Brics India Summit 2016 !

Pics by : B S Vohra

Happy Dussehra !

True friendship !

I never knew about the real friendship till I met a reporter of a Top News channel. He came to me for recording my Interview and left after doing the news story. Next day he again called me for my opinion on another issue & soon it became a routine. We started calling each other regularly and he started discussing almost every news story with me. 

We never knew that with the passing of time we had become friends and that too so close that we started missing each other if we had no talks even for a single day. It was a pleasant surprise for me and my family when, a day before Diwali, he visited us with Gifts for all. We too visited him on the day of Diwali and it became a routine. 

Probably that was the beginning of a real friendship between us. Though I was a very reserved type of person, he was of a very joyful nature. He always had a smiling face and always encouraged me to speak boldly on various issues concerning the general public. He even added my name as the contributor to the data shared for the Documentaries that he made for a corporate house. 

Soon he became a family member for all of us. He used to call my wife – Bhabiji and always boosted my daughters to speak in public. Though both of us were married, we used to attend various marriages together and celebrated the festivals and family events together. 

All this continued for a few years and we were becoming closer by the passing of every day, but probably fate had a different story in the process. On a fine morning, he called me and told that he will reach me in an hour for doing some story, but after almost half an hour I got a call from a common friend that he had met with an accident. 

We rushed to the hospital and yes, he was there, lying in a pool of blood, covered with a white bed sheet. He was no more. He was dead. I was shivering like a hell, but nothing was in my hand. I cried, shouted at him, but probably he had to do some story with the God almighty and so he left in a hurry. Even now while I am writing these lines, my eyes are full of tears which reminds me the true friendship between us. 

Pleased to note that Zee TV is launching a new fun filled TV show - Yaroon Ki Baraat - with Amitabh Bachhan, Shatrughan Sinha and many other known faces. Viewed its promotional campaign and truly, just waiting very eagerly to watch the real Fun on Zee TV from 8^th October onwards. All those who have a real friend or who are missing a real Yaari must watch YAARON KI BARAAT on Zee TV as it will give a big boost to the YAARI in a fun filled manner.

Please log on to : http://www.ozee.com/shows/yaaron-ki-baraat.

Say NO to Made in China this Diwali !

While our soldiers have done a great Surgical Strike on the Pakistani Terrorists inside POK, can’t we, the residents of India, do an Economical Surgical strike on China by saying NO TO THE CHINESE GOODS at least, till this Diwali. We are not against China, but we are absolutely against the Anti India policies of China. China must learn that if it wishes to sell n earn from the largest Indian Market, it must stop favouring Pakistan with immediate effect.

SC ASKS CM, L-G TO HOLD MEET ON DENGUE, CHIKUNGUNYA

The Supreme Court on Tuesday brought together the Delhi Government, Centre and civic agencies on the talking table to discuss and devise a common strategy to counter the threat of dengue and chikungunya facing the national Capital.

The Court was pained to note that agencies working in the Capital were not working to fight the menace in the city with a spirit of “cooperation” and felt that the need of the hour was to ensure that all agencies shed their differences and work for the common interest of citizens of Delhi.

The Bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and LN Rao said, “In our opinion, for the general interest of the people of Delhi and considering the fact that a large number of people are affected by dengue and chikungunya, it would be appropriate if a meeting is convened by the Lieutenant-Governor on October 5 at 2 pm.”

The said meeting will be attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Health Minister Satyendra Jain, Delhi Chief Secretary, Union Health Secretary, Commissioners of North Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation and East Delhi Municipal Corporation, Chairman of New Delhi Municipal Council, heads of Cantonment Board, DDA, Metro Rail, Northern Railways along with amicus curiae Colin Gonsalves, who is assisting the Court in the matter.

The Bench told the Delhi Government not to indulge in any blame game in the meeting and urged both Centre and AAP Government to discuss on what is to be done in future than dwell in the past. Further, the Bench added, “The participants should resolve issues relating to the better management of the problems faced by the people of Delhi due to dengue and chikungunya - and other issues, if so advised. The interests of the people of Delhi are paramount.”

The Court listed the case for hearing on Thursday expecting both sides to table a common agreement.

