October 2016:1-15
(FORTNIGHTLY)
(1-15) October 2016 (पाक्षिक)
GREEN
FEATURES
- जलवायु संकट,
पारिस्थिकी
-
प्रदूषण
-
आदिवासी विमर्श
-
कृषि और किसानी
- जल
दर्शन
- देशज ज्ञान और स्वास्थ्य
- विविध
Image source: http://epaper.jansatta.com/c/13747699
It is not practical
to secure consent for projects from tribal gram sabha (village councils), says
Union environment, forests and climate change minister Mr Anil Madhav Dave in a
detailed interview to Business Standard. Includes his take on dams on
Brahmaputra, GM crops and the new forest and wildlife law in making.
Will change forest and wildlife laws to make our
forests productive: Anil M Dave
October 4, 2016
Union environment, forests and climate change minister Anil
Madhav Dave shares his views and priorities speaking to Nitin Sethi. What are
the top three or four policy issues on your agenda to address now? At present,
upcoming the Montreal Protocol meeting in Kigali and the climate negotiations
in Marrakesh are in front of me. They shall take away most of my time this and
next month. But, I feel the execution of Paris Agreement, forests, rivers,
coastal zone regulations, Western Ghats and environment clearances are those
issues by which people are affected and are my ...
‘Captain Elder Brother’
and the whirlwind army
At 94, a forgotten hero of India’s struggle for
freedom returns to the scene of his most daring exploit in the anti-British Raj
uprising that saw a parallel government established in Satara, Maharashtra, in
1943
Early this
month (September) I found nine surviving freedom fighters of the toofan sena in
Satara and Sangli. This was the armed wing of the prati sarkar, the provisional
government declared by a rebellion with great mass support between 1943-46.
They are all in their mid-90s. These ‘provisional governments” sprang up in
Mednipur and also in parts of Odisha, MP, UP, and a couple of other places.
What marked out the one in Satara was that they held their ground successfully
for three years, establishing a market and mandi, a food supply and
distribution system, a judiciary and an armed wing called the toofan sena. The
British in 1943 were backs to the wall in Europe, facing an imminent Nazi
invasion of England. And so the provisional governments seized the opportunity.
Some were actually armed offshoots of the Quit India movement. In 1946, on
MKG’s call, the provisionals all across the country dissolved and disbanded.
The toofan
sena was especially inspiring. And I found their 94 year old leader – the man
who looted the Pune-Miraj special goods train carrying the payroll of the
British Raj for its Mumbai presidency. Without firing a shot – they had no
firearms.
Please read
the story and please see the 4-minute video where he speaks.
It was a moving, sobering encounter.
37 Million Bees Dead
After GMO Seeds Planted Nearby
Over 37 million bees have been found dead in Canada after
GMO corn was planted recently in the local area.
According
to local beekeeper, Dave Schuit, since the GMO corn was planted close to his
farm he lost over 37 million bees as a direct result.
According
to reports, Schuit and other local beekeepers believe neonicotinoids, or
“neonics” are to blame for the influx of bee deaths.
Around 37
million bees at a farm in Canada have died after GMO corn was planted in the
nearby area, according to a local beekeeper.
Dave Schuit, a beekeeper who produces honey in
Elmwood, Canada, claims that since GMO corn was planted in the nearby area, his
farm has lost around 37 million bees (approximately 600 hives). According to
reports, Schuit and other local beekeepers believe neonicotinoids, or “neonics”
are to blame for the influx of bee deaths.
Imidacloprid
and Clothianidin, two of Bayer CropScience’s most widely used pesticide, both
contain neonics and have been linked with many
large-scale bee ‘die-offs’ in both European and U.S. countries. However,
despite the dangers associated with the use of this chemical, the pesticides
are still regularly used and sold on the market.
Despite
their size, the impact bees have on the environment is almost
unparalleled. In fact, bees are responsible for pollinating about
one-sixth of the flowering plant species worldwide and approximately 400
different agricultural types of plant.
In 2010,
bees helped provide over $19 billion worth
of agricultural crops in the U.S alone – estimated to be roughly one third
of the food we eat. As a result, it is not hard to see that bees
are needed to sustain our modern food system.
