2010 NOV 18
JAI HIND
जय हिंद
Svachchtha Hee Vidhaatha Hai - Aur Jo Nahin Samajhtha - Tho Padhe Likhe Phir Bhi Anadi
Namaskar all,
These examples from Bengaluru show that it is extremely possible, probable, and feasible to clean India's Motherland's much sullied and littered surface.
As the Citizens behind this exceptional effort, like in Delhi, it only shows the total ineptitude of the authorities of their statutory and mandatory duties and responsibilities
Once we were in the office of the AMC, MCGM about two years ago, who spearheaded the good intentioned Clean Up! Mumbai campaign.
There was a slogan as a poster hung on the wall stating to the effect, I forgot the exact words, that if a place is cleaned and kept clean, then the public will also keep the place clean and not dirty or litter it, very similar to one of the examples in
If this is replicated, duplicated and repeated all over India, then there is every likelihood that India will recover her pristine landscape.
Thanqx.
Jagdeep DESAI
Secretary
Founder Trustee
Forum for Improving Quality of Life in Mumbai Suburbs
+91 98 6922 7148
>>>
On Sat, Nov 6, 2010 at 11:23 PM, Jagdeep DESAI <jagdeep.desai1@gmail.com> wrote:
2010 NOV 06JAI HINDजय हिंद
Svachchtha Hee Vidhaatha Hai - Aur Jo Nahin Samajhtha - Tho Padhe Likhe Phir Bhi AnadiNamaskar everybody.Seasons Greetings.Well, its good to know that my views are in consonance with those of the highest authorities, the Supreme Court.The report, echoes what I have been trying to say for years and yearsNow hope the Government hears and hears, and does something about it.Ban the gutkha packets.
Don't wait, do it now.Clean the Motherland, Bharat Mata immediately.Thanqx.Jagdeep DESAISecretaryFounder TrusteeForum for Improving Quality of Life in Mumbai Suburbs
+91 98 6922 7148>>>PSIn reference to this very crucial report.First of all, congratulations to Kunal and Chandrima, well written, and a make or break for Mumbai's sanitation, and sanity>>>Apex court asks govt: Gutkha revenue more important than health?
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre whether it was more interested in the revenue generated by sale of gutkha sachets, which experts call a poisonous cocktail of tobacco and plastic, rather than the health of millions who consume it and invite cancer.
A Bench comprising Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly asked the government to fix its priorities and sought its response by December 2. "Do government authorities know how many cancer patients are suffering from the harmful effects of gutkha and paan. Can you (Centre) have financial interests outweigh the health interest of people," it asked.
These observations came on a bunch of petitions filed by gutka manufacturers, who challenged Rajasthan high court's August 2007 decision banning use of plastic sachets for gutkha and paan contents. Resorting to 'polluter pays' principle, the HC had also ordered fines on manufacturers using plastic sachets.
Though on September 7, 2007, the SC stayed the HC order, it sought assistance of the solicitor general keeping in mind the seriousness of the issue and had made the Centre a party to the petitions. S-G Gopal Subramaniam attempted to assuage the Bench's concerns by saying, "We have appointed a committee to look into these aspects. All we are seeking is time to file an affidavit based on the findings of the report."
Though the Bench granted four weeks time to the Centre to file the affidavit, it was unimpressed by the government's stand. "The government is not doing anything except appointing committees. There must be ban on sale of these items."
Pointing out the environmental hazards posed by use of plastic sachets, thecourt gave an illustration of how the Yamuna was being choked due to plastic waste. "The next generation will thank us for choked cities and villages," it said.
The S-G used the opportunity to pacify the Bench and said the good work done by the SC in implementing the warning on cigarette packs had resulted in considerable decline in smoking. "Today, people are willing to look into the aspect of health hazards thanks to the SC's efforts," he said.>>>>>>Binned there, dumped that
We examine why Mumbai routinely features in the list of world's filthiest cities
Kunal Pradhan and Chandrima Pal
Posted On Sunday, August 29, 2010 at 02:29:14 AM
The Mughals, those connoisseurs of landscaping, built themselves perfumed gardens to escape the odours of Hindustan.
In the Solid Waste Management department of the BMC the joke is about the odours of Mumbai: If you were blindfolded how would you know which part of the city you were in? Why, at Sion it would be the smell of shit and piss; at Dadar the smell of vegetable waste is a dead giveaway; the fish odour would make your head spin in Sewri while those with a more discerning olfactory sense would know they were near the railway tracks if the stench of fish was mixed with that of viscous oil; it's burning plastic at Bhandup; and at Mahim and Kurla the no-brainer is the indescribable smell of the creek.
But for these men in the SWM department the joke has the ring of gallows humour. A recent survey of all the major cities across the country by the National Urban Sanitation Policy, found Mumbai, the Urbs Prima Indis, languishing on the 46th spot.
So where do you begin understanding this city's problem with garbage and poor sanitation which is now being blamed for its various ills - malaria, dengue, viral, among others.
City's garbage would fill Wankhede in 60 days (and that's just how much gets lifted)
Linking Road, Bandra at 6.30 am is as good a place as any. Sunil, 25, one of BMC's 60,000-strong conservancy workforce, is out at work in his fluorescent orange apron - no late-night reveller returning home drunkenly could miss him - equipped with his broom and dustpan.
Over the next two hours, even as the traffic slowly builds up, he painstakingly sweeps his allotted 500 metre patch, he cleans the footpaths, the dividers, even between the crevasse of the paver blocks.
By 9.30 am, the hawkers arrive.
They open their wares and hundreds of thin plastic bags in pink, blue, white and green take flight. Each floating packet enchanting in isolation, like Sam Mendes showed us in American Beauty, hovering aimlessly and twisting with each gust. But collectively it's an ugly sea of polythene that rises for a few moments before settling in the crevassed street corners that Sunil just toiled over.
The shopkeepers then throw out rope, dry grass, old newspapers, and sheets of thermocol - material used to seal their little makeshift shanties for the night. One by one, with efficiency and order, the items are strewn on the footpaths or hurled on the roads. In a matter of minutes, Mumbai is open for business again.