With the toll of dengue and chikungunya cases crossing 2,500 mark in the Capital over two months, the Delhi Government had informed Court that officers were taking orders from L-G office and defying Ministers of the hAAP Government. The Court had imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on Delhi Health Minister for failing to name the erring officials. On Tuesday, the fresh affidavit filed by Delhi also did not name any officer.

Although Health Minister Satyendra Jain made certain personal remarks against the Health Secretary, the Bench ignored the same. Senior advocate CU Singh who represented the AAP Government urged the Court to waive the cost but the Bench bluntly refused.

Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar who represented the L-G also claimed to represent the Delhi Government indicating that all was not well within the Delhi administration. When the AAP Government chose to flag this issue as the root cause of difficulty, the Bench brushed it aside saying, “You (Delhi) are sitting with a closed mind. There is no difficulty, you are creating the difficulty. Why can't your CM and Ministers sit with L-G. There is no point in blaming anybody and looking to the past is not going to help. Look up to the interest of people of Delhi.”

with thanks : The Pioneer : LINK

The Venice Grand - A Dream Destination !

Foggy impact of fumigation on dengue, chikungunya

The govt and the civic bodies have taken up fogging on a war footing, but experts are divided on its effectiveness in checking the mosquito problem

As the number of deaths from dengue and chikungunya spiked in September, the Delhi government and the municipal corporations responded in the way they do every year when cases of vector-borne diseases shoot up in the monsoon: they ramped up fogging, or fumigation, across the city.

Plumes of diesel and malathion, an insecticide that has low toxicity for humans but can be more dangerous if ingested, soon rose up from the roads and alleys.

On September 14, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Minister Kapil Mishra and BJP MP for north-east Delhi Manoj Tiwari were photographed on bicycles fitted with fumigation devices, spraying insecticide into the air in Sonia Vihar.

Full effort

The government and civic bodies pledged more resources to their respective efforts. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said 600 more machines would be deployed. The cash-strapped East Delhi Municipal Corporation recently procured 30 new hand-held devices, adding to the 182 it already possessed.

In total, the EDMC, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation and the South Delhi Municipal Corporation have 1,100 hand-held fumigation devices. The three corporations also have 25 vehicle-mounted fogging machines.

‘Minimal impact...’

There’s only one problem.

Experts, municipal officials and councillors are divided on whether fogging is really helping Delhi deal with the mosquito menace.

Councillors and municipal officials have repeatedly said in meetings of Standing Committees that fumigation has minimal impact on controlling the spread of vector-borne diseases as it only targets adult mosquitoes, not the larvae.

‘...but people are satisfied’

But, it works well in one way.

“People are satisfied. I can’t comment on the scientific impact, but the fumigation drive is working,” said Subhash Arya, the Leader of the House in the SDMC.

The SDMC has borne the brunt of the mosquito menace, with 353 of the total 1,692 dengue cases as of September 24 coming from South Delhi — the highest of the three corporations.

Mr. Arya added that while adult mosquitoes are killed through fumigation, the practice can’t lead to total eradication of the disease-carrying insects. However, he said the fogging efforts had been intensified.

Not all residents are satisfied though.

B.S. Vohra, the president of the east Delhi RWAs Joint Front, said that while regular fogging is being carried out, the results are short-lived.

“There is respite from mosquitoes for a few hours or a day at most after fogging, but then the mosquitoes are back. In almost every other household there is a patient of chikungunya or dengue,” said Mr. Vohra.

Apart from questions about its effectiveness, there are concerns about the environmental and health impact. As per the National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme’s Operational Guidelines for Urban Vector-Borne Disease Control 2016, one part of malathion is to be mixed with 19 parts of diesel.

Last year, when Delhi saw a record-breaking number of dengue cases at over 15,000, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) had said that the fogging drive was ineffective in controlling the disease.

Adding to that, the director-general of the CSE, Sunita Narain, told The Hindu on Saturday that fogging was the “last resort” all over the world.

“It is being seen as ineffective. Over time, it builds resistance and even impacts water sources. What is being done for site management where breeding occurs? Every pothole, every garbage dump is a potential site for breeding,” said Ms. Narain.