However, despite their obvious importance in
our ecosystem, bee populations have been rapidly dropping over the past
few decades. In fact, 44 percent of honeybee colonies in the United States died
off last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported last month.
In the
past, scientists have tried to conclude why bee populations are in rapid
decline. While it is not been proven that pesticides directly kill the bees
that come into contact with the chemical, many scientists believe there is a
strong link between the use of the pesticide and a phenomenon they refer
to as “colony collapse disorder” (CCD).
“We
believe that some subtle interactions between nutrition, pesticide exposure and
other stressors are converging to kill colonies,” said
Jeffery Pettis, of the ARS’s bee research
laboratory.
While the
cause of CCD is still widely debated, some believe that “the neonicotinoid
pesticides are coating corn seeds, and with the use of new air seeders, are
blowing pesticide dust into the air when planted.”
However,
according to a new study published
in the Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences, neonicotinoid pesticides kill honeybees by damaging their immune
system and making them unable to fight diseases and bacteria.
Although
we are unable to definitively determine what is causing the terminal
decline of bee populations around the world, using all the scientific evidence
that is currently available, it is clear that pesticides are having a
significantly negative effect on bee populations.
In fact,
it seems more and more countries are also beginning to accept this idea. Canada
has banned the use of Imadacloprid on sunflower and corn
fields; France has rejected Bayer’s application for
Clothianidin; Italy has now banned certain neonicotinoids; and the
European Union has banned multiple pesticides.
At this
moment in time, EU scientists are reviewing the EU-wide ban on
three neonicotinoid pesticides. By the end of January 2017, the EU
scientist will finish their risk evaluation and determine the status of the
chemical.
Although the United States have yet to follow
suit, several states – including California, Alaska, New York, and
Massachusetts – are currently considering legislation that would ban neonicotinoids. In fact, just last
month Maryland came the first state to pass a neonic-restricting
bill; Maryland’s Pollinator Protection Act has eliminated consumer
use of neonicotinoids in the state.
source:http://epaper.jansatta.com/c/13700637
The mustard sizzles & how!
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mustard-sizzles-how-murali-apparaju
Feb 3, 2016
If approved, GM mustard will be the first GM food on
our plates and that’s disturbing
The above dramatic line is from Dr.
Vandana Shiva’s recent petition to Government of India asking them not to
approve genetically modified mustard for commercial cultivation - I received a
mail from change.org this afternoon requesting me to sign & support this
petition.
While I was casually following the
debate, I still hadn’t developed an opinion either in favor of or against
introduction of GM mustard in India & hence I wasn’t sure if I should sign
the petition. The petition itself unfortunately offered precious little in
terms of on what scientific basis someone should support it.
The various write-ups & opinions
I came across on this issue were largely rhetorical & prejudiced to the
angle the author was pursuing. This included the articles published in recent
Biospectrum issue wherein supporters like the Executive Director of ABLE, Dr.
Shivendra Bajaj dismissed it as a ‘baseless opposition” while a detractor like food & trade analyst Devinder
Sharma looked at it merely from self-reliance-in
oil-seeds angle.
I present below some of the key
information I gathered in a Q&A format;
What exactly is this ‘GM mustard’ ?
- It is a transgenic mustard
strain called ‘Dhara Mustard Hybrid
11’ or DMH-11 developed in the department of genetics, University of Delhi
by a team led by Dr. Deepak Pental over past 19 years
What makes DMH-11 a GM Mustard?
- The key word is ‘Transgenic’, wherein the naturally
occurring DNA is modified using genetic engineering techniques with an aim
to introduce a new trait/ property to the plant
- The DNA of DMH-11 has been modified to make the plant
resistant to a broad-spectrum herbicide called ‘Glufosinate ammonium’ thus
making it a genetically modified strain of mustard
How would ‘Glufosinate-resistant’
mustard variety help the farmer?
- The major issue with mustard cultivation is the
multiple weed species that infest the crop thus reducing overall yield. To
address this issue the farmers need to typically use a cocktail of many
herbicides, each specific to one weed species - this at times can be cost
ineffective & tedious
- Glufosinate ammonium however is a broad-spectrum
herbicide & can alone control most weeds that effect mustard
cultivation. But since it is so non-specific (~broad-spectrum),
Glufosinate can also effect/ kill the mustard plant as such when not
properly applied (~contact herbicide). This is true for most of the crops
& not just mustard
- This above impasse resulted in the proactive
development of Glufosinate-resistant GM strains for most major crops so
that the farmers can use Glufosinate liberally to deweed without having to
worry about any collateral damage to the crop itself
Well, if the yields improve &
profits to the farmer increase and many countries already approved the same,
why are GM crops still viewed cynically by so many world-wide?