Once the shoppers arrive, the litter changes in nature and volume: paan, wrappers, banana peels, gutkha packets, cigarette butts, matchsticks, discarded food, abandoned shoes, empty bottles, shards of broken glass, wood shavings, torn jute bags, phlegm, hair, foil, old toothbrushes, empty water bottles.
Sunil watches this scene with horror sometimes. For a man who makes just Rs 150 a day, he doesn't dream of money or influence. He has only one wish: "Someone should tell them to use dust bins."
Six thousand and five hundred metric tons of garbage is collected from Mumbai every day, not counting construction waste and sewage. For most, it's an abstract figure. At the SWM department they struggle to explain the enormity of it. "It would take under 60 days to fill to the brim a cauldron the size of Wankhede Stadium with walls that were hundred feet high. That's the kind of garbage we generate"
That, of course, is only how much is lifted. The rest, lying on the streets, making Mumbai one of the filthiest big cities in the world, goes unaccounted for.
What you see...
In the BMC building at Bori Bunder, Additional Municipal Commissioner Ashish Kumar Singh fits perfectly into his large office, equipped with a conference table, a 42-inch LCD TV, and a shiny new iMac.
Described by his colleagues as soft-spoken and erudite - not always regarded as virtues in the BMC - he is responsible, among other things, for keeping the city clean. In his disarmingly cautious manner, Singh attempts to break down the difficulties his Solid Waste Management department faces.
"Cleanliness," he starts, "is not only a measure of whether or not there is garbage on the road. It is also a measure of what your eye can see at a given point. If there are pot-holes on the road, if private societies have grimy exteriors, the vision before you will be unpleasant, and therefore unclean even if there is no loose garbage lying on the street."
Rag-pickers at Deonar, where more than 4,500 of Mumbai's daily collection of 6,500 metric tons of garbage is deposited
Taking the point forward, Singh asks what makes a five-star hotel cleaner than our home, no matter how many times we may have swept and mopped it. "The difference is in the quality of the material used," he says. "If infrastructure is of a higher quality, a place automatically seems cleaner, or can be made to look cleaner with less effort."
Sixty per cent of Mumbai is slums which, unlike other big slum-heavy cities like Rio de Janeiro or Johannesburg, are not segregated.
They are within city limits, often in close proximity to middle and high-income residential societies. Even Mumbai's future development is democratic and un-gated, with SRA schemes coming up in almost every locality.
As a result, if more than half the city lives in slums, naturally many parts of it are going to look like a slum.
Singh's final, and most crucial argument however, is the key to the whole problem: a lack of education about cleanliness. "It's the basic nature of people to hide garbage at places where it's out of their way," he says. "They find the strangest nooks and corners to put it, nooks that are not always visible and usually importantly not always accessible for garbage collectors.
In the house gallis of South Mumbai, for example, which are so narrow that only a special-sized human being can enter, people will eat chicken and toss the bones out of the window. Half the garbage never reaches the dumpsters and bins. We find it after days, by when it's already breeding all sorts of illnesses."
Despite several inefficiencies in the BMC system - ranging from mass absenteeism to health hazards for the cleaning staff to petty corruption in the disposal of construction waste - it's impossible to clean a city when almost its entire population is trying to make sure it remains dirty.
The counter-argument, however, is that only understanding the problem is not its solution. Educating people, if that's what it will take, must also be the municipal corporation's prerogative.
Mopping Mumbai
In spite of its apparent failure to keep the city clean, more than half the staff in the BMC is associated in some way with the Solid Waste Management department.
The total number, including those employed as cleaners in hospitals, schools and government institutions, is a little over 60,000 people.
"Of that, 21,000 are street sweepers and 6,600 work in related activities. Sweeping is done twice a day, and garbage collection thrice. But the main work happens in the morning, before traffic starts," explains Chief Engineer (SWM) B P Patil.
A truck enters the landfill premises
Apart from the BMC staff, more than 6,000 workers have been outsourced to take care of the 4,500 zones that have been earmarked by breaking down roads and localities into 500m sections, which are each the responsibility of two sweepers. This elaborate road-cleaning operation, however, generates only 20 percent of the city's total garbage.
The majority 50 per cent is collected through door to door (or gate to gate) visits in residential societies. The BMC had initially planned to ask citizens to segregate their garbage into dry waste and bio-degradable waste before handing it over, but that system only works in certain societies where ALMs actively ensure this.
"In most others, however, the local building sweepers double up as rag-pickers. They segregate the garbage on their own and sell whatever they can on the sly. But if we ask them to do it as a system, they never comply," says an official in the SWM department.
These gate to gate trucks, however, are notorious for not reaching buildings at the daily prescribed time, leading to the need for large community dustbins, which are not only a huge political landmine but also a double-edged sword.
"The biggest problem is that no one wants a bin near their house. The moment one comes up, we start getting calls from influential people. When we move it, calls come from another set of big-shots. So many times, the bins are just shuttling from one corner of a locality to another. As a result, the bins either end up overflowing or stay empty," an official says.
The flip side is that bins can also be a huge health hazard and sanitation problem. Not just the bin, the whole area around it often ends up becoming a locality dumping ground. It draws rag pickers, animals, and encourages open urination and defecation.
This played a huge part in the sanitation survey, dealing with sewage management and toilet use across India, putting Mumbai behind all the metros, major cities, and some small towns. In all, there are around 3,600 community bins in the city, with 2,700 others recently done away with. Can't live with them, can't live without them.
Landfill mutants
In the 19th century, when Mumbai's garbage management came under the British Conservancy Board, waste was transported in bullock carts, which later made way for large wagons. It was deposited mainly in Sion, which led to a large recycling industry in Dharavi, in Goregaon, in Bhandup, and in Kurla.
An overflowing bin in Dharavi
Today, more than 75 per cent of the city's daily waste goes in large compacters to Deonar, either directly or via a transfer station, and the rest to Mulund.
