to be "stink-free" before meeting the CM.

Wish such a concern was shown by the UP administration on a regular day minus any VIP visit. What is the point in talking about Swachh Bharat, when the poor in the country can't afford to buy a soap cake to get rid of sweat and dirt from their bodies?

OneIndia News