Going up and Down

Petrol prices are going up 
Diesel prices are going up 
Lpg prices are going up
Onion prices are going up 
Indo pak tensions are going up 
prices are going up
temperatures are going up 
Animal instincts of man going up
My BP is going up 
Share prices are going up 

Water levels in rivers are going down 
Patience is going down 
good deeds are going down 
Air quality is going down 
Human life value is going down 

The values we need to live with
joy and happiness in going down
Every thing good is going down 
Everything else is going up

These may be the signs of our times
keep your sanity is the way forward    

100 days of LDF Government

The LDF Government in Kerala is completing 100 days in power.

The left came to power after 5 years of misrule by the Congress led UDF.People has high expectations from this Government.

It seems that when you get power it is very heady and intoxicating .The leaders and ministers including CM have started shooting off their mouths as soon as they assumed power.

There were debates and protests over statements by ministers and party leaders on issues like  Sabarimala,reopening of Bars, killing of politicalopponents,celebrating Krishna Jayanthi,celebrationg Onam ,lighting of lamp on functions ,statements war between CPI and CPM , etc .

We can attribute this to what we call starting trouble or letting off steam after getting the power or trying to establish their political credentials .I would like tell all these leader and ministers, including the CM, that by now people, party cadre and your vote bank are clearly convinced that you are serious about fighting “majority communalism “and protection of “minorities “.

It is high time that you look into real issues facing the common man now

We have serious issues like price rise ( you had promised no price rise for the next 5 years, looks like it is comparable to Modi’s “jumla” statement on Black money during election campaign  ) ,spreading of deadly diseases like Cholera in many parts of the state, serious issues in waste disposal and processing ,lack of  medical facilities ,pathetic road conditions ,professional college admission  and other student related issues, international terrorist organisations operating and recruiting people for their

Terrorist activities abroad, return of workers from gulf countries ,growing menace of drug usage among youth, lacks of sufficient rainfall which will affect supply of drinking and irrigation water ,preserving water resources, challenges facing the tourism sector  and many other issues which needs urgent attention .

The Government is also responsible for bringing in industries, infrastructure projects, new ideas for boost the farming and related sectors, completing on going projects on time which will help bring in investment which in turn will generate jobs and income for the people of Kerala .It is very important because job opportunities for Keralites in other places especially in the Gulf countries is shrinking or becoming non existent.

The Government should also find ways to increase revenue and tax collection which it needs very badly to implement various welfare projects it has planned or announced as it inherited a empty treasury as it claims .

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So it is high time to stop these kinds credential showing statements by all and start working to find the resources which will help find solutions for various problems and implement various welfare projects .It will help boost the image of the Government .For that a truly disciplined and dedicated approach is required .Just issuing high moral statements are not enough .

Hope good sense will prevail and the Government will rise above the narrow party ideology and work towards the interest of all sections of the people and the state in mind.

A good performance of this Government is very crucial for the Left movement in the

Country, because Bengal doesn’t offer any hope in the near future after the suicidal

electoral pact with Congress and Tripura is too small to be significant.

Already in many states the political space that should have been occupied by the Left is taken over by others .It is not a good sign .So a good Government will be a fillip for the Left to resurrect their movement all over the country

Bank Visit

Recently I visited my nationalised bank’s branch to transact some business.

I had to deposit one check, deposit some cash and updated my passbook.

The bank was an air-conditioned one with about 20 people working in a relaxed and cool atmosphere .There was not much rush of customers in the bank.

I had to deposit the check in box, deposit the cash in machine and again the passbook was updated by machine .Then I started wondering what all the employees are doing.

We know that the bank employees are a well paid lot, have job security, with fixed  

working hours, enjoy many allowances and benefits and enjoy all national holidays.

They seem to be having a cosy working life compared to millions of Indians who struggle to make a living everyday. Even people working in the IT industry do not have such a working atmosphere .Nowadays customers can transact most of the business online so there is not much work pressure are it used to be in the manual era.