In the rainy season, the swampy land around the Deonar landfill which is reinforced with garbage of all kinds - shoes, tyres, newspapers - that hardens with time to form a stable surface, starts coming apart to reveal a black, gooey mass.
Every day thousands of locals, sustained by the garbage industry, go into the dump, and strip the large hillocks of compacted waste of anything useful they can find inside. They retrieve items to sell, and items to reinforce their homes and streets.
Crime is high around the landfill measuring 19.6 hectares, and private security guards in grey safari suits have been on duty to stop robberies and killings at the hands of local goons and organised gangs eager to control the garbage dump and its surrounding area. Every day, around 1,200 trucks unload at Deonar, dropping a total of approximately 4,500 metric tons of garbage. Any way you look at it, there is more than enough to go around.
In one corner just outside the landfill, with a view that would've been pristine if not for the nature of the hill it is situated at the base of, a small semi-government dispensary is run by Dr Rahil Qamar. In his late 40s, with henna-dyed hair and a white face mask covering his nose and mouth, Qamar looks strangely out of place in the dirt around him.
"This place has not affected my health because I'm very careful, but it's risky," he says. Talking in Hindi about children from the neighbourhood while they're within earshot, he refers to them as gutter kids. "These gases have messed with their heads, growing up in a place like this, what else can one expect? See, see," he says pointing at them, adding words you don't expect to hear from a medical man: "These people are not human beings. They are mutants. The chemicals have changed them. Half the time, they have to take drugs just to behave normally."
City under construction
With new projects coming up constantly - from flyovers, to the Metro, to the non-stop construction of high-rises - the sudden emergence of silt and debris from building sites at the strangest places across the city is another mammoth headache for the BMC.
Private builders are supposed to deposit their construction waste in designated sites with the BMC's permission, but since one construction debris is impossible to tell from another, it's often dumped in the middle of the night at the first place where no one is looking.
On some mornings, you will find a huge pile on the Western Express Highway, on others you might run into a large chunk on a slightly quiet street in any locality.
BMC's night sweepers clean around a garbage bin at LJ Road, Mahim (West)
The fines are heavy and the paperwork regarding transportation is pretty watertight, but a combination of bribery and inefficiency often ensures that the silt and debris doesn't make it to the place it's supposedly headed for.
"We're in the process of making systemic changes that will ensure closer monitoring. Every truck at the point of origin, will be matched with trucks at the destination. If that doesn't work, night movement will completely be stopped," says Chief Engineer Patil. In total, 2,500 metric tons of construction debris is deposited every day.
Solutions, anyone?
One way out for the many ills dogging Mumbai's garbage could be mechanisation of sweeping and collection. Some argue that this will ensure a more thorough job is done using less people - roads will be swept better and collection will take place on time. But with the cleaning staff running into tens of thousands, no one wants to take a decision that will put them out of work.
"It can't happen. Who will bell the cat?" asks an official not wishing to be quoted.
Another answer is a more stringent enforcement of fines for littering, public urination, defecation, and wrong disposal practices. But senior officers say the moment they attempt that, a whole host of problems arise - starting with the poverty argument and ending with individual corruption on the part of the enforcers.
The most comprehensive, and arduous solution, of course, is bringing about a change in mind-set to stop people from littering. But several officials say they have no idea from where to begin, and how long such a change of heart will take.
Bespectacled Amrut Chhetrania, has been cleaning up Mumbai since 1986. His colleague Raju Kondan has been at it since 1978.
The newest entrant in their team is Abhijit Arun, an English-speaking former insurance agent, who picked up the shovel in 2006.
Rahil Qamar, who runs a dispensary overlooking the Deonar garbage hillocks
We catch them working their way through a mountain of foul-smelling litter left behind by the residents on the road behind St Michael's Church at Mahim. "I have been doing this work for decades and I have seen things getting worse, the city getting dirtier," says Kondan.
Abhijit says the residents of Mahim protested when BMC placed open vats for garbage there earlier. The bins were subsequently removed.
But since then, the congested road, which sees heavy footfall and large amount of waste generated especially on Novena Wednesdays, starts looking and smelling like a garbage dump from late evening on until the BMC cleaners arrive at night.
"Do something," pleads Abhijit, "Let the media drill some civic sense into our citizens. Nothing is ever going to improve otherwise." As if on cue, a man strolls towards the spot, where the team has almost finished cleaning, and flings a heavy plastic packet towards them before walking away.