- Whatever new traits / properties that a GM crop begets
is by way of some biochemical mechanism undergoing a change given the
alteration of DNA – In effect, within the GM plant a new biochemical(s)
(enzymes typically) is produced that otherwise is absent in natural
non-tampered species.
- This new biochemical moieties could/ may have
unintended consequences apart from the pest/ herbicide resistance it
imparts to the plant. Since any negative consequence of alien substances
on the consumers (animals/ humans) may take ages to get noticed, it is an
invisible, half-understood risk and hence the opposition
So what harm GM mustard
DMH-11 can potentially cause?
- In the Glufonisane-resistant GM mustard plant, a
metabolite of Glufosinate ammoium called N-acetyl Glufosinate (NAG) is
produced/ present inherently
- Now NAG just like Glufosinate ammomium inhibits (the
production of) Glutamine Synthetase – an enzyme that is essential for
proliferation of fetal skin fibroblasts in animals, including humans
alongside a few other functions
- This can be a potential risk since mustard plant is
consumed whole in India as leafy greens & the mustard seed too is
included as a food item (spice) apart from extracting oil from the seeds.
This makes long-term Glutamine Synthetase inhibition one possibility in
people consuming this modified strain regularly and this inhibition may cause yet non-quantifiable
health consequences
So what? – aren’t there so many
other pesticide, pharmaceutical metabolites in our food that
we ingest each day? What makes the GM mustard a bigger evil?
- True, there are many unintended food additives these
days & not all are fully understood are chronicled. However the
trade-offs between food security particularly in mass consumed &
perishable foods like milk & vegetables vis-à-vis’ the unintended
negative implications of these metabolites is skewed at times towards the
continued usage
- In case of GM mustard however as discussed before the
situation is different since 1) Food security card cannot be used for
mustard which is essentially a cash-crop 2) Intentional introduction of a
contaminant in a food item cannot be equated with unintended,
semi-understood contaminants 3) a 30% increase in yield is small enough to
be achieved through better
crop-management – for example through
judicious combination of more species-specific herbicides in combination
with hand-weeding during the critical 30-40 day period after after sowing
and finally 4) the yield, quality and hence market price of the crop can
be improved & helped by domestic hybrid & ‘non-GM’ varieties like
‘Pusa Mustard-30’ et al without the whole nation shifting to GM mustard
lock-stock and barrel – the incremental value-add of DMH-11 is a definite
suspect
Okay, what if there's a GM crop that
is proven to be devoid of dangerous metabolites &/or whose metabolites are
conclusively proven to be non-toxic; enhances yields dramatically; improves the
nutritional quality of the produce & one that generally assures food
security?
- Well that would be one amazing GM food indeed - but
proving that there isn't any negative impact will be a long drawn exercise
spanning across a generation of humans at least (~10 years). If someone
thinks this is an unreasonable expectation from a commercial organization,
they should be pointed out to the fact that the pharmaceutical
organizations spend the same amount of time or more proving the efficacy
& safety of their new drugs even when they are consumed in milli/micro
gram quantities as against the hundreds of grams of food consumed each
day.
- And then there is this angle of threat to crop
biodiversity. A super-efficient GM crop(s) can very quickly elbow out
& eliminate native varieties that evolved and adapted to specific
geoclimatic conditions over hundreds of years. When it comes to survival
under vulnerable conditions like draught, the evolutionary adaptiveness of
native crops always scores over the custom engineered GM crops that are
made for ideal agronomic conditions - Given this, any unchecked, unplanned
retirement of native crop species in India or elsewhere too can adversely
impact the livelihood resilience*** to climate change. This is akin to the
cattle scenario wherein high maintenance cross-bred cows like Jersey
and Holstein Friesian are gradually pushing-out the
more resilient domestic Indian pure breeds like Kankrej, Ongole,
Sahiwal et al into extinction while our policy makers buzz around
in denial. (***My thoughts on biodiversity are greatly influenced by my
wife Bhavana Rao who's a passionate development sector professional
specializing in livestock & livelihood aspects..)
