Published in Dwarka Express on 26.11.2022

To hate or to love. It appears to be a tricky question. If the question were rephrased as “to hate or not to hate” it would have been a different proposition. Many would have responded, saying, ‘we should not hate animals.’ Yes, obviously many do not hate animals. That doesn’t mean that they love animals. To love an animal is a fiddly issue for certain. Thus, the animal welfare boards are innate to shield the animals if not love them. In the same way human beings have the human rights commissions. PETA, SPCA etc are to speak for the speechless animals and fight for their right to live in planet Earth. The only catch here is the animal boards as well as human right commissions are manned by human beings only. It goes without saying that a man has upper hand and he can even make a beast dance to his tunes. A common man’s behavioural pattern changes on seeing an animal behaviour. A dog that doesn’t bark, a pigeon that doesn’t drop, a snake that doesn’t bite is what they look for. Someone recently quipped, I don’t want to see pigeons on my balcony. Another exasperated resident lodged a complaint to his apartment association that monkeys have no business in the apartment. another man barked, ‘Association Management committee should resign if they allow stray dogs inside the compound’. Even a pet parent who spends Rs 10000 for his Doberman may not adopt a stray dog.

Day in day out, anger is ventilated on dog poop, pigeon dropping, monkey menace and bee hives on high-rises. Truly these are all concerns but why it should culminate in destroying the biodiversity. homo sapiens fail to recollect that his apartment was once home for animals. In fact, this debate is highly controversial. A year back, Australian Government mercilessly culled thousands of camels for no fault on their part. Animal rights are perceived by different individuals in different ways though law takes its own course. While some hate people feeding stray animals, others love to feed them. Some school of thought declares that the affinity to a stray dog is a phobia. Animals are part of the ecosystem. They are interlocked in the food web. One should not end in erasing the rich diversity. Man is placed in top of the food chain and if the other living beings are eliminated, that will be the end of the human race. The animal is not a menace and an intruder in our life but they need love and care. How to manage the unbalanced growth needs a lot of scientific solution so that everyone in the ecosystem takes their own share.

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Published in Dwarka Express on 19.11.2022

The one and the only one sphere which witnesses (un)sustainable development is the world population, though every country makes tall claim of making vast development in many other fields. The eight billionth baby was born at Dr Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in Manila, reports the media and the baby will soon become popular. India is just competing with China with a population of 1.41 billion just inching towards Chinese figure of 1.45 billion. There is a prediction that in 2023 or so, India may achieve the dubious distinction of world number One. At least it appears so. China has a land area which is 3 times that of India.

With similar level of population, one can easily imagine the population density in India. Most of our political discussions are centred around religious dogmas and populist stunts. There are no visible efforts to control the unabated population growth. On the one hand the natural resources are getting depleted in the name of growth while on the other the consumption hits the roof. Wherever we go, we experience crowds and the resultant avoidable competitions and clashes. India being one of the world’s largest democracies, there is no respite from ever increasing demand-supply gap.

Most of our cities are visible victims of the spurt in urban slums and deteriorating healthcare. Being a country in tropical area, India is in a very fertile area for spurt in population. What is worrying the planners is the availability of resources to cater to the needs of the people. Instead of blaming each other and wasting our energy on mutual mudslinging, time has come to make a common code for all in India to emphasize the need for small family norm. The one and the only one sphere which witnesses (un)sustainable development is the world population, though every country makes tall claim of making vast development in many other fields. The eight billionth baby was born at Dr Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in Manila, reports the media and the baby will soon become popular.

 India is just competing with China with a population of 1.41 billion just inching towards Chinese figure of 1.45 billion. There is a prediction that in 2023 or so, India may achieve the dubious distinction of world number One. At least it appears so. China has a land area which is 3 times that of India. With similar level of population, one can easily imagine the population density in India. Most of our political discussions are centred around religious dogmas and populist stunts. There are no visible efforts to control the unabated population growth. On the one hand the natural resources are getting depleted in the name of growth while on the other the consumption hits the roof. Wherever we go, we experience crowds and the resultant avoidable competitions and clashes. India being one of the world’s largest democracies, there is no respite from ever increasing demand-supply gap.