(Additional reporting by Geeta Desai and Sudhir Suryavanshi)>>>
On Sun, Jul 25, 2010 at 5:54 PM, Jagdeep DESAI <jagdeep.desai1@gmail.com> wrote:2010 JUL 25
JAI HINDजय हिंदSvachchtha Hee Vidhaatha Hai - Aur Jo Nahin Samajhtha - Tho Padhe Likhe Phir Bhi AnadiHello,It is with good will and good intention this is written.An earnest request that the cleaning, collection and removal of garbage from the roads, streets, foot paths, gullies, nooks and corners of Mumbai bve done in the night time, leaving the day time for residual sweeping.An incredibly positive news report was in The Times of India, 2010 JUL 25, Dr. Sanjay OAK, Dean of KEM Hospital, has taken an initiative to clean up the hospital premises along with his fellow staffThough he has stated he is frustrated, but this is in fact the only way, and he is to be complimented in the action proposed, that is, keep cleaning the litter, waste, garbage generated by the uncivic minded citizens.One day the uncivic minded citizens will get frustrated and stop throwing litter and spit, and discard waste anywhere and everywhere.The same has to be followed by the MCGM.Sweep, clean, clear, collect, take away the garbage in the night.Let the citizens come out of their houses to a fresh, clean environment.Not start the work around eight, the sweepers slowly and labouriously sweeping and collecting as little or as much as they can,and continue this till the shift is over, which means considerable amount of litter, waste, garbage, left.The garbage trucks also move out in the day time, stopping, at pick up points, the workers sitting in the huge open portion segregating the dry and waste materials in the truck itself, leaving a trail of uncleared garbage, and slowly lumbering to the next pick up point, which also means huge backlog.Which also means, there is never a complete and total clearance of the previous garbage ever, and means the garbage actually piles up.The entire system and operation is illogical and ill conceived.Just last night, 2010 JUL 24, I saw a building construction site off Gul Mohur Road, NS Road 1, JVPD, where workers were unloading huge amounts of material for the interior work, and removing the packaging material, sheets of expanded polyproylene, ie Thermocole, haphazardly.Most of it was flying off onto the road, it was raining, the container trucks were wrongly parked, blocking traffic, another thing.They get away with littering on a huge scale.See any market, Ghatkopar, Andheri, Vile Parle, Linking Road, Irla, the hawkers get away with dumping the plastic, organic waste, packaging, after the night's business, leaving the area filthy.Why no action against them.Why allow the illegal hawkers to operate, and dirty the City.The public has to walk through such muck on the pot holed roads, full of water and such garbage strewn all over.Many uncivic minded citizens are equally at fault.School children, told to have civic sense in class, the future of India, throw their snacks wrappers out of the bus or private vehicle after class.Not to mention most parents park their vehicles wrongly just to pick up and drop their children at the door.Single use pan masala packets have ruined India's landscape.Also see the communications below, sorry for the length.Anita BHATNAGAR, Let's Do It Delhi, Dr. Sanjay OAK, Dean, KEM are India's hopes.Thanqx.Jagdeep DESAISecretaryFounder TrusteeForum for Improving Quality of Life in Mumbai Suburbs>>>>>>KEM Dean's Gandhigiri campaign
Fed up of complaints about filth in hospital, Dr Oak and his colleagues have decided to pick up brooms
Lata Mishra
Posted On Sunday, July 25, 2010 at 03:35:52 AM
Tired of repeated complaints about the dirty environs of his hospital, KEM dean Dr Sanjay Oak has decided to trade his white gown for a yellow one and take charge of the situation.
On Monday, he and 300 other doctors of the hospital will pick-up brooms, slip into specially ordered yellow gowns and caps and start cleaning up the Casualty Department, the Cardiac Vascular Thoracic Surgery Department and the OPDs.
The idea, Dr Oak said, is to send a message that this hospital is not willing to compromise on hygiene. He also hopes that the sight of doctors wiping clean paan stains off walls and picking up litter will shame those who treat the hospital like a dustbin. "Let them spit and we will clean up after them as many times as required. Let them litter, we will pick up all the rubbish," Dr Oak said.
KEM dean Sanjay Oak
He said it's been very frustrating to receive repeated complaints about the lack of cleanliness in the hospital. "We have tried everything, from posters to fines, but the results have been poor. I have even had guests, including some from abroad, pointing out how dirty the hospital is," he added.
A month ago, Dr Oak decided he had to do something. After he took up the matter with some of his department heads, he found out that they were equally fed-up.
They were convinced that old methods - appeals and fines - would not work. It was time to shake things up a little bit. It was time for Gandhigiri.
Ekatra yeu, swachch theu (Let's Unite to Clean Up), as the campaign will be called, was born out of close to two weeks of brain-storming. Interestingly, the doctors decided to not seek any funds from the BMC for this campaign.
The funds for new gowns and caps, dustbins and posters have been raised in-house with some help from friends and well-wishers.
The campaign has garnered strong support. In the lead are some of the hospital's top doctors -- Cardiac Vascular Thoracic Surgery department head Anil Patwardhan, ENT department head Jyoti Dabholkar, Pharmacology head Neema Rege, Radiology professor Ravi Ramakantan, and neuro-surgeon Nitin Dange. They will be joined by close to 300 junior and senior doctors.
The team has quite a task at hand. KEM is visited by close to 10,000 people every day. It has 1,800 beds. There are around 46 departments and over 2,000 employees.
The test starts 11 am, Monday. Watch this space for the results.
The 1,800-bed hospital at Parel has employed more than 400 sweepers to keep the premises clean
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jagdeep DESAI <jagdeep.desai@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 6:31 PM
Subject: Re: Svachchtha Hee Vidhaatha Hai - Aur Jo Nahin Samajhtha - Tho Padhe Likhe Phir Bhi Anadi - Bahar Se Aayaa Ek Khiladi
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Hello,
Like Rob The Rubbish, who personally cleaned a large area of the Himalayas, here is another non Indian, John EDLELMAN, who teaches us the basics of simple cleanlinessA one man army can do wonders, so what is stopping the entire machinery of the municipal sanitary and conservancy departments of all Indian cities and towns and villages to do sweeping, cleaning, collection, and appropriate disposal.Just for example, I have not seen a single MCGM sweeper in our area, K West Ward, for weeks, who make an effective difference.That means two things, either my eye sight and observation is too weak, or second, that they come when I am not around.However, the result is, the litter and garbage, yes, thrown and discarded by the Citizens of this Nation, remains as it is, and piles up.If the area is cleaned to a spic and span condition every time, and regularly and frequently, Mr. and Mrs. Anti Social, Anit National, and Bad Citizen will think twice after some some time to do the needful and finally get exasperated, and throw the stuff into bins, etc.Critical thing is, ban pouch packaging, small plastic cups, small plastic bags, altogether, now.Its over time for an all India cleanliness and hygiene drive on a War Footing.If India gets clean, and returns to the pristine landscape that as once Mother India, it will really be Incredible India.So, We, the Citizens of India, that is Bharatha, need to win.Thanqx.
Jagdeep DESAIArchitectSecretaryFounder TrusteeForum for Improving Quality of Life in Mumbai Suburbs
+91 98 6922 7148>>>>>>On Wed, Feb 10, 2010 at 7:30 PM, Jagdeep DESAI <jagdeep.desai@gmail.com> wrote:Svachchtha Hee Vidhaatha Hai - Aur Jo Nahin Samajhtha - Tho Padhe Likhe Phir Bhi AnadiHello,
Regarding cleanliness, its truly overdue.
Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Delhi.
Its' time for an all India drive on a War Footing.
If India gets clean, and returns to the pristine landscape that as once Mother India, it will really be Incredible India.So, We, the Citizens of India, that is Bharatha, need to win.Thanqx.