I discussed this with a friend of mine who works for a bank like this .He started arguing with me saying what you see is not real picture or truth.

In fact he told me that they are going to strike work on Friday against the policies of the government and for better working conditions

My Reaction was “are you serious? “or “ are you kidding “ 

Olympics and India

Olympics is the ultimate test for an athlete where they compete against opponents from all over the world. To win in an Olympics needs years of planning and preparation . You need to work hard and should have determination to achieve glory for your country and for yourself . Here always your country comes first .

Most of the countries start preparing for it years ahead and encourage their athletes by providing them top facilities and coaches .The athletes are also very determined to win glory for their country.This has been going for years and most of the top athletes are known for their heroic deeds in Olympics.

Look at India there is no preparation for it , most of the sports bodies are controlled by politicians or their cronies for years .Promotion of sports and winning glory for their country is least of their priorities.same goes for the athletes ,barring a few they are not interested in bringing glories for the country nor they are ready to work for it. Even some one wants to work for it there is no facilities.Most of them aim to land a cushy job in government companies and enjoy life .

The current Olympics were  not different ,most of them  did not even go beyond the first round of their events .

The focus is on cricket which generates money for the controlling body and players are also get paid well .The IPL also gives a lot of money even for the under performers.In cricket also we are tigers at home or in the sub continent and if we go abroad we stand no chance . They days of Indian cricketers dominating overseas is almost over.

We do not have a culture of excelling in sports or any games nor our education system do not encourage it.
We do not believe in bringing glory for the country in sports and games .
We just a nation of couch potatoes who are happy cheering some accidental heroes in sports and games .
We are a nation who follows film stars whose lives are far from reality, have no values to give to the next generation and we tend to believe that whatever they do is the right thing

This is part of a blog I posted on 30/7/2012..nothing much has changed ..So posting it again with slight changes 

General Strike

WB CM's statement :will not allow Sept 2 general strike to be a Bangla Bandh as it will hurt the economy of the state..

Kerala CM's statement :Issues a Facebook post fully supporting the strike and the complete shutdown

One CM is acting as an Administrator with the interest of the State in mind

Other CM is acting just as a Party leader with the interest of his party only in mind

We need CMs like the first one

The Ravage of floods –Is there a solution in interlinking ?

Recent news reports indicate that there is a serious flood situation in North and North East India. States of UP, Bihar, MP, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Assam and other states are reeling due the affect of floods caused by heavy rains.

Large tracts of land are submerged destroying crops, houses and bringing misery to people .Lakhs of people are evacuated and crores of rupees have been allocated for flood relief .This is an annual phenomenon in North and North East India where the major rivers like Ganga, Yamuna, Narmada and Brahmaputra flows .Floods occur in these states every year and each year the devastation caused by these floods are increasing .Millions of people are displaced and left with nothing.

Sharing of water and disputes about it 

Meanwhile in South India the rains have been insufficient especially in Karnataka and TN .Recently a delegation of farmers from Cauvery delta in TN met Chief Minister of Karnataka to urge him to release water to TN for the Samba crop. The CM expressed his inability to do as the water levels in Dams in Karnataka are low because of insufficient rains.

Sharing of water in a very emotional issue .There are fights going on between various Indian states on this issue. There is a dispute going on between Goa and Karnataka for release of water from the Mahadyayi River and it has become a very sensitive and emotional issue in Karnataka right now. There is an ongoing water disputes between almost all South Indian states and between some North Indian states .There is also International water disputes going on between India and its neighbours.

Water has become a very precious commodity these days .Due to destruction of forests, climate change due to Global warming the rain patterns have been changing and some times it has become most unpredictable. Some years there will be sufficient rains, some years insufficient and some year’s very excess rains .Here also rains received by different regions of the Country vary year by year.

