:: Delhi Greens ::

What was perhaps a never before seen sight in the history of Yamuna River cleanup actions in Delhi, lakhs of people turned up in the vicinity of Purana Qila to accept ownership of the dying river and take an action oriented pledge to clean Delhi’s lifeline. An awakening call by the spiritual leader H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in the presence of the Delhi Chief Secretary, Mayor and scores of renowned personalities from different fields did what is otherwise considered impossible by many. Smt. Kiran Walia also graced the occasion. “Guruji is known for making the impossible possible”, explained a devout from among the crowd.

Meri Dilli Meri Yamuna: the call to action began with a Shankh Naad by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar–who was joined by thousands in the crowd–exhibiting the unity and oneness among the masses for the cause, beyond caste, region, religion or even the red tapism! Yamuna then came alive on the very stage, with the amazing play performance by a group of differently abled citizens and directed by Shri Salauddin Pasha. The daughter of Surya – the Sun God, and the sister of Yama, the God of Death, is shown to get so fed up with the pollution that she decided to return to her father. And only after being illustratively convinced by Her brother and by the Sun God, on how Delhi will die without her, and after getting a call by the dying Delhiites, does she agree to return.

This was preceded by a beautiful song on Yamuna by Chitra Roy, which underlined the importance of the river to all of us. H.H. Sri Sri was present throughout and kept encouraging the people for taking action now and becoming adamant for ensuring Yamunaji is once again clean and full of life. The cheers from the massive crowd was enough for any environmentalist in the city to become full of energy and reassurance.

The Cleanup campaign of the banks of Yamuna will begin from today, and would be a 8 days programme which will be adequately followed up from time to time. As called by the Guruji, the masses have also been asked to keep themselves aware of every government policy for cleaning the river water, help the Government wherever required and also keep a check on the spending of public money.

ALL DELHIITES ARE INVITED TO JOIN THE RIVER CLEANUP CAMPAIGN AS BELOW:

To participate in the 8 Days, 8 Ghats Cleaning Drive from 17 to 24th March 2010, please contact the respective volunteers at the following numbers:

March 18: Wazirabad: 9810056143
March 19: Nizamuddin: 9910197070
March 20: Kalindi Kunj: 9810027193
March 21: ITO: 9810019055
March 22: Okhla Bird Sanctuary: 9819207211
March 23: Yamuna Bazaar: 9811594494
March 24: Okhla Dhobi Ghat: 9650930109

Previously on Delhi Greens:

• Meri Dilli Meri Yamuna: A Citizens’s Unite for a Clean River
• Invite: Launch of Meri Dilli Meri Yamuna Citizen’s Initiative

Meri Dilli Meri Yamuna, an initiative of The Art of Living which finds full support from Delhi Greens, is a project for making a difference to our city, Delhi-NCR.

River Yamuna is immensely important for the economic, ecological and basic needs of the region and its people. But, over the years, it has become one of the most endangered waterways in India. Numerous attempts have not had much success, and there is confusion about what lies ahead in the future – for the river as well for all of us.

As already notified, the campaign is beginning with an event on March 16, 2010 on the banks of the river, and calls for citizens and leaders from all sectors and areas to come together and participate.

Date: 16th March, 2010
Time: 7 pm
Venue: Purana Qila

His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of the Art of Living has already called for every person in the city to come together so as to raise awareness on the status of the river, to inform and alert the Government and concerned agencies and to work with the latter to bring about a difference – in the river quality and also in our lives and daily habits.

Eminent personalities, including those from the concerned departments of the Government would also be present on the occasion. These include, Shri Jairam Ramesh, Smt. Kiran Walia, Shri Kanwar Sain, Shri Ramesh Negi along with a number of stakeholders from corporate houses, culture, art, fashion, media, RWAs, government agencies, NGOs, etc.

Image © Delhi Greens, 2009 from the ‘Kiski Dilli’ Publication.

This is THE call for a clean, blue Yamuna, and a sustainable urban development for Delhi. All our encouraged to participate.

Earth Hour is a WWF initiative where citizens around the globe show their support for action on climate change by turning off lights for one hour. This year the switch off is being observed on March 27, 2010, from 8.30 pm to 9.30 pm.

The campaign was recently launched by the Chief Minister of Delhi Smt. Sheila Dikshit and film actor Abhishek Bachchan, in the presence of WWF-India’s SG and CEO Mr. Ravi Singh. Abhishek along with Smt Sheila Dikshit lit the ‘candle of hope’ encouraging citizens of India to ‘switch on’ their minds and showcase solidarity and commitment towards climate change and energy conservation by ‘switching off’ the lights for one hour on the 27th of March.