Jagdeep DESAIArchitectSecretaryFounder TrusteeForum for Improving Quality of Life in Mumbai Suburbs
+91 98 6922 7148>>>Launching 10 Feb.: The Spotless Bangalore Campaign
Posted by: "karmayog - tanya" info@karmayog.org
Tue Feb 9, 2010 1:26 am (PST)
Bangalore: Young Bangaloreans are taking the lead to show they care for the city. As part of a larger project, the 'Spotless Bangalore' programme to sensitize schoolchildren about waste management will be launched on February 10.
The five-year project (2010-15), which was unofficially launched last month, is exclusively for solid waste management and street dog welfare. More than 150 college students are part of the door-to-door campaign.
The team will work with schools to create awareness, and collect bottles, plastics and newspapers from residents. The collected waste will be sent across to recycling units. As of now, the plan is to hand over plastics to K K Polymers for laying roads, and old newspapers to NGOs.
The focus is also to find innovative use for non-recyclable waste. An 'art out of waste' competition will be held for schoolchildren. Most of the participating 20 schools are government ones.
The project is a joint initiative by Jain University's community radio station Radio Active 90.4, and NGO Golden Husk. The students have already begun interactions with RWAs across the city on effective means to resolve issues of solid waste management.
http://bangalorebuzz.blogspot.com/2010/02/sensitive-youths-take-initiative.html
SPOTLESS BANGALORE CAMPAIGN
Programme Brief: The programme is designed to sensitize students and develop a whole school community approach to waste management. It is important for the student to comprehend and realize the complexity of the world they live and make informed decisions and participate in the process of environmental conservation.
The project will seek to provide information and learning activities on solid waste management, encourage schools and colleges to be conscious about waste, improve systems to reduce waste which will in turn enable students to take up mini projects on waste management.
This will include film screenings, display of products made from waste, exhibitions, working model of the solid waste management, composting methodology etc
http://www.jgi.ac.in/RadioActive/Activeoutreach.htm>>>
A message to all members of Let's do it! Delhi
Want to keep all of you updated on what is happening. We have had an exciting week. We got the support of MCD, NDMC, the Chief Minister Mrs Sheila Dikshit and the support of many corporates, who are in the process of getting their partnership letters and logos to us. Our initiative seems to have appealed to many people in Delhi. Everyone we explain the concept to wants to partner. We have had a 100% success rate so far. Almost unbelievable!
Please think of ways you can be involved even if it is from a distance. A young kid in California, Maya Kapur, is going to be designing a kid friendly trash can for us and she is going to write an essay on "Litter"...for our "Litter"a-ture section.
12 year old Varun Pant has a great idea. We need to have a rock band at the pilot location...March 13th at Bhikaji Cama. He also informed me that it is preferable to have an American Rock Band. Any sponsors here??!!! 4 year old Rohan Kapur wants to see his planet clean and another 4 year old Vir Saxena did not want to run around in Rose Garden but wanted to pick garbage because he had fun picking garbage on 23rd Jan.
Hopefully we will see ourselves in the news next week...keep your eyes and ears open.
There is no stopping us now. Together all of us will get to clean Delhi. We can do it!
And thanks Estonia, for inspiring us....and showing us the way
Visit Let's do it! Delhi at: http://www.letsdoitdelhi.org/?xg_source=msg_mes_network
To control which emails you receive on Let's do it! Delhi, click here>>>On Wed, Dec 16, 2009 at 12:49 PM, Jagdeep DESAI <jagdeep.desai@gmail.com> wrote:
Svachchtha Hee Vidhaatha Hai - Aur Jo Nahin Samajhtha - Tho Padhe Likhe Phir Bhi AnadiHello,An interesting Citizens inititaive by Kolkata Citizens.Maybe its over time we need such a movement in Mumbai, indeed all over Indiahttp://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/dec/10/slide-show-1-kolkatas-aam-aadmi-declares-war-on-garbage.htmMaking a 'world class' city doesn't begin and end with fly overs, metros, sky walks, paver block roads, none of which are finished to a world class standard anyway, but begins and ends with simple housekeeping.Just saw a television report on Pudducheri, couldn't believe my eyes that an Indian City was spotlessly clean, no litter whatsoever wherever the camera showed the streets, roads, foot paths, beach.Certainly wasn't stage managed, because it is a regular food show.Amazing, congratulations, really happy that at least one place in India is 'World Class', and keep it up, Pudducheri.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-can-win-Nobel-for-filth-says-Jairam-Ramesh/articleshow/5252991.cms
>>>
India can win Nobel for filth, says Jairam Ramesh
TNN 21 November 2009, 12:53am IST
NEW DELHI: Environment minister Jairam Ramesh, known for courting controversy and making candid remarks, on Friday said if there was a Nobel
Share Save Comment Prize for dirt and filth, India would get it. ( Watch Video )
Related videos More Videos »
"Our cities are the dirtiest cities of the world. If there is a Nobel Prize for dirt and filth, India will win it, no doubt," he said at a function to release a report 'Green India 2047' by The Energy Research Institute (TERI).
The minister was talking in reference to poor facilities for disposing municipal waste in a majority of Indian cities.
"I think our cities have the dubious distinction of being the dirtiest cities in the world. There is no doubt about it. But if there is a Nobel Prize for dirt and filth, India will win it hands down. There is no competition for that and we have to do something dramatic on municipal solid waste," Ramesh said.
The report he released states that unclean air and water could be responsible for the death of eight lakh people every year in the country.
"Our limited analysis suggests that unclean air and water may be taking a toll in terms of over eight lakh deaths in the country each year and morbidity costs amounting to 3.6% of GDP," the report said.
R K Pachauri, head of TERI and chairman of the Nobel-winning UN IPCC said, "It is important for every sector and every section of society to understand that protecting the environment is not a luxury. It's an intimate part of promoting the economic welfare of people."
He added that about 45% of the population did not have access to safe drinking water and the air quality was poor in most Indian cities.
>>>
What is the Minister going to do about it.
Thanqx.
Jagdeep DESAIArchitectSecretaryFounder TrusteeForum for Improving Quality of Life in Mumbai Suburbs+91 98 6922 7148
On Fri, Aug 22, 2008 at 8:37 AM, Jagdeep DESAI <jagdeep.desai@gmail.com> wrote:Hello,
The aim of Clean Up! is to keep Mumbai clean, and not to generate revenue.
So, instead of fining the first time offenders, it would be better to keep video filming chronic areas and those uncivic 'citizens', and then show it on Doordarshan, put them up on the Clean Up! internet site, and title them, Padhe Likhe Phir Bhi Anadi.
Maybe such negative publicity will make a difference.
Their contact details should be stored for future action in case of repeat offenses.
Thanqx.
Jagdeep
>>>On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 2:03 PM, Jagdeep DESAI <jagdeep.desai@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello,
In reference to the Clean Up! Marshals, and the appointment of 2000 new volunteers, front page, Mumbai Mirror, 2008 AUG 11
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?skin=pastissues2&enter=LowLevel&AW=1219306364500
It is suggested they make hourly rounds, and at first, politely cajole, maybe by hand held loudspeaker, so that others can also realise and understand, and appreciate that the message is for all, not only for those immediately littering, to pick up and dispose off in the bins, at places near chronic spots like
01 Linking Road hawkers, Irla lane and all such hawking lanes, etc., specially those selling shoes, plastic bags are flung with disdain and contempt after the customer buys.
Not only are these fellows totally contemptuous to the public on their illegal status, but probably gleefully and deliberately litter, knowing that they are not going to be touched anyway
02 SV Road between 22h00 in the night to early morning, from Dahisar to Shree Siddhi Vinayak, Prabhadevi, where volunteers on the way give refreshments in plastic cups and plates, spoons, etc., which those walking bare feet partake, and what else, fling on the road
03 Most 'khao gullies', and corner tea and vada stalls, which again, though illegal, are running totally carefree of any action
04 Outside malls, showrooms, where expanded polystyrene, ie thermocole packaging is also discarded openly
05 Outside schools and colleges, like National, Mithibai, SNDT juhu Tara Road, near food stalls, where students learn civic sense inside, and throw out civic sense outside
These Clean UP! Marshals should also be given the brief to persuade single, double parked vehicles, and those occupying BEST bus stop areas, in a concerted and combined effort to bring traffic discipline also.
More later.Forum for IQOLMS
Thanqx.
Jagdeep DESAI
Architect
Secretary
Founder Trustee
Forum for Improving Quality of Life in Mumbai / Suburbs
+91 98 6922 7148
>>>
LITTER AT YOUR OWN PERIL
What happened when youth marshals empowered to fine go out on the streets? Our reporter Geeta Desai finds out
Santosh Salvi, a security guard who is a full-time clean-up marshal, says, "These young volunteers are enthusiastic and they approach people very politely. But they are also assertive when required. With the new power to fine offenders, litterbugs will not take their words lightly."
Next time you litter, do not be surprised if a youth walks up to you and slaps a fine on you. And if you act tough and refuse to pay up, you might just end up doing community service. If you refuse that too, be prepared to cool your hoity-toity heels behind bars.
The BMC on Friday gave around 2,000 student volunteers the powers of a clean-up marshal. It means that they too can fine litterbugs.
Remember, you read it first in the Mirror, but Mukesh Shah, owner, Mukesh Paper Mart, Andheri (east), came to know of this initiative the hard way. He had been warned several times against dumping scrap and papers outside his shop but, on Sunday, he had to pay the price for his persistent refusal to mend his ways.
Kunal Kulkarni, in his early 20s, turned up at his shop and slapped a fine of Rs 500 for littering. "Please pay the fine," Kunal firmly told Shah.
Initially, Mukesh refused but realised he was in big trouble when Kulkarni was joined by eight other student-volunteers who together flashed their 'Clean-up Marshal' badges. They were backed by security personnel who had been appointed clean-up marshals by the BMC earlier this year.
Kunal, who is a student of Kohinoor College of Hotel Management, is among around 2,000 volunteers from across the city who were on Friday appointed as clean-up marshals by the BMC, which will pay them 20 per cent of the fine amount collected by them. The civic body hopes, with this initiative, its Clean-Up Mumbai Campaign will reach every street in the city.
HOW THESE STUDENTS WERE CHOSEN
These students, who belong to K C College, H R College and Sathye College and other educational institutions across the city, are all members of World Alliance for Youth Empowerment (WAYE).
"As part of a WAYE initiative, we had been going around the city for the past two years requesting people to help keep the city clean by keeping their surroundings clean," says Kunal.
Some time ago, they began volunteering for United Way, a third-party audit agency appointed nine months ago by the BMC to keep an eye on the Clean-Up Mumbai Campaign.
When the BMC began looking for ways to infuse fresh energy into its Clean-Up Mumbai Campaign, it decided to bring these volunteers on board. Since they already have some idea of the campaign, in one stroke the BMC increased the number of clean-up marshals from 200 to 2,200 without any special effort.
"We needed to rope in youth for this campaign, as they are the future of this city. They are highly motivated and full of enthusiasm," says R A Rajeev, additional municipal commissioner, who is the brain behind Clean-Up Mumbai Campaign.
SHOP-KEEPERS CLEAN UP THEIR ACT
On Sunday, Kunal was part of a clean-up drive in Koldongri at Andheri (east) and fined two shop-keepers a total of Rs 1,000 for littering. For his time and efforts, he pocketed Rs 200, thanks to the 20 per cent commission the BMC offers the marshals.
"Earlier, people heard us out but not many took us seriously. But with the power to impose a fine, our work will become easier," says Kunal.
As these young marshals cracked the whip, vendors and shop-keepers began cleaning up their act and those who failed to spot them paid the price.
A coconut vendor, Manikkam Nadar, who had dumped leftovers around his roadside stall was taken completely by surprise when he three young clean-up marshals slapped a fine on him.
"He had been given several warning earlier but paid no attention to us," says Sonam Gurnani, an H R College student who doubles up as a clean-up marshal.
"I always keep the place clean, but got caught this time," says Nadar.
The previous batch of clean-up marshals have welcomed the BMC's decision.
Coconut vendor Manikkam Nadar was fined for dumping leftovers on the street, at Koldongri
Shop-keeper Mukesh Shah was fined for throwing waste paper outside his shop
'Earlier, people heard us out but not many took us seriously
– Kunal Kulkarni hotel management student
'I always keep the place clean, but got caught this time
– Manikkam Nadar,
coconut vendor
'Nadar had been given several warning earlier but paid no attention to us
– Sonam Gurnani,
H R College student
>>>On Sat, Mar 22, 2008 at 11:25 AM, Jagdeep DESAI <jagdeep.desai@gmail.com> wrote:
<<<Svachchtha Hee Vidhaatha Hai>>>Hello,In reference to, 'All set to clean up, but where are the bins?', HT, 2008.03.21Apart from providing common bins, all hawkers, unauthorised and authorised, must be directed to keep two bins, one for recyclable, other for wet garbage.All hawkers must be directed to 'clean up' regularly during the course of the day, not wait for the MCGM sweepers who come in once a day, and especially after winding up, and made to keep their waste in a black bag for pick up by the MCGM van.All hawkers, vendors, stall owners have to be made to inform consumers of their responsibility of keeping the City clean, by reminding them to put the waste in the bin.All retail outlets, like electronic shops, have to clear their non eco friendly waste, like expanded polystyrene, ie 'thermocole' packaging, separately, because at present, not only is it dumped on the footpath, but scatters, in small bits and pieces.
All BEST and other buses, suburban rail coaches have to be retro fitted with litter boxes / dust bins.All manufacturers of products which use plastic packaging in any way, have to be directed to print 'no littering' in as bold type as possible in all languages, like the smoking warning messages on cigarette packs, not only a small centimetre square logo, as at present.Ideally, ban the packaging and sale of pan masala and gutkha in small pouches, which make for a bulk of the litter in nad around India's landscape.In fact, manufacturers should be made associates in the clean up campaign, by giving offers to consumers to retrieve and recycle all plastic pouches, bags, bottles, cups, and other such material, and give incentives for so many collected.Otherwise, make sure the polluter pays, in this case, the consumer, directly, and the manufacturers, indirectly.The Clean Up marshals should go on regular rounds to video film the spots, for action later, at most, do the 'whistle', rather than waste time arguing with stall owners, other offenders, etc., and otherwise get involved with useless time wasting discussion.The offenders have to be caught repeatedly on video, and then action taken on irrefutable evidence.More such suggestions are included below.There is no substitute to cleanliness.<<<Svachchtha Hee Vidhaatha Hai>>>Thanqx.Jagdeep DESAI
ArchitectSecretaryFounder TrusteeForum for Improving Quality of Life in Mumbai / SuburbsIQOLMS
+91 98 6922 7148---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jagdeep DESAI <jagdeep.desai@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Mar 18, 2008 at 6:37 PM
Subject: Fwd: Svachchtha Hee Vidhaatha Hai
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Hello,In reference to the Clean Railway Stations Campaign,The initiative and effort is commendable.Though I have to say, like the adage, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it', would be applicable in all our efforts, 'If it ain't dirty, don't claen it'.The sad and hard fact is that the stations, and all Mumbai, all the nallahs, etc., are dirtied by the average Mumbaikar.Schools teach children in the class room, about clean city green city, see below also.The student outside throws his snack food packet outside the window of his bus / private car / auto.What kind of teaching / learning is this?Also, why is there no waste bin, litter box in the school bus in the first place?Why don't the bus attendants stop this?Why are BEST bus passengers oblivious to the 'no spitting' sign in the bus?Why aren't BEST buses fitted with waste bins, litter boxes.Why aren't suburban rakes / through train coaches fitted with sufficient, appropriate waste bins / litter boxes?Alos, even a casual observation of the waste on and around stations will find that its mostly plastic packaging, of single use pan masala / gutkha packets, have a look at the way they tear a corner with their teeth, one corner piece falls there, the bigger part after the contents are emptied into the mouth like in the ads, and the person glances here and there to see if anyone is seeing, but no matter, the packet is discarded nevertheless, biscuit and snack wrappers, PET bottles, plastic refreshment glasses.The railways should ban outright the slae of such packaged products from station stalls, and only allow freshly made / pre cooked / heated food and drink items, which do not have any synthetic packaging.This will considerably reduce the amount of waste generated on suburban sections, especially the drains.See any station, see the tracks.No matter how often the safai karamcharis do their work, the irresponsible 'padhe likhe, phir bhi anadi' anti socials are going to dump waste after use.Ban such sale.If this is considered a restriction on free market, then, let he polluter pay a heavy price.Similarly, the padyatris to Shree Siddhi Vinayak on Monday nights / early Tuesdya mornings.They are given refreshments on the way by social service organisations.Mostly tea in plastic cups.The trail of litter is disgusting.Why should they be exempt?The way to God is only through all round Cleanliness.And here is the report that the MCGM will intensify its drive on cleanliness.In reference to the achievement Mumbai has been recognised for, its heartening to note that we are not alone.
Mumbai is now number one, in India, the 'dirtiest city'!
http://www.forbes.com/2007/03/21/worlds-dirtiest-cities-biz-logistics-cx_rm_0321dirtiest_slide_2.html
By 'virtue of being number seven in the World, and not an Indian comeptitor in sight, New Delhi is number twenty four, very far down, Mumbai can take its status far.
Very far.
To Naples, for example
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3053681,00.html
And consider the posible solutions
http://www.wieninternational.at/en/node/6877by holding skits to spread the message of awareness.Howewever, its obviously not enough.We need to use all media, print, electronic possible, again, not only through a message by Amin SAYANI which would be aired on FM stations.We need to use MW, ie AM, All India Radio, Akashwani, Doordarshan, all other private channels, to say<<<Svachchtha Hee Vidhaatha Hai>>>Rope in all Temple, Gurudwara, Masjid, Church Trusts, to tell their followers that not only come to the holy place to pray for cleansing the soul and mind, but also keep all areas as clean as one can, because <<<Cleanliness is Godliness>>>, an extension of <<<Cleanliness is next to Godliness>>>, which the Mahatma had conveyed.Alternately and simultaneously, use <<<Gandhigiri>>> to persuade offenders by saying that thanqx to their non cooperation, we can put all the garbage near where they put it, and start a new garbage dump there, etc., and use the Kolkata method, see below.Many more nuisance detectors and marshalls are required, presently too few in number for the size and scale of Mumbai.First, an immediate ban on all single use plastic packaging, like for pan masalas, etc.Some more related informationIn this regard, here are two related items
www.robtherubbish.com
with a letter from him to me enclosed below.
The other is from BBC World, noting the cleanliness drive of an already extremely clean city, Vienna.
http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?scope=all&edition=i&q=vienna&go.x=25&go.y=10
See top right
Vienna gets a spring clean
Thousands of volunteers have taken part in a project to clear litter from the streets of the Austrian capital, Vienna.
27 Apr 2007
http://www.wien.gv.at/english/politics/puma/index.htm
I would sincerely request MCGM to take pro active action in the night, after 'business' hours to stop the hawkers from disposing off their waste on the roads, and have frequent, regular, routine patrols by nuisance detectors in pairs, preferably in cooperation with ALM volunteers, with the power to book, if not spot fine the offenders.
Meantime, also, it is requested all ward officials put up the latest bye laws and fines by way of posters on all shops, housing societies and other public places, so as to create awareness in the public, and give no chance for any excuses.
And ensure all shops have two waste bins each, one for dry and one for wet waste, taken care of them till the same is taken by sweepers.
We need to request all place of worship authorities to inform their devotees, to not only use biodegradable packaging, but also not to litter on the roads, or into water bodies like Mahim Creek, Haji Ali, etc.The whole of India needs a good cleaning, more so, Dev Bhoomihttp://www.indianexpress.com/story/268373.html
There are many other ideas I can share with you.
Thanqx.
Jagdeep DESAI
ArchitectSecretaryFounder TrusteeForum for Improving Quality of Life in Mumbai / SuburbsIQOLMS
+91 98 6922 7148
>>>
from Rob the Rubbish <info@robtherubbish.com > hide details 11/15/06
to Jagdeep DESAI <jagdeep.desai@gmail.com>
date Nov 15, 2006 12:54 AM
subject RE: Restoring Our Revered Dev BhoomiHi Jagdeep
Thankyou very much for your support. You have been doing a lot for the world and I thank you for that also.
I have to say that the trail to Everest Base Camp had much litter and trash on it. I was very well received by the people of the villages as I went about cleaning up around them. There was a certain astonishment that this Englishman in a yellow jacket with a pick up stick and bag was doing this. I made many friends and was helped a lot by the people. With some assistance I think they will keep the trail clean. I am to send a pick up stick to each of the lodges between Lukla and Pheniche and I think the people will do the rest.
I send you my very best wishes Jagdeep
Yours sincerely
Robin Kevan
>>>On Jul 5, 2007 9:41 PM, Jagdeep DESAI <jagdeep.desai@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello,In reference to the incredibly dirty state of Mumbai city, and by extension, all India.Its not only 'thin' plastic bags which are the culprit, it's the single use poly pouches, ie, pan masala, gutkha, sweets, lozenges, wafer and snack foods, stick ice cream, biscuit, bread, milk packets, tea cups, etc., and such litter being thrown onto the roads and streets of Mumbai, by all types of Citizens.Railway tracks and the grounds along side them are simply full of plastic strewn by passengers and others from the windows.After learning the philosophy of civic / social sciences in schools, the students get onto their bus / auto / car, and have their chips, and out goes the packet from the window.All buses, BEST, school, contract, autos, taxis must be made to retro fit waste containers in them, and make the passengers, as well as the driver and conductor / cleaner, use these rather than the window.Its observed that with all the huge olive green Clean Up ! trucks that MCGM have deployed, the drivers, the workers are hardly aware of their own waste habits.We have to absolutely ban the manufacture of single use poly pouches, marketing products in this, and sale of these, at least for five years.We need to implement the polluter pays policy, in addition to the manufacturer and packer of plastic packaging of all types, to pay environmental tax, and / or make them collect / recover the packaging to recycle or otherwise dispose off the waste packaging appropriately.Here is something Mumbai should emulateThough according to the writer, it's a hare brained idea, I think its great.The citizens here need some kind of wake up call, Mumbai has become one great big garbage dump, no need to search for new land fill sides, Mumbai will be 'forced' absorb all the littering, waste, etc., and shortly all our green areas will 'grow' 'artifical turf', with the amount of plastic bags / pan masala packets strewn about, etc.Jagdeep DESAIArchitect+91 98 6922 7148>>>
DIARY Kolkata Korner Now 'dhakis' (traditional Bengali drummers) will roam around the Kolkata's thoroughfares and, on seeing somebody relieving himself or littering the streets, walk up to the offender, surround him and beat the drums to draw attention to the person's shameful act. Jaideep Mazumdar
Kolkata Korner
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The Kolkata Municipal Corporation bosses, tired of their cleanliness pleas falling on deaf ears, have decided to hire 'dhakis' (traditional Bengali drummers) to drive the point home, literally. These dhakis will roam around the city's thoroughfares and, on seeing somebody relieving himself or littering the streets, walk up to the offender, surround him and beat the drums to draw attention to the person's shameful act. The beats will reach a crescendo till the offender proffers an apology and vows not to repeat the offence. Our civic bosses hope such tactics will chasten habitual offenders. But I doubt this'll do the trick. It would make more sense to construct toilets--they're woefully short of requirement--and install garbage bins along Kolkata's roads. As someone pointed out recently, our roads sport more shrines than urinals. That makes no sense, since pissing is certainly more compelling than praying!
>>>
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