By Ishan Kukreti

With Modi government's 'Swacch Bharat' campaign about to be an year old, NewsGram decided to take a look at the cleanliness at New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS).

Indian Railways too has taken up the task of improving sanitation facilities and maintaining a clean environment at the stations, and recently tweets to Railways minister Suresh Prabhu point towards the same.

NDLS, however, was a bitter-sweet experience. While the platforms were clean as they have never been in decades, the old familiar sight of littered rubbish was not completely absent.

Travelers too felt that the level of neatness maintained at the platforms was unprecedented but the usual railways stench remained.

According to a station sweeper, who chose to remain anonymous, a lot has improved since last year. However, he felt that a lot more could be done if there was an increase in the staff.

"I am the only one cleaning this platform and the one on the other side. It's not possible for a single person to manage the whole length and breadth on his own."

However, the tracks, which are cleaned by private contractors, present the same disgusting sight as always. As a result, though the platforms were clean, the choking stink of feces, rotten food and trash of all kinds from the tracks made it unbearable to stand still at one place.

"Tracks are cleaned after the departure of each train. However, as there are a lot of trains going in and out of this station, it makes maintaining sanitation and cleanliness very difficult," said Ravindra Verma, Health Inspector, New Delhi Railway Station.

While the government is doing its part, the public using the service too has to be conscientious. Urinating on the tracks and littering are not things that can be blamed on the government. A Swachh Bharat can only be a reality if the citizens and the government both collaborate, cooperate and understand their responsibility.