Fogging has little impact on controlling the spread of diseases as it only targets adult mosquitoes.

with thanks : The Hindu

2 years on, Swachh Bharat yet to reach Bhalswa

Landfill sites across Capital continue to grow upwards even as civic bodies claim efforts made to improve sanitation

As smoke rises from the burning garbage, Bhalswa may as well be on a different planet than the manicured lawns of Lutyens’ Delhi where Union Ministers will mark the second anniversary of the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission on Sunday.

On the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the nationwide cleanliness drive on October 2, 2014.

The goal was a ‘clean India’ by 2019 - the 150th birth anniversary of the father of the nation.

Two years since its launch, Swachh Bharat has not reached the outskirts of the Capital, where a mountain of garbage at the Bhalswa sanitary landfill site continues to grow, and burn.

The 40-acre landfill operated by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation exceeded its intended capacity years ago.

Along with the South Delhi Municipal Corporation’s Okhla landfill and the East Delhi Municipal Corporation’s landfill at Ghazipur, the Bhalswa site continues to grow upwards.

Delhi produces an average of 8,360 metric tonnes (MT) of municipal solid waste (MSW) every day - nearly all of it is dumped at the landfills unprocessed.

Slow progress

While the civic bodies of Delhi have made efforts to improve processing, with waste-to-energy plants at Timarpur-Okhla, Ghazipur and Narela-Bawana being set up, the progress has been slow. For instance, the North Corporation’s Narela-Bawana plant was supposed to start operations in 2013, but it is still only in trial phase, a spokesperson said.

When it comes to alternatives to the dumping grounds, the civic bodies have not had much success.

Vijay Prakash Pandey, the Leader of the House of the North Corporation, admitted that fires did erupt “routinely” on the Bhalswa landfill, but the civic body had no other option but to continue dumping garbage there.

“We don’t have any other land. Where we got some land, residents protested. No one wants a landfill near their house. We also have a lack of funds,” said Mr. Pandey.

He added that the North Corporation was in the process of improving garbage collection.

The civic body’s garbage collection contract had been at the centre of a controversy earlier this year when then-Mayor Ravinder Gupta and the rest of the BJP leaders in the corporation publicly disagreed on how much it should cost to lift trash.

The infighting led to the contract being put on hold and the existing contractor being given extensions. Mr. Pandey, however, said that the new proposal that should be drawn up in a month would improve sanitation.

Waste processing

The SDMC has already embarked on its project to improve trash collection. Starting with the Central Zone, the corporation will outsource the process of collection from street-level, processing through compactors and transportation to the landfill. On Saturday, Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung inaugurated five of the fixed compactor transfer stations.

With all four zones of the SDMC to follow, Shailender Singh, the chairperson of the corporation’s Standing Committee, said there would be a “revolutionary change” in garbage collection in the next six months.

“The compactors will squeeze the garbage, making it easier to transport. We have been trying to improve our collection, but floating the tender takes time,” said Mr. Singh.

Overflowing dhalaos

The slow process of getting projects approved has also hit plans to construct more public toilets. With the east and north corporations facing a cash-crunch, the collection of garbage from dumps or dhalaoshas also suffered. The president of the East Delhi RWAs Joint Front, B.S. Vohra, said that while residents welcomed the idea of the Swachh Bharat Mission, the “implementation has been poor”.

“Next to nothing has changed on the ground. In fact, earlier the dhalaos would be cleared twice a day, but now we are lucky if they are cleaned even once. Garbage is always overflowing on to the roads,” said Mr. Vohra.

In fact, the EDMC fell from rank 47 in 2014 to 52 in the 2016 Swachh Bharat rankings. However, there was some hope, with the SDMC and North Corporation improving from 47 to 39 rank and 47 to 43 rank respectively.

The New Delhi Municipal Council, where the corridors of power are, improved from rank seven in 2014 to four in 2016. On Sunday morning, when Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu flags off the NDMC’s ‘Swachhta Rally’ at the lawns of India Gate, the fires of Bhalswa will be miles away.