Earth Hour 2010 is expected to be a culmination of over one billion people around the globe, in more than 6000 cities and towns worldwide, turning off lights and showing support for action on climate change. Mr. Ravi Singh, Secretary General and CEO, WWF-India, said, “Earth Hour 2009 was the largest climate action in history. It was heartening to receive tremendous support for the campaign from all sections of the society all across India it symbolized the aspirations and willingness of our citizens to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle. He hoped Earth Hour 2010 will have even wider participation.

Hon’ble Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dikshit reminded everyone of how Delhi was the lead city for Earth Hour 2009 when India joined this global campaign. Several historical buildings, office complexes, RWAs, shopping centers and hotels switched off in support, resulting in close to 600 MW power saving in Delhi alone. She expressed hope as well as confidence that Earth Hour 2010 will also be taken forward in Delhi in a similar manner, only with even greater participation.

Participate in Earth Hour 2010: Switch off your lights, electrical appliances (even your mobile phone for one hour!) on March 27th, 2010 — from 8.30 PM to 9.30 PM (or longer if you wish to!)

Previously on Delhi Greens:

• Earth Hour at Dilli Haat Amidst Rain and Lightening

Lok Sabha MP Dr. Thokchom Meinya (third from left), Govind Singh from Delhi Greens (center), Dr. Irfan Quereshi from Jamia Millia Islamia (first from right) along with other Save Loktak Campaigners at Gandhi Darshan in New Delhi

It is one of the largest freshwater lake in India’s North-East and hosts the world’s only floating island National Park – the Keibul Lamjao National Park, the last habitat of the less than 200 remaining population of Sangai, the brow antlered dancing deer of Manipur. And now, the rapidly degrading and much threatened Loktak Lake has a second chance – a voice at the Center and an echo from the region.

Inaugurating the Campaign

On 7th March, 2010, the North East Center for Environmental Education & Research (NECEER), in partnership with a series of organisations, launched an International campaign to Save the Loktak, hosted at the same time in New Delhi and Imphal.

The campaign was launched by a call to youth action on environment made by the dynamic Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) Dr. Thokchom Meinya from Inner Manipur. This was followed by a note on the pathway for green action by Govind Singh of Delhi Greens and a talk on the science of conservation of Loktak Lake. An interactive session was followed wherein the youth had a series of questions and queries on the status of environment in Manipur, conservation strategies and government initiatives. A poster competition, a street play and a Manipuri folk dance followed this first ever world wide attempt at raising awareness and calling for action for saving the Loktak Lake.

In Imphal, the campaign was launched by well-known environmentalists like R. K. Ranjan, Kh. Shamungou, H. Meghachandra, O. Samoa all of whom expressed concern over the deteriorating condition of the lake. Issues such as the rapid expansion of weeds (phumdis), siltation, pollution and effluents from Loktak Hydro electric power project were discussed and pondered upon. The campaign aimed at involving the youth and mobilizing the general public for saving the Loktak Lake.

Girls dressed for the traditional Manipuri dance performance

The energy and interest shown by the youth from the region and also from other parts of the country was overwhelming. The issue of insurgency and access to remote parts of Manipur state also surfaced during the course of discussions. MP Meinya suggested a political solution to the problem by suggesting that all eminent people in the state, of which there are plenty,  should be invited over a cup of tea, as a first goodwill gesture towards a more hopeful future. Govind Singh suggested that only when the importance of local self governance will be realized–in the true spirit that even Mahatma Gandhi had envisioned for independent India–and youth begin to participate in the democratic processes of the state can there be a hope for a peaceful and prosperous tomorrow.

The 7th March event was the first step and a landmark day for the International Save Loktak Lake Campaign. The NECEER and Delhi Greens remain dedicated towards generating awareness and inspiring green action for protection and conservation of the Loktak Lake ecosystem and will continue working for ensuring the same.

Previously on Delhi Greens:

• Invite: Worldwide Save Loktak Campaign at Gandhi Darshan
• March 7, 2010: Save Loktak Lake Campaign
• Delhi Greens partners for Global Day of Action in Imphal, Manipur

Last week, Central Board of Secondary-school Certification Examinations (CBSE) began in Delhi and all over India. It is the first public examination for the children of 10th standard. This is the first among various other public exams that a child will face in her/his life. Almost all of us have gone through such a phase in our lives.