India still being a predominantly agricultural country heavily depends on the Monsoons rains .The farming output of the country depends on seasonal and sufficient rains; otherwise it will either cause floods or draught in various part of the country.

So how can we find a solution to this problem?

Inter linking of rivers has been suggested as a solution for a long time now.

The British first muted the idea; as they wanted to transport goods for export from India and Imports from England which can be easily transported all over the country. Also it would have addressed water shortages and draught in many parts of India.

In the 1970s, Dr. K.L. Rao, a dam’s designer and former irrigation minister proposed "National Water Grid". He was concerned about the severe shortages of water in the South and repetitive flooding in the North every year. He suggested that the Brahmaputra and Ganga basins are water surplus areas and central and south India as water deficit areas. He proposed that surplus water be diverted to areas of deficit

Subsequently the National Water Development Agency was created and they have done detailed studies ,surveys and feasibility of interlinking of rivers ,produced many reports on this but nothing was done on this till 2013.

Now the proposal has been modified as inter river basin water transfer development from the idea of interlinking of rivers.

Is there a need for this project?

There is a clear need for interlinking or rivers or sharing of excess water from rivers caused by floods. India receives about 4,000 cubic kilometers of rain annually, or about 1 million gallons of fresh water per person every year. The nation sees cycles of drought years and flood years, with large parts of west and south experiencing more deficits and large variations, resulting in immense hardship particularly the poorest farmers and rural populations. Lack of irrigation water regionally leads to crop failures and farmer suicides. Despite abundant rains during July–September, some regions in other seasons see shortages of drinking water.

Population increase in India is the other driver of need for river inter-linking. India's population growth rate has been falling, but still continues to increase by about 10 to 15 million people every year. The resulting demand for food must be satisfied with higher yields and better crop security, both of which require adequate irrigation of about 140 million hectares of land. Currently, just a fraction of that land is irrigated, and most irrigation relies on monsoon. River inter-linking is claimed to be a possible means of assured and better irrigation for more farmers, and thus better food security for a growing population.

How can we do it?

But this is not going too easy .This project involves heavy expenditure of  thousands of crores of rupees, huge planning, huge labour force and first and most important political will to implement the project. Currently India have successfully implemented the linking Krishna and Godavari rivers through pattiseema lift irrigation  scheme in Andra Pradesh which shows it is possible to do it .

The need right now is the political will and the realization of the need for it by all major political parties’ and others .As I have mentioned this is a very emotional issue political and religious groups should realize the need and stop exploiting it for furthering their political ambitions.

All stake holders should sit together, discuss various ideas to implement the projects and decide on the best way to achieve it .This should involve all sections of the society and with patience and political will I am sure an ideal solution can be found and implemented .The tendency to put unnecessary legal hurdles in the way of project should be avoided and it should not be encouraged by Judiciary .A fast track redressal mechanism should in place to address any grievances arising out of the project.

This kind of a project involves huge cost, manpower, expertise to be implemented successfully. The Central and State Governments can manage the financial part by pooling the resources .India have a large pool of manpower which can be used through the NREGA and other schemes for the construction and other related activities which will guarantee employment for the rural population and will prevent migration of people to cities in search of employment .For design and implementation  part India have enough talent for designing ,engineering ,implementing the project .We do have the expertise to use the latest computer and satellite technology to aid the designing, monitoring and implementation of the project .

Environmental impact is a major concern, so a detailed and in depth study should done on these aspects and suggestions from these studies should be included during the implementation of the project.

What benefits it will bring us?

If successfully implemented it will change the face of rural and urban India, will

ensure food and water security, steady employment and agriculture income.

This will change the whole face of rural and urban India and we will become a truly

21 st century India

There are many examples globally where this kind of interlinking has been done

successfully .Some of them are Rhine-Main-Danube canal in Europe, Illinois water way , Tennesse-Tombigbee water way,Gulf intercoastal water way in US, South-North water transfer project in China .

Recently the law makers and political parties sat together and passed the GST bill which is the first major financial reform implemented in India after Independence .This will revolutionise and simplify tax and revenue collection in India and increase our GDP at least by 2%.

This is an example which shows it IS possible to generate consensus on major issues affecting the nation and implement these kinds of projects in India

The first and foremost need  is the political will .Let’s pray the current and future administrators will take this up on priority  and all political parties ,civil society groups ,industries ,environmentalists  and common man of India will work together to make this a reality .We certainly and desperately need this kind of projects to ensure overall welfare people and the country .

Reference: Wikipedia 

Bangalore Days-Demolished by corruption

Recently Bangalore Municipal Corporation has started a demolition drive in the city to clear what they call “illegal” encroachments. The officials demolished thousands of houses, citing encroachment of lakes and connecting canals. While doing so they relied on a 1905 British map of the city. Citizens are shocked and the tales of destruction are heart breaking.

The officials argue that most of the structures are built on canals or Rajakaluve as they are called in Kannada, which were built by the British to connect different lakes.

There used to around 600 lakes in the city some forty years ago but  now about 50 lakes exist and most of them are dead or in the process of being encroached upon by builders who are encouraged by corrupt municipal officials,corporators and politicians.

This is all started with software and outsourcing boom happened in Bangalore in the last twenty years .A large number of MNCs set up their software development centers here and made the city the hub of their outsourcing services providing service to clients from all over the world .A lot of software parks and offices were build and it brought a lot of jobs and prosperity to the city .People from all over the country came here and made the city their home .This resulted in a heavy demand for housing .A construction boom followed with construction of houses and apartment complexes and malls happening in a rapid pace all over the city .But there was no control or regulation on how this is being done .From here started the misery of Bangalore .

Builders with support of corrupt municipal officials, coroporators and politicians encroached most of lakes, lake beds and canals .The houses and apartments  were built in these places  which blocked free flow water between lakes.

Unsuspecting common man bought houses and apartments built on these places, with loans approved by Banks. Most of them have all the necessary valid documents issued by the Government and BBMP like possession certificate,A Katha,Encumbrance certificate .They built their houses as per plans approved by the municipal corporation. They are paying their property taxes regularly and have valid electricity and water connections. Suddenly their houses are under the threat of demolition and their livelihood is in danger .Now the officials say that most of these  documents are fake, forged by corrupt officials and action will be takes against them.

Recently there were instances of heavy flooding in many newly developed areas and it was happening year after year .Previously there used to be canals through which lakes were connected and water used to drain through them even if there was heavy rains. But new constructions blocked these canals and the government decided to demolish all unauthorized constructions.

But the question is how to go about it? Desperate Government realized that there were no authentic records or maps which will guide them, so they decided to make 1905 map prepared by the British as basis for carrying out the demolitions and most of houses destroyed are of common man who built or bought them with their hard earned money and have all the necessary records to prove it .The officials moved in suddenly and without warning or any notice started the demolition .It is very difficult to listen to heart rending tales of common people who lost everything they have one fine morning .Another ridiculous argument of the officials is that they are demolishing houses built on canals connecting lakes but in reality most these lakes do not even exist as they are already been encroached upon and houses were built on it

Now who is to blame for this mess? The Government says it is the common man to be blamed as they built houses on encroached lands .This is a ridiculous argument as they have all the necessary approvals from the municipal corporation which is part of the Government .The real culprits are the municipal officials from bottom to top ,

Corporators of all parties and builders most them are benamis for reputed politicians.

When the public outrage grew Government assured that strict action will be taken against all those responsible for the mess and just to show registered cases against some officials. Public anger is raging against the Government and the corrupt officials and politicians and every one is of the opinion that only the houses of the common man will be demolished and big builders and politicians who are big time encroachers will not be touched .If that happens the Government will have to pay a heavy price for it in future.