Most of our cities are visible victims of the spurt in urban slums and deteriorating healthcare. Being a country in tropical area, India is in a very fertile area for spurt in population. What is worrying the planners is the availability of resources to cater to the needs of the people. Instead of blaming each other and wasting our energy on mutual mudslinging, time has come to make a common code for all in India to emphasize the need for small family norm. The one and the only one sphere which witnesses (un)sustainable development is the world population, though every country makes tall claim of making vast development in many other fields. The eight billionth baby was born at Dr Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in Manila, reports the media and the baby will soon become popular.

India is just competing with China with a population of 1.41 billion just inching towards Chinese figure of 1.45 billion. There is a prediction that in 2023 or so, India may achieve the dubious distinction of world number One. At least it appears so. China has a land area which is 3 times that of India. With similar level of population, one can easily imagine the population density in India. Most of our political discussions are centred around religious dogmas and populist stunts. There are no visible efforts to control the unabated population growth. On the one hand the natural resources are getting depleted in the name of growth while on the other the consumption hits the roof. Wherever we go, we experience crowds and the resultant avoidable competitions and clashes. India being one of the world’s largest democracies, there is no respite from ever increasing demand-supply gap.

Most of our cities are visible victims of the spurt in urban slums and deteriorating healthcare. Being a country in tropical area, India is in a very fertile area for spurt in population. What is worrying the planners is the availability of resources to cater to the needs of the people. Instead of blaming each other and wasting our energy on mutual mudslinging, time has come to make a common code for all in India to emphasize the need for small family norm.

Published in Dwarka Express on 12.11.22

Anyone who wants to settle down in a clean and cool environment, opts Bengaluru as his destination. But what he experiences today is not the same, compared to 50 years before! Yes, Bengaluru was once a paradise in South and talk to any octogenarian, he will lament about the bygone era when he was a youth. Cubbon Park, Lalbagh, Majestic Circle, Malleswaram, MG Road or Ulsoor – name it, many will go nostalgic about the clean and green boulevards. Even today, one may relish the reminiscences hither and thither, which is now more of a ‘garbage’ city than a ‘garden’ city. A drive from Hebbal to Majestic (10 KMs) may take a minimum of one hour. Why so? Ever-increasing vehicular jams, will make you feel, will it be better to walk the distance rather than idling out behind the wheel? Air Pollution has peaked out though not to that level as that of Delhi. ‘Bangalore AQI is 103.. Not too encouraging…’ bewailed one office-goer, though the AQI level is nowhere nearer to what is prevalent in Delhi, now. But looking at the developments, like faster urbanisation, vanishing green cover and raising pollutants, one feels whether Bengaluru is inching towards the same situation as that of Delhi. In Delhi, the terrain is low-lying in Gangetic plains and the pollutants like PM 2.5 and PM 10 gets settled down and as the mercury dips low, in the winter, these particles moving from nearby agricultural states worsen the situation. The already ailing Delhi, thanks to traffic congestion, further succumbs to pollutants and ends in frequent smog. In Bangalore’s case, the terrain that is part of deccan plateau where rain or wind brushes away the particulate matters, though piling garbage, ever growing infra constructions and traffic jams will soon make the city a hell if no action is taken.

Dr Chanakya Hoysall, Chief Research Scientist at the Centre for Sustainable Technologies, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore adds, “Bangalore has a unique topography /geography.  It is a Table Mesa where altitude falls by about 1000 feet in any direction.  Air flow from any direction will push the air mass upwards and or away from Bangalore.  This is also enhanced by the green cover around this part that increases transpiration as well as its condensation / precipitation over Bengaluru.  There will thus always be some air movements that sucks up the air to move upwards and therefore only in a very few days in the year one will experience inversions that are the common cause of Fog and Smog of North India. You may see this inversion in a few places in Bengaluru like the trough opposite BDA Head Office, Ramanagara, some parts of Devanahalli airport, GKVK, etc.”

Published in Dwarka Express on 29.10.2022

‘Say No to crackers’…the jingle was going on for a long time, with no tangible respite!