Remember our parents accompanied us mostly with our younger siblings in the tow, for the exams. Most of us are children of families where there are two or at best three children with both parents working. Our parents heavily emphasized the importance of these exams right from the day we joined the schools we went to. So did our schools and its faculty.

Remember the rush outside the assigned schools that is our centre? No matter how broad the roads outside the schools are, there is always chaos outside the gate, the honking, the traffic jams. Each of our parents have to drive us down to the centre to absolve us of our stress. Then there is an equally chaotic exit when the paper has ended.

There is a police station right at the mouth of the lane where my daughter goes for her exams. As a parent, it took me half an our to come out of the gate to the main road which is less than 100 meters. And an hour to get out of the same road after the exams were over when I went to pick up my child. As you can see I am no exception to this.

So what is the issue? The issue is neither the school that is the centre nor the police who are responsible for managing the traffic outside respective school premises. All that is needed is a small bit of traffic management. A simple one way sign that directs the traffic from one end of the lane to the other and a person authorized to do so. The issue is not to blame or find faults with anyone, but to look for something that is missing–the presence of which would make a difference. The issue is that no one is ready to take the responsibility.

Considered to be the lifeline of Manipur state, North-east’s largest freshwater lake – Loktak – is today in a sorry state. Already declared a Ramsar site- a status given to world’s most threatened wetlands, this rapidly degrading lake has a total area of 300 sq. km. It is home to the endangered Manipur brow antlered deer ‘Sangai’ – Cervus eldi eldi and several plant species. Keibul Lamjao National Park, the only floating national park in the world is situated at the south west part of Loktak Lake.

Loktak Lake has been a main source of income and sustenance for inhabitants of the population living around it. However, since the last few decades the lake has been facing all round destructions due to natural as well as anthropogenic activities. Rapid expansion of ‘phumdis’, siltation, pollution, agriculture and adverse effect from Loktak Hydropower Project are some of the main problems which have led to an alarming destruction of the lake.

To raise awareness on the plight of the lake, and to draw attention towards an urgent need for action, the North East Center for Environment Education Research has partnered with Delhi Greens, and a series of environmental organisations in calling for an INTERNATIONAL SAVE LOKTAK LAKE CAMPAIGN on 7th March 2010. The event is taking place in 20 cities across three continents. Delhi Greens invites you to the Delhi chapter of the campaign at Gandhi Darhsan, Opposite Rajghat.

Date: 7th March, 2010 (Sunday)
Time: 9.30 am to 1230 pm
Venue: Gandhi Darshan, Opposite Rajghat, Rajghat Powerhouse Road

The event will have eminent speakers including MP Thockchom Meinya Singh, Dr. Irfan Quereshi from Jamia Millia Islamia, etc. who would be expressing their concerns over the issue. A poster competition for school and college students has also been organised.

Click here to connect with the campaign on Facebook

For further information and to participate, please contact:

Aastha Kukreti
aastha@delhigreens.org
9873124937

Mehnaz Lee
mehnazlee@gmail.com
9871318891

Ever considered the question: how do we acquire knowledge about the physical environment around us? The easiest way to get to know about environment in general and environmental issues in particular is to open a text book. In our academic curriculum, in our schools and colleges, in any discipline, we will get enough information about the issues and problems of modern day environment. If we are extra curious, we can go to the nearby library to get books on specific aspects of environment like wildlife or birds or trees or flowers and butterflies.

Beyond this there are those interesting slide shows by people who have gone there and captured it all in slides or movies of their own. These are frequently offered in colleges and University film clubs and in IIC and IHC in the city.  If we are a little more adventurous, we can visit a National Park or a game sanctuary and take pictures of nature with our own cameras. Ask any WWF enthusiast about the pictures s/he took, the taste of the tamarind flower he ate, or the wild berry he bit on or the honey at the bottom of the flower he sucked on and you will get a whole new story about the experience they have to share. Then there are National Geographic etc. channels that let nature into your house.

Further, you can separate out those who are enthusiasts, from those who are committed through their own action and supporting actions of others towards conservation of nature. These are the people who always get a yes! for whatever they propose at the level of action. They powerfully invite us common people to participate. They stand for environment and provide the opportunity and credibility. They are straight forward through out their life about their commitment to nature. For such persons, there would be an interesting answer for this question. They will all be able to share with you that one moment at which it all began. That first moment, that one innocent experience from their childhood that truly touched them. That is when the proverbial moth transformed into the butterfly.

I am not anywhere near say Sunderlalji Bahuguna etc, but for me too there has been a moment. It is those evenings on the beach, when I was 7 or 8 years of age, standing on the edge of a wave breaker wall and jumping off on to the wet sands below. Those brief moments when I could feel myself flying. That determined my commitment and love for nature. What was yours? Do contribute…

“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are to miss the future” – John. F. Kennedy

Well that’s an apt statement truly depicting man’s present suffering based on his previous actions of non-judicious use of resources. Change is the law of nature and the earth has witnessed it for billions of years. As it was a natural and gradual process then, so the ecosystem could adapt to the change without any adverse impacts. But the increased human interference in the present times has disrupted the natural balance. Climate change is a consequence of the same and is having far-reaching and catastrophic social impacts affecting communities in different ways. People in developing countries are making little or no direct contribution to climate change but are likely to be among the most affected. And India lies under this same category.

According to me, health implications of climate change are one of the biggest social impact of climate change. Climate change has increased experiences of heat stress, injury and death from natural disasters (such as floods and windstorms), vector-borne diseases (such as malaria, dengue, schistosomiasis and tick-borne diseases), water- and food-borne diseases. The elderly and women are likely to be disproportionately affected by the increased disease burden.

In developing countries like Africa, where severe health problems such as malaria, HIV/AIDS and hunger-related diseases are already widespread, the added health implications of climate change are likely to result in an increase in human mortality. Rising temperatures may increase risks associated with aquatic pathogens in important fisheries, and accelerate the spoiling of food and meat.

As an example of community at the frontline of health impact and adapted to such problems, I will talk of “Vidarbha farmers” who faced the outbreak of Chikungunya in year 2006 that rightly indicts “Climate Change as the biggest global health threat of 21st century”. The cotton growers in Vidarbha, a region of the state of Maharashtra that is popularly known as India’s cotton belt, have been hard-hit in recent years by plunging cotton prices and the rising cost of fertilizer and other inputs. Crushed by mounting debts, thousands of peasants have committed suicide. And these woes were aggravated by extensive drought followed by floods, which have devastated crops and precipitated an outbreak of “Chikungunya” viral fever.

The water-borne Chikungunya virus is spread to humans through the bite of mosquitoes. It causes high fever, headache, severe joint pains, a rash, nausea and vomiting. Although Chikungunya victims generally do not die, the infection can and does cause fatalities among those already in poor health. According to doctors, “People’s immunity has gone down due to less food intake,” and the outbreak of disease and its epidemic proportion is linked to the declining food intake of Vidarbha’s farming families. This amounted to death of close to 200 people in Vidarbha alone.
The situation turns even more grave with tens of thousands of farmers not able to afford proper medical care and this is the hidden face of the crisis.

There are many such impacts, living organisms are facing at present because of their own past deeds.

This piece was written as an entry requirement to YUVA Meet, 2010. Watch this space for a series of many such problems from across the world.

Here’s wishing everyone a colourful and well meant Holi hoping it is celebrated with all the natural colours and a judicious and well thought of use of water!

Haven’t we played enough?

Image source: over the Internet

Students of Kamala Nehru and Gargi College, along with representatives of the Residents Welfare Association (RWA) of Anand Lok, Gulmohar Park and adjoining areas came together to demonstrate against the rampant felling of trees and the ‘killing’ of footpath space in the area. Students and residents carried posters and display banners reading “Don’t kill our footpath space. Don’t kill us on the road” in the protest march from the Mithaas Complex in front of Gargi College to the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) office.

The road stretch and the intersection near the college premises is already a congestion site and a traffic mess. Two trees have been cut and the CPWD plans to fell more and also break the pavement on both sides of the road, leaving barely any space for the pedestrians to walk on. The students of Kamala Nehru College, have protested in written to the DCP, South District, Delhi, warning that they will be forced to hold another protest march and jam the roads in front of the college in case the CPWD goes ahead with the tree-cutting drive.

A similar protest in 2007, calling for immediate stopping of the indiscriminate felling of trees around the Siri Fort area was noticed but overlooked by the Government, on pretext of “planning” for the Commonwealth Games 2010. Two weeks of Commonwealth Games does not mean we sacrifice our environment and risk thousands of young lives. The Trees are a necessity, the pavements our right, is the message the students are trying to get across to the Government and the policy makers. Are these Commonwealth Games, or Games to take away are Common Wealth?…the question resurfaces yet again..

Previously on Delhi Greens:

• Protesting against the 1000 trees being cut in the university campus
• Trees For Delhi – Protest on World Environment Day