Indian man shocked by US neighbours' cold response on house catching fire, video sparks debate: ‘That's called giving personal space'
'Look, there's a fire in this house. There's a major problem, and the firefighters are breaking open the terrace. Look, there are so many fire brigades and police vehicles. But I am shocked. There are so many houses in the neighbourhood, but no one came out of their houses to check about the incident. Even my owner just asked me how the incident unfolded, and went back inside,' Advitiy says in the video.
'No one came outside to check. It's just me. No one cares if people are dying in the neighbourhood. I think this is the only case in India where people step out to check on their neighbours,' he adds. The viral video shows that firefighters had broken open the window, and some climbed the terrace, attempting to open it. No onlookers can be spotted in the video.
'I know people will abuse me but I am telling the truth. If neighbours don't help each other then what is the point of a neighbourhood?' Advitiy captioned the video.
Watch here:
A post shared by नितिश अद्वितय (@nitishadvitiy)
The video quickly gained traction, sparking a debate over civic sense and personal space. 'They know the authorities will take care of the same, no need of people to come and make reels of same,' a user wrote. 'That's called giving personal space reason why police in India don't arrive but people do learn some civic sense don't make everything emotional of course if it's a big fire one will come out and see,' another user commented.
'Firefighters along with ambulance comes within minutes in USA And very skilled ones. In India firefighters will come after 1 to 2 hours. Neighbours will come to see,' a third user reacted.
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In 1925, India's first-ever midday meal scheme was introduced for disadvantaged children in the Madras Municipal Corporation. Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, and the UT of Pondicherry had universalised a cooked midday meal programme with their resources for primary students by the 1980s. The Union government launched the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education, a nationwide mid-day meal scheme, on August 15, 1995, to ensure enrollment, retention, and attendance, as well as improve nutritional levels among children across India. 'In Tamil Nadu, M Singaravelar, a member of the erstwhile Madras Municipal Corporation in the 1920s, took the initiative to introduce the first ever Midday Meal Scheme for marginalised children under the Corporation limits. Later, it was transformed into a fully-funded government scheme along with the inclusion of vegetables, fruits and pulses into the menu,' said P.B. 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Madhu Prasad, a former philosophy professor at Delhi University and a veteran activist working for equitable access to quality education for all children, claimed that caste-based discrimination is very prevalent across public schools in the Delhi NCR region. 'Dalit children are still made to sit separately in dining areas and teachers are putting down food into their bowls without bending down. There are instances of parents avoiding school meals if the cook was a Dalit. Following complaints from parents, many schools in the NCR region had removed these cooks as well,' she said. South India is also facing a similar challenge and experts feel that the midday meal scheme brings in an aspect of social dining amidst the issues of caste-based discrimination. 'Caste is indeed a major issue in this scheme in Tamil Nadu. There are places where dominant caste groups won't consume lunch prepared by female cooks from non-dominant or marginalised castes. However, teachers are making an effort to ensure that children do eat their midday meals. With the introduction of breakfast in schools, the situation has improved a lot these days,' said Ms. Ratnam. Is PM-POSHAN effective on the ground? The PM-POSHAN scheme, on the other hand, introduced as a solution for classroom hunger, has its own lapses. The scheme covers about 11.80 crore children studying in 11.20 lakh schools across the country. In 2020–21, the Centre spent more than ₹24,400 crore on the scheme, with nearly ₹11,500 crore earmarked for food grains. The total approved outlay stands at ₹54,061.73 crore from the Central Government and ₹31,733.17 crore from States and Union Territories. However, activists point out that the scheme has a 'one size fits all' approach that is unsuitable for several states with unique challenges. 'The PM-POSHAN scheme, in its current form, falls far short of its intended goals. Proposals like setting up nutrition gardens in schools or implementing IT-based monitoring systems are largely tokenistic and disconnected from on-ground realities, especially in rural or under-resourced areas. Other than the cosmetic rebranding of the old Midday Meal Scheme, the initiative offers nothing in terms of meaningful nutritional innovation. What's urgently needed is a serious overhaul incorporating a scientifically designed meal plan and the inclusion of breakfast and nutritional snacks to address classroom hunger and malnutrition,' said Ms. Prasad. Echoing a similar view, Ms. Sinha opined that the PM-POSHAN scheme has always had a disparity in terms of fund allocation. 'Many States in the South are receiving only the basic minimum required resources as per norms while several North Indian states are getting more than what the norm requires them to provide. Financial assistance to procure items like eggs are not provided to all the States. 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Meanwhile, Anganwadis have turned into a crucial feeding centre for kids along with duties like immunisation. All these initiatives help ensure that the effect of malnutrition at such a young age is eliminated,' said Ms Ratnam. 'The school dropout rate, particularly for girls, has drastically reduced up to Class 12 and more girls are showing interest in education,' she said. Way forward Experts point out that States like Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Odisha offer successful models that can be replicated across the country by adapting to the local requirements. 'Even States like Tamil Nadu aren't able to handle exceptional cases as issues that come outside the purview of department-driven programmes become a problem. They won't be able to deal psychosocial areas related to these schemes. This is where NGOs can play a crucial role as they have funding and expertise to address them without involvement of the State,' Ms Ratnam said. Ms. Sinha has called for better financial assistance from the Centre for the scheme. 'The resource-generating capacity of the State governments has become limited and the funding must come from the Centre as the majority of taxes are collected by the Union government and some of these initiatives are centrally-sponsored schemes. It is the children who ultimately suffer due to these shortages in the end. While States continue to manage these schemes amidst the shortage in resources, the fiscal space to bring innovative measures has also become limited. The norms and structures of the scheme were created with the expectation that these funds and resources would be provided. There are numerous cases of funds being withheld with claims that some norms are not followed,' said Ms. Sinha. Experts pointed out that customising midday meals for a specific population has been a weakness in almost all States. 'The more local these schemes are, the better it is for the general population. 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Time of India
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