Are there any conspiracy angles that
we need to be aware of?
- Oh yes! – It’s no secret that University of Delhi being
an academic institution will need to partner with someone to market its
new technology & Bayer CropScience with its huge reach into the Indian
farming domain, it’s global dominance of GM crops & its deep pockets
could be the de facto knight in shining armor & marketer of GM mustard
- With its questionable net value-add & the obscurity
of the trade-offs, the seeming rush by GOI to still approve DMH-11 (GM
mustard) seems to be an exercise primarily aimed at helping the marketers of
Glufosinate ammonium, Bayer CropScience again, dominate the mustard-crop herbicide market in India
& use the bandwidth to ease-in the rest of glufosinate-resistant
hamper including the staple-crops like wheat, rice, corn et al
Well, even if all these absolute
realities, unsubstantiated truths, half-truths, aspersions & allegations
may still not make this a conclusive investigation, as a rational cynic & a
low-risk threshold food consumer, I think I have sufficient scientific
rationale & one believable conspiracy theory to go ahead and sign Dr. Vandana Shiva’s
petition!
Is Modi preparing to defy RSS outfit
on GM mustard rollout?
Zia Haq, Hindustan Times, New Delhi|Updated: Oct 10, 2016 00:21 IST
In August, PM Narendra Modi had
called upon three cabinet ministers and four top bureaucrats to carry out a
thorough and speedy assessment of GM mustard. (AP File Photo)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears
keen on genetically modified (GM) mustard if it is found to be foolproof,
despite opposition from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP’s
ideological parent.
At a meeting held in August, Modi
had called upon three cabinet ministers and four top bureaucrats to carry out a
thorough and speedy assessment of GM mustard. Agriculture minister Radha Mohan
Singh, environment minister Anil Dave, science and technology minister Harsh
Vardhan and the secretaries of these ministries had attended the meeting, two
sources have told HT.
Modi watched a presentation by the
biotechnology department on GM mustard and then got a lowdown from Prof Deepak
Pental – the lead scientist behind the project.
Analysts view this as a sign that
Modi favours GM technology as a policy option in agriculture.
If the Genetic Engineering Appraisal
Committee – India’s biotech regulator – clears GM mustard developed by Delhi
University scientists, Modi will have to decide whether he should defy the RSS
by approving a GM food crop for commercialisation.
In its 2014 election manifesto, the
BJP had said GM crops would not be allowed without a study of its “long-term”
effects.
India wants to raise its oilseed
output because it spends over Rs 65,000 crore annually on importing cooking
oil, an item that stokes inflation. A GM crop is one in which a gene is altered
for newer traits, such as high yield and pest resistance.
“The PM has talked about harnessing
technology in every field, including GM crops, to double farmers’ income by
2022,” said Bhagirath Choudhary of the South Asia Biotechnology Centre, a pro-GM
outfit.
However, the RSS and anti-GM groups
argue that GM crops pose environmental and health risks. “GM is not
acceptable,” Ashwini Mahajan, leader of the RSS-affiliated Swadeshi Jagran
Manch, told HT. “We provided proof to the Prime Minister that GM mustard is
neither indigenous nor capable of providing high yields. It will ultimately
benefit multinationals like Bayer.”
However, Pental said he held the
patent for the technology, and claimed his variety had over 30% higher yields.
Hearing an application filed in an
ongoing case by environmentalist Aruna Rodrigues, the Supreme Court on Saturday
asked the government to not release GM mustard till October 17, and seek public
opinion before making a decision.
Image
source:http://epaper.jansatta.com/c/13667696
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Cabinet
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=151433
05-October-2016 11:12
IST
Cabinet approves MoU
between India and European Union on water cooperation
The Union Cabinet under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Shri
Narendra Modi has given its approval for the signing of MoU between India and
European Union in the field of water resources.
The MoU envisages strengthening the technological, scientific
and management capabilities of India and the European Union in the field of
water management on the basis of equality, reciprocity and mutual benefit. It
provides technical exchange on water issues, including on integrated water
resource management plans within river basins and through study visits.
