GOGI, Not GIGO! How Wit and a Shovel Changed a Town

 

GOGI, Not GIGO!

How Wit and a Shovel Changed a Town

If you’re familiar with computers, you’d know GIGO – Garbage-In-Garbage-Out – meaning the machine is only as good as its operator. Just as a clueless driver may take the passenger not to the destination but elsewhere (no fault of the car), a computer too will spew garbage if garbage is fed into it.

But you may not have heard of GOGI – Garbage-Out-Garbage-In.

The young officer was thrilled when posted as District Collector. His first district charge! He was eager to implement the inspirational practices he had absorbed during training at Mussoorie, Guwahati, and in junior field postings.

The district town had no elected Municipal Council at the time. Till fresh elections were held, the Collector was the Municipality’s Administrator.

He convened a meeting of key municipal officials and declared: “I want our town cleaner than ever before. You have one month.”

A month later, he asked in the next meeting: “Is our town cleaner than ever before?”
“Yes, Sir!” came the chorus.

Early next morning, he set out on an inspection tour, officials in tow. Before reaching the neglected habitations, he passed a posh colony — only to spot a household dumping assorted garbage from their first-floor terrace straight onto the street. Luckily, he was in his car, not standing below that shiny façade.

(AI image by CoPilot, prompt by Blogger)

He got down. “Give me a shovel,” he said. Scooping up the choicest bits of the garbage, he rang the bell. The flustered gentleman opened the door to welcome the dignitary. The Collector didn’t waste time on pleasantries — he barged in, shovel in hand, deposited the garbage in the drawing room, and rushed out as fast as he had entered.

Smiling at the dumbfounded house-owner, he quipped: “Next time I visit, you’ll give me a cup of tea, won’t you?”

News of the Collector’s GOGI act spread like wildfire. The town got the message — and stayed cleaner than ever before. Not for weeks or months, but for the three years of his tenure.

Maybe, the residents carried that clean habit into the future too.

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