Every social platform carried the adage but with little effect.  Air pollution and noise pollution besides, a large occurrence of fire accidents are being reported in media. Somewhere shops and stores were burnt. In some places, the tender hands of the tiny tots were wounded. Several hospitals reported high influx of burn injury cases. Pollution peaked up. Perhaps Delhi may boast of ‘drop’ in air pollution, as AQI index dips to ‘VERY POOR’ category from the last year’s ‘SEVERE’ one. Who knows the truth!

Not so long back, when someone filed the PIL in Supreme Court, things started stirring. The 2007 verdict by SC came heavy on the people as well as policy makers. In fact, Supreme court came out with a balanced verdict taking into consideration, some concerns such as employment loss of cracker making industry and religious sentiments. At the same time, it also did not ignore the status of child labour in fireworks factories

Precisely, cracker bursting slot was restricted between 8 and 10 PM. All Police stations were mandated to monitor the same strictly. Low polluting crackers & Green Crackers with permitted decibel limits and emission norms were allowed. Court also banned sale of firecrackers on e-commerce websites. Sale of crackers was restricted to licensed traders, and one can’t buy online too. In essence the law of the land must be enforced and steps were indeed initiated by the Government in Centre and States, in compliance of the SC decision.

However, going by the latest pollution data published by CPCB, it is clear that there seems to be no breather except for the timing restrictions (we still breath pollutants). Even timings also are also violated in many a place, as noise was heard beyond midnight. In India, one comfortably quotes others’ misdeeds to justify his own misdeeds. The eventual victim is the common good. Next time one should not say, ‘POLLUTION KILLS’ when he violates pollution norms. One should not say, ‘PLANT MORE TREES’ when he cuts trees. One should not say, ‘SAY NO TO PLASTICS’ when he cannot stop using the same. Who cares?

Published in Dwarka Express on 22.10.22

“Clean City, Green City!”, this catchphrase signposts may be seen in almost all cities in India. Indubitably both are important. But is it true that the authorities focus and balance both the activities concurrently? Cleaning is assigned normally to Municipalities, while development authorities may focus on greening. Ultimately lack of coordination, jurisdictional hitches and infra expansion line-ups result in felling of trees and end in denudation of the potential green belts on the one side while garbage piles up in unauthorised areas. It’s in fact typical of any metro.

Recently in Bangalore outskirts, when the Panchayat authorities for removal of garbage from an unauthorised dumping yard, the Panchayat development officer (PDO) lamented over his continuous effort which never yielded results due to callousness of the locals. His bone of contention was that locals dump the garbage in the empty plot on the sides of the road and pleaded helplessness in handling the perpetrators of the unauthorised dumping. He even attempted erecting a board warning Rs 1000 penalty on those who dump in the site. Notwithstanding the billboards in local language, it appears that no one cares. In the PDO’s view, it’s difficult to monitor the culprits 24×7. And thus, there is no solution yet.

A suggestion was given to him to plant trees in the identified unauthorised dumping spots to discourage dumping. Hailing the idea, he arranged a massive tree planting drive for the entire stretch. For a few days, there was no littering in the location but after the transitory gap, dumping rejuvenated. The planted saplings scuffle to pop out of the dumpsite, thanks to the heavy deluge in the recent months.

So, one may conclude that greening or cleaning are two different tasks and just the slogan ‘clean and green’ goes cool. Bangalore, was one known as Garden city, but with the spurt in population, it is going to wane. The once ‘Garden’ city has now the dubious ‘honour’ of being known as ‘Garbage’ City. Neither cleaning, nor greening, it is the civic sense which is more important and both people and policy makers are to blame for the malady

Published in Dwarka Express on 15.11.22

The farmers are fuming. Women are weeping but the project is all set to take off. The Parandur Airport at Tamilnadu’s Kanchipuram district, not very far off from Chenni Airport  is being promoted as a Greenfield project and farmers, environmentalists and women are raising their voice. “Raise your voice, it counts” the popular saying has gone with winds and the green fields which was the livelihood of thousands of families are expected to be in crossroads. Compensation, resettlement and the like are the normal garb under which decision makers hide themselves and make tall claims that the development projects are being impeded by the NGOs in false plea. Farmers and locals from 13 villages will be losing their precious agricultural lands. Nearly 3000 families are depending on the agriculture income in this area. About 4500 acres are farming area will be converted into airport and soon the land will be handed over to adanis and ambanis under the guise of greenfield ventures. A 1000 houses will be razed down. The DPR is being ready for a project cost of Rs 10000 Crore and the feasibility reports envisage that for every Rs 100 spent, it will fetch Rs 300. Another argument in favour of an airport seems to be that the present airport at Meenambakkam Chennai which is just 60 KMs away from the proposed one will not be able to cater to the need of ever-growing air traffic which is expected to grow to 3.50 crore from the present level of 2.2 crore within next 7 years. Any everyone knows that the present airport was modernaised and expanded recently. Why the planners could not envisage the growth potentials at that time? This question remains unanswered. Environmental NGOs like Poovulagin Nanbargal say that Tamilnadu has many airports which could be developed into international airports to address the growing traffic. They also say how an airport at Parandur will not only destroy agricultural lands but also evaporate the natural waterbodies in the identified areas. Already Chennai faced the devastating floods in 2021 and before also, and one of the reasons was poor augmentation of water sources in the nearby districts.

Ekanapuram, the worst affected village among these 13 notified villages will completely vanish from Indian Map soon. 2000 locals from this village are planning to conduct a protest march to the Secretariate on 17^th Oct 2022. Will the policy makers listen and change their stance?

We have seen that in the history of Independent India, the policy makers never listen to common man but they comfortably ignore the fact that nature does not listen to anyone and when it shows, the damage will be too late and irreparable and irrevocable

Published in Dwarka Express on 8.10.22

It’s a vending machine with a difference and the launch goes viral in social media though the same was launched 4 months back on the World Environment Day on 5^th June 2022 in Greater Chennai Corporation jointly with Tamilnadu Pollution Control Board. You just insert the Rs 10 coin and a yellow cloth bag will pop out. Entitled ‘meendum manjappai’ in Tamil meaning ‘yellow bags again’ means that use of cloth bags again’. What is so significant about yellow cloth bag. What is the background? Not long ago, all stores & shops used to give typical yellow coloured carry bag for buyers as a compliment. The bags used to carry the advertisement about shops or occasions. In every marriage house, guests used to get a complimentary yellow bag consisting of Coconut, betelnut, blowse piece for ladies, sweets etc. This yellow bag is religiously preserved by tamilians to re use for purchasing vegetables and provisions in their day today life. In fact a ethnically dark complexioned Tamil guy was always depicted wearing a dhoti, carrying an yellow bag in hand and wearing bright ash lines on the forehead. All said and done, a Tamilian is always admired by other states, especially in North for simplicity. When it comes to the question of austerity and eco-friendly way of living, the people of Tamilnadu always stand tall. The reusable yellow bag concept has slowly vanished with the changing lifestyle preferences. Now in an effort to revive the concept, the Tamilnadu govt started promoting the same and appealed to everyone to use yellow bag instead of polythene bags. Why yellow colour in particular? Yellow is always related to prosperity and wellbeing. Thus the bag gained importance in 20^th century, though this concept is well intertwined with the Tamil culture. The viral spread of plastic carry bags slowly evaporated the ever-known culture of manjappai. With the Centre banning the single use plastic from July 2022, the yellow bag concept is picking up. Grasping the opportunity, the shops and marriage houses have started re introducing the bags in bigger way. It is a welcome step and not only bring back the forgotten habit of reusability of cloth bags but also bring a sense of austerity at times consumerism and materialism are in the peak.

Published in Dwarka Express on 1.10.22

A video from Dwarka Delhi has gone viral in media! Yes, that’s e-dahan of Rawan. Curiosity growing, everyone in social media wanted to know how the same is done practically. All Dwarka Residents Federation (AIDF) claims that this is the second year that they are trying e-Dahan of Rawan. The king of Sri Lanka, Rawan, an otherwise multi-talented demon, might feel happy from heaven (if his ‘hell’ term is over!) only to see that large effigies with loaded crackers will never be again burnt at least in coming years, if not immediately. Festival season is on and all over the country, idols of Ganesha have already reached our waterbodies and Durga Maa are waiting for visarjan.

Come September, the celebrations go full swing everywhere, even if economy doesn’t envisage wastage of huge junk of Indian worth. While it is also true that the festivals give employment to many, perishable products also pose a big challenge. As usual the distant murmur of environmentalists seldom becomes ultrasonic! If the Indian festivals go eco-friendly, obviously, this will add to the traditional flavour of festivals. Holi was once celebrated with natural colours. The plastic plates and polythene bags will be replaced by reusable plates and bags for distributing prasad. Idols will never be made of Plaster of Paris but clay soil. Burning of Rawan effigies will go on electronic mode. Silent Diwali all over the country will bring back the glory of pre-dynamite era. History indicates that when Ram returned to Ayodya, there were lightings not bombs and crackers. In South, demon Narkasura’s killing does not have any evidence of celebrations with crackers. There is someone whispering, ‘these environmentalists have no work. How could we sacrifice the grand gala celebrations? Crackers pollution is not a big deal, when compared to Industrial pollution’. When Industrial pollution is challenged in Green Courts, the protagonists of development denounce the petitions, on the plea of hampering development. Someone recently quipped, ‘who would live in polluted Capital, we are shifting to Bangalore!’

So.. when Banglaore is also polluted, where to go?

Published in Dwarka Express on 24.9.22

Rogue Elephant attacks agriculture lands! Villager killed by an elusive leopard! Headlines in media like these are quite common nowadays. Time and again, villagers living near forest areas. Making an attempt to re-introduce cheetah or celebrating world rhino day can definitely inspire everyone to do some conservation efforts. Especially the forest departments and the concerned Ministries attempt on such occasions to do some constructive awareness programs. Perhaps, while observing conservation days, arranging a quiz contest, conducting a rally or a painting competition may help creating awareness. To certain extent, such acts may enthuse the environmentally conscious people to awaken the society which is otherwise ever pre-occupied, given the hunt for livelihood is the major concern for any individuals. However, many of us realize or are not able to do anything about the ever-depleting natural resources or the shrinking natural habitats. Re-introducing a few cheetahs not commensurate with sufficient forest cover, are reportedly eliminating the leopard population. Continuous mining activities or commercial use of forest lands will just only erode the pristine natural jungles and will prove detrimental to the conservation efforts. Recently a Supreme court decision to disallow conversion of forest lands in western ghats had received strong demonstrations in Karnataka by the locals and contractors. If the policy makers are serious enough to stop depletion of natural resources or control habitat shrinkage, serious attempts must be made to snatch the encroached forest lands from private contractors who tend to create concrete jungles under the guise of ecotourism or amusement parks. However, the recent amendments in Forest conservation act and EIA 2020 only will do more harm than good!

Published in Dwarka Express on 17.9.22

Lalbagh is ‘recreated’ in Yelahanka in North Bengaluru. Atleast this is what the local MLA S R Viswanath, who is also the chairman of Bengaluru Development Authority says when he wants to open this forest area to public domain in the name of ‘Tree Park’. The proposed multipurpose park will have a spread over 350 acres on the lines of Cubbon Park and Lalbagh. Named as ‘Atal Bihari Vajpayee Park’ the Tree Park is being developed at Jarakabande Kaval, off Yelahanka. “This is going to replace the existing butterfly park which is naturally beautiful. Was that needed?” asks Shantala Rakagopalan, an environmental enthusiast who is not happy with the decision. It appears that the MLA is bent upon converting the natural urban forest into tree park indirectly indicating that this place is going to be converted to a park open to public like any other park. One wonders the logic behind naming it as Tree park when there happens to be trees in any park. According to Muniratna, Horticulture Minister, the Government is waiting to get a nod from Centre’s Ministry of Forests, Environment and Climate Change to conduct the ground-breaking ceremony of the Tree park. The MLA wants to ignore the voice of environmentalists against the conversion of the forest area into a park. According to him, environmentalists are making a fake claim of 300 species of butterflies and ants in this area. ‘This implies the loss of breathing space, encouragement to changing natural landforms to suit anthropocentric needs and then of course the swarming of humans who complain about development that would affect corruption and concretisation. And finally, what little of life sustaining environment is left is destroyed with celebration and pomp of naming, bombastic claims and show of stupidity in all possible forms, says Srikanth Gopinath, who is a nature enthusiast. On the one hand Government is giving a clarion call to save nature and forests, but on the other hand, they make efforts to convert the forest areas into public accessible park areas. Whether the MoEF&CC would give permission to do the same, only time has to answer

Published in Dwarka Express on 10.9.22

When it is raining cats and dogs, it appears that the Social media has time for fun. At least this is what one feels, that too when the whole Bangalore city is floating literally. Bangalore “IT Guys are victims of their own deeds, who asked to put everything on clouds!” reads a e-card which has gone viral. Another card reads, “Bangalore must be the only tech Hub in the world where software developers travel two hours to get to their office so that they can build Apps to deliver groceries in 10 minutes!”. Jokes apart, it is true that the city confronted unprecedented rains in the last few days, with the resultant break down of all government machineries. No one could do anything except playing the blame game effectively. Always, it so happens that the opinions of environmentalists and scientists are ignored as over-reactive or not pragmatic.

Once known as the lake city, the IT Hub is now left with a few lakes which are also in brink of vanishing point. It is due to some relentless citizen activists that the left over lakes are having some breathe still in them. And lots of residential complex have come up in the last few decades to replace the lakes. We built the residential complexes on lakes and now we want that drinking water should be available in these complexes. You can’t have the cake and eat it too! In fact, in May 2022, there was a warning of heavy rains by September. The meteorological department predicted heavy rains in September. But no one heeded to these early warning signals. The IT Hub is floating, Whitefield is now ‘bluefield’ and outer ring road has submerged below the flooded water. Bangalore is inundated with waterlogging everywhere.

The lakes, Rajakaluves (water canals), ponds, rivers, marshes, grasslands and floodplains must be immediately restored on war footing and encroachments must be stopped forthwith. It is reliably understood that the Govt has released 1500 Crore for construction of drains. If Bangalore has to be saved from disaster, the Government must take steps to immediately fix the accountability on the corrupt officials on the one hand and listen to high power advisors from environment and technical background to rebuild the city’s ecosystem. All projects in violation of the RMP 2015 must be stopped immediately or else the once known paradise city will slowly get converted into a hell

Published in Dwarka Express on 3.9.22

As we bid adieu to Lord Ganesha, the celebrations culminated as usual with the visarjan carried out all over India. In Bangalore, the BBMP has made meticulous arrangements all over the city to address the issue of immersion of the idols. An apartment in Bangalore spares Rs 50000 plus to procure a life-size Ganesh Idol, but it does not care to ensure that the idol is eco-friendly. South India has a rich tradition and the lifestyle in the past had always been simple and eco-friendly when many had not even heard of the term ‘eco-friendliness’. In fact, the entire South from time immemorial, had been using clay made idols which used to be immersed in the rivers and waterbodies. There never used to be an idol made of plaster of Paris using chemicals once upon a time. Come Dasshera, Durga Ma will decorate the pandals and party halls in the same way and take leave in ponds and waterbodies. Year after year, the most antagonized environmentalists will make a lot of noise pollution in vain against the move of people in conducting the programs in this way. One of my activist friends was vociferous against usage of SUP and also littering, during festivals, though her voice was unheard or least cared. The organisers of such melas, festivals and cultural events comfortably forget all the laws to protect the environment. She laments, ‘what is below dignity to bring vessels from home to collect Prasad in common functions in apartments.’ Prompt comes the reply, ‘it doesn’t look gracious on festival occasions to bring vessels to public areas’  In the past, we have heard how our sacred rivers are flooded with the broken idols of Lord Ganesh in the past. We have also experienced how in cities like Ahmedabad, people left idols on the banks for lack of space for immersion. We do not say that there is all round callousness. But, there is no conviction or political will to address to the concern. The same society which was once naturally eco-friendly has entered into an era which is materialistic but talks tall about saving environment in air-conditioned auditoriums but are not comfortable in thinking why we need to revert to the life which they were well accustomed to, once upon a time.  Entire North is going to burn and blast Rawan during Dasshera and we are all going to witness it. The personification of the ‘Elephant-headed’ God signifies the very purpose of living and signals the need for being close to nature. There are rules, there is awareness, but these are comfortably forgotten when people’s agenda is something different. No wonder why Indian forests are shrinking and why quality of life is deteriorating day by day.