We don’t have any other land. Where we got land, people protested. No one wants a landfill near their house. We also have a lack of funds

with thanks : The Hindu

Indian Army conducts surgical strikes on terror camps in PoK

Pics with thanks to various sources on Yahoo, FB, Twitter,

Waste segregation at source key to solution on waste issues

Dear Sir,

Waste segregation at source is key to solution on problems arising out of ever increasing uncontrolled waste generation. We have to look for solutions at the source of waste generation itself.As per article in TOI on 27th Sept 2016, 431 truckloads of domestic waste is dumped in a single day at east Delhi Gazipur dumping site. This is what  we need to work on as it constitutes valuable green waste from individual households and when disposed off mixed in poly bags generates toxic fumes. This mixed domestic waste is a health hazard and cause of great environmental pollution.

 Out of total domestic waste 65% is from Kitchen and is green waste.Residents and communities should be  made aware of importance of waste segregation and it also should be made mandatory.Secondly awareness on  easy cost effective ways of composting should be made available and encouraged.Thirdly government and agencies should help in easy implementation of the processes by making space available for the project. The manure thus produced should be accepted by government nurseries. By initiating these measures the problem can be tackled to a large extent.

The benefits are bound to surpass the efforts made in this direction.

The segregated waste disposal will save time of garbage handlers as they spend close to half a day in segregating waste at Dhalaos. They will work in much hygienic conditions and ensure cleaner environment around waste dumping sites.

The valuable green waste will fetch them good money once they are shown and given easy composting solutions.The government will not be under constant pressure to look for landfill sites.Citizens will get respite from air and environmental  pollution. The financial empowerment of poorest of poor would surely have an impact on controlling crime around dumping sites.Lessen the use of polybags for waste disposal.Save stray cows and animals from ingesting polybags along with green waste .And most important would be , that our efforts will lead towards preserving the fertility of soil for future generations.

Our SHIELD society has initiated such measures by training people in various localities with fair amount of successes.We had initiated the project more than six months ago in few areas of Sangam vihar ,Safdarjung B4 ,Masjid Moth DDA Flats phase1 ,Shahpurjat Dhalao etc.We in our experience have found that the major roadblocks is  our limited outreach to people and awareness on options of composting available to people.Principal of Saint Kabir school Hissar learnt the technique from our Harit Kachra Kranti whats app group and successfully introduced the concept to school children. We should introduce this in MCD schools as mandatory school project for class four or  five students. At that age children are more receptive to new ideas.The benefits of the project are far reaching and manifold.

Since the creators of the problem to large extent are citizens ! rich or poor ,the solution also lies in our hands.

Ranju Minhas

help prevent dengue /chicken gunya

Construction sites have staganted water in shafts /lift shafts,open or partially closed water tanks ,area below staircase ,in basement  where dengue/chicken mosquitoes can breed  through out the year/through out the period of construction.The chowkidar & resident labour suffers through out.Supervisor/contractor/owner are unaware of the correct method to eliminate breeding.No one like to have dengue /chicken gunya but because no one has guided them properly there is breeding at construction sites inspite of fact that the site is frequently fogged & some chemicals are put at stagant water.

The fault is that the stagnant water in shafts is mixed with lot of debris like wooden planks of shuttering which prevent the  fog /chemicals from reaching all areas of stagnant water .Further the water in shaft is at a great depth at basement level where fog may not reach.There are water tanks in basement  where fog may not reach.The underground water tanks/syntax water tanks are partially covered or covered with  only a small opening through which fog may not be able to enter the water tanks.

The easy, effective solution is squeezing some kerosene oil/petrol or diesel through the hole in a lid of a plastic bottle over all surface of stagnant water in the various shafts,water tanks,basement & else where .  .Kerosene/petrol spreads over the surface of water killing all larvae.It does not kill eggs ,pupa & adults.It has to be repeated after 4 days to kill any larvae which have emerged from the remaining eggs.Adults may be killed by one time fogging.After that koil may be squeezed every 7^th day.Water tanks should be kept covered with oversize covers .Shafts should be got cleaned of visible debris frequently .Stagnant water should be evacuated as frequently as possible.

If people can interact with the supervisors/contractors/owners & apprise them of these measures,it can be of great help in reducing breeding of dengue mosquitoes

Dr VK Aggarwal