Premium

‘No instructions from Railways, just a habit’: Aizwal-Guwahati train passengers collect garbage in plastic bags to keep coach clean, video wins hearts

The video captures how passengers neatly tied their garbage in small bags.

3 min readNew DelhiJan 21, 2026 04:01 PM IST

The video, recorded by a passenger, shows a clean general coach (Image source: @daily.passenger/Instagram)

Days after a Vande Bharat sleeper train was littered soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated it, a video highlighting responsible travelling on an Aizwal-Guwahati-bound train caught the Internet’s eye. The video, recorded by a passenger, shows a clean general coach.

The video also captured how passengers neatly tied their garbage in small bags and hung them near their seats. Sharing the experience on Instagram, the traveller wrote, “People were tying their waste in small bags and hanging them neatly beside their seats. No announcements. No instructions from the railways. Just a habit.”

“For people in the North East, cleanliness is not limited to their homes. It extends naturally to public spaces, shared transport, and places that do not technically belong to them. A train is treated with the same respect as a living room,” he added.

Watch here:

Scene from from Aizawl to Guwahati sleeper train where passengers collected waste in small bags, keeping the coach & berths clean. A great example that civic sense is a collective responsibility, not an exception! 👏🏼 pic.twitter.com/2UZcCJ508K

— Alpakanya (@Alpakanya) January 20, 2026

The video quickly gained traction, drawing a wave of reactions hailing the Northeast. “As life standards are improving, we should ensure that our Train, home, Cars and society around is kept clean. Cleanliness around us helps in clean thinking, accountability and a good future for our generation next – let us all contribute in making this happen,” a user wrote.

Also Read | Beyond just “exporting”: Why Nikhil Kamath believes Indian brands are finally beating the west at luxury game

“This is really good, but the cleaning staff comes and throws them on the tracks,” another user noted. “Well, North Indians have the scarcity excuse! They preach that civic sense and empathy can only prevail when their own needs are met, which is correct to a point. But to the contrary, privilege is directly proportional to the capacity of littering and that makes civic sense a lost cause in most regions of India. Alas!” a third user commented.

Early this week, a video of a newly inaugurated Vande Bharat sleeper coach badly littered with plastic cups and wooden spoons triggered outrage on social media. The train connects Howrah and Guwahati.