The MoU aims to identify key environmental issues and approaches
to sustainable development where exchange of experiences and cooperation could
be mutually beneficial to strengthen and further develop cooperation between
India and the European Union in the field of water management. It envisions a
more sustainable management of water resources in India with an objective of
tackling the challenges posed by water management in the context of growing
population, competing water demands and a changing climate. A Joint Working
Group shall be formed to monitor the activities to be carried out in
fulfillment of the MoU.
Background
The Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga
Rejuvenation has been envisaging bilateral cooperation with other countries in
water resources development and management through sharing of policy and
technical expertise, conducting of training courses, workshops, scientific and
technical symposia, exchange of experts and study tours. Keeping in view the
success of the European Union in distribution of water resources, water
pricing, water use efficiency by encouraging the changes in agricultural
practices necessary to protect water resources and quality, such as switching
to less water-demanding crops, etc., it has been decided to have an agreement
with Israel to benefit from their experience and expertise. The EU States have
adopted water pricing policies to provide adequate incentives for users to use
water resources efficiently thereby contributing to environmental objectives.
****
AKT/VBA/SH
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Cabinet
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=151435
05-October-2016 11:14
IST
Cabinet approves
Memorandum of Understanding with the African Asian Rural Development
Organization in the field of rural development
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra
Modi has given its approval to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) between India and the African Asian Rural Development Organization
(AARDO) for capacity building programmes in the field of rural development.
The MoU for the triennium 2015 - 2017 is being signed under
which capacity building programmes for AARDO member countries will be organized
every year during the triennium at various Institutions of Excellence in India
such as National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (NIRD
& PR), institutions governed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research
(ICAR), Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and others. The duration of each
training programme shall be of two to three weeks. The Post Graduate Diploma in
Rural Development Management Course at NIRD & PR under this scheme is for
one year.
Background:
The AARDO, which has its headquarters in New Delhi, is an
autonomous, inter-Governmental organization established in 1962 with the
objective of promoting cooperation among the countries of the African - Asian
Region in the direction of eradicating thirst, hunger, illiteracy, disease and
poverty in the region. India is one of the Founder Members of the Organization
and is the largest contributor in terms of membership contribution of US$
141,100 apart from contributing by way of providing 70 fully paid training
scholarships for Human Resource Development Programme under the Indian
Technical & Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) to the Organization.
India has also provided a building for housing the AARDO Secretariat in Delhi
and considerable financial assistance is given to AARDO for maintenance of the
building. AARDO currently has 31 countries of the African - Asian Region under
its fold.
Since the year 2009, India is continuing to provide an
Additional Contribution of US$ 600,000 to AARDO for each triennium 2009-2011 to
expand its scale and scope of the Capacity Building Programmes of AARDO for the
benefit of Member Countries.
****
AKT/VBA/SH
Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Cabinet
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=151427
05-October-2016 11:06
IST
Cabinet approves
amendments to the HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014
The
Union Cabinet under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has
given its approval to introduce official amendments to the HIV and AIDS
(Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014.
The HIV and AIDS Bill, 2014 has been drafted
to safeguard the rights of people living with HIV and affected by HIV. The
provisions of the Bill seek to address HIV-related discrimination, strengthen
the existing programme by bringing in legal accountability and establish formal
mechanisms for inquiring into complaints and redressing grievances. The Bill
seeks to prevent and control the spread of HIV and AIDS, prohibits
discrimination against persons with HIV and AIDS, provides for informed consent
and confidentiality with regard to their treatment, places obligations on
establishments to safeguard rights of persons living with HIV arid create
mechanisms for redressing complaints. The Bill also aims to enhance access to
health care services by ensuring informed consent and confidentiality for
HIV-related testing, treatment and clinical research.
The Bill lists various grounds on which
discrimination against HIV positive persons and those living with them is
prohibited. These include the denial, termination, discontinuation or
unfair treatment with regard to:
(i) employment,
(ii) educational establishments,
(iii) health care services,
(iv) residing or renting property,
(v) standing for public or private office, and
(vi) provision of insurance (unless based on
actuarial studies). The requirement for HIV testing as a pre-requisite for
obtaining employment or accessing health care or education is also prohