The sanitation problem in Najalil had been restricting some industries here, such as tourism.
Tourism should not be underestimated. In fact, the contribution of tourism to the economy of this underdeveloped region far exceeded the almost non-existent industrial economy. In many similar countries, the tourism economy had become the mainstay industry of those small countries.
Building an industrial chain around tourism that was in line with the local environment was much simpler than developing the industry.
Najalil also had rich tourism resources. Not to mention the long high-quality coastline and countless beaches, after entering the inland, whether it was the endless prairie or the primeval forest that covered the sky, they were all great landscapes.
Coupled with activities such as hunting, these could contribute a lot of profit to this place every year.
But why was the tourism industry in Najalil so slow so far?
In the end, it was because it was too dirty.
It was a pleasure for tourists to experience the primeval ecological environment, but it was torture to live in a dirty area. The two looked similar, but the feeling was completely different.
Coupled with the urgent need to clean up some mountains of garbage in the city, under the promotion of Lynch and other Federation businessmen, the city hall held the first ever meeting that was not for the sake of the ruling class. Nominally, cleaning up the city's garbage and maintaining sanitation was for the sake of the city's citizens.
So the people who were invited to attend the meeting were basically the most respected local people. The atmosphere of the meeting was very special.
Najalil was a society ruled by different clans. The leader of each large clan was the provincial governor of each province, and then some messy relatives and the like served as the officers of various regional government departments.
This also led to the existence of "clans" among the commoners. Those who lived in a village or on a street would evolve into a public clan in such an atmosphere. In these public clans, those who could play a decisive role were those who were virtuous and had high moral standing.
"… Sanitation problems make our people more prone to illness. I have a document in my hand. From the first day of this year until now, we have a total of …" The mayor looked down at the report in his hand and was stunned.
"… More than 24,000 people have died of diseases caused by sanitation problems!"
He was surprised, and so were some of the reporters. This kind of thing was a bit inconceivable to everyone. From their point of view, more than 24,000 people died in a year, which was more than 2,000 in a month. On average, at least 60 to 70 people died every day.
But they did not find that people kept dying, and they did not find anyone dying for a whole year.
This was actually the most typical survivor's bias. It could even be said to be a cognitive disorder.
Not knowing did not mean that it did not happen. Many people died in the simple environment of the hospital, but not everyone would go to the hospital every day to see if anyone died.
Some people died at home, and the families of the deceased wanted to avoid being judged by others. in the traditional culture of Najalil, people who were sick were basically bad people, or they were bad people in their previous lives.
Therefore, when someone in the family fell ill and died, the family members of the deceased would basically bury the body in secret.
In fact, the real deaths were not limited to these. The number of deaths in the slums on the outskirts of the city every year was more than this number, and people were too lazy to report it.
Every time there was a case of fatal infectious disease in the slums, the city hall would send people to disperse the untouchables living on the outskirts of the city. They would be driven to the wilderness. The wilderness of Najalil was more dangerous, so when people died in the slums, people would only silently burn or bury them, and would not spread these things to the public.
The cognitive disorder of the survivors made people here see what happened to them and what happened to them as the trajectory of the world, so they were shocked and surprised.
The mayor looked at the ordinary people who came to attend the meeting and suddenly felt that Mr. Lynch might not be pushing this proposal for selfishness. His expression became more serious.
"Every year, many people die because of hygiene problems. They should not have died, but we, the people who are still alive, caused these problems. So, from today onwards, I need you to pay attention to your personal hygiene and the hygiene around your living places."
The people who were invited discussed these issues without much concern. After a short period of shock, they had already accepted this fact. In the words of the locals, these people actually died of illness to atone for their sins, to atone for their sins in their previous lives. Therefore, they would not live long in this life and would die soon.
Since it was a punishment from God, then it had nothing to do with them. Everyone felt that even if they were not good people in their previous lives, they were still ordinary people. At least they could live peacefully.
This attitude was also the main reason why Najalil was dirty and messy. Everyone felt that most of the things that happened in this society had nothing to do with them, so how could they make some changes?
Whether it was for the country or for themselves.
The negative attitude made the mayor frown. He pulled the corner of his shirt and held his waist.
The habits he had when he was the chief of police had changed slightly. He would only pull the corner of his shirt when he felt angry or unhappy. This was a subconscious behavior.
He had gone from "let people see my best side" to "even if I am angry, I have to maintain my dignity." This was his mental journey in just over a month.
"This is not a request. Please pay attention, this is a request!"
There was a cold smile on his face. "This city belongs to all of us, not just any one of you."
"Starting from the first of January next year, I will arrange for people to patrol. If any place is found that does not meet the standards, all of you responsible for the streets, as well as those who have not cleaned up your garbage, will be expelled from this city, from Mengwu Province!"
This sentence was truly earth-shattering. If they were expelled because of a lack of hygiene, wasn't that too serious?
Some people stood up and shouted loudly, as if to say that this was a form of tyranny and that only a tyrant would do such a thing.
There were also some people who said that they could not do this at all. Who knew who could throw garbage and who could not. If someone threw garbage to them, would it still be considered their garbage?
Armed fights between the people of Najaril continued unabated. If the mayor could not come up with a better plan, such a barbaric rule was likely to cause armed fights between the people of the city. This was something that no one wanted to see.
Fortunately, at this moment, the mayor shouted loudly, "Silence!" However, the effect was not very good. He shouted a few times, but his voice was suppressed by the people who were talking among themselves. He even pulled out a baton from the waist of the guard beside him and slammed it on the table, making a loud noise. Only then did the people's desire to express their opinions stopped.
He looked at these people with an unfriendly gaze, placed the baton on the table, and straightened his clothes and collar. "I invited you here to give you some face. If you continue to be like this, the next time something similar happens, I will not let anyone inform you even if I get someone to bring a dog here!"
As he spoke, his unfriendly gaze swept across these people's faces as if to tell them, "I remember your faces."
"Mr. Mayor, you can't blame us for this. Your request is too unreasonable. We can't do it."
Someone interjected, and the others also whispered in agreement.
The mayor frowned slightly. "So I haven't finished speaking …"
He paused for a moment. "Mr. Lynch and some local businessmen from the Federation who invested in the city heard that I planned to clean up the city. At the same time, they felt that the current electricity generation in the city is insufficient, so they combined these two matters into one."
"They will recycle the dry garbage that can be burned in the city at the price of one Galil per pound. Note, it's dry garbage that won't drip when lifted with a net. This garbage will be used to generate electricity …"
…
Looking at the "uproar" in the crowd, Lynch did not show much of a smile on his face. In his opinion, there was nothing praiseworthy about this method. It was the simplest method, using benefits to lure people to follow the route he set.
There was a shortage of electricity here. The places near the edge of the city and where ordinary people lived would have a power shortage almost every day. The limited factory areas would also have a power shortage when there was no production work.
The next big development would require abundant electricity. Some of the high-precision production equipment from the Federation needed electricity. New power plants were also in Lynch's plan.
The geographical environment here made hydropower an almost impossible choice. The plains lacked a huge height difference. Even if they could find a wide enough river or lake nearby, it would be difficult to form a high flow rate in the absence of a topographical drop. They could only consider thermal power as an option.
At the same time, this could also solve the problem of garbage in the city. The heat generated by burning garbage could replace part of the fuel. It was a cheap combustion material.
However, if Lynch were to hire someone to do this, it would obviously not be worth it.
He had also discovered the deep-rooted bad habits of the Najaril people. If he did not find someone to supervise the work of recycling garbage everywhere, they might not work all day. Instead, they would find a place to bask in the sun. When it was almost evening, they would pick up a few pieces of garbage to report back and get a salary.
The efficiency was low, and they had to pay a salary. This was not an option that Lynch liked, so he changed his approach slightly.
Now, as long as one Galil could "recycle" a pound of dry garbage, it would completely mobilize the enthusiasm of the people. Not only adult men, but also women and children would join in.
Let's work together for a better tomorrow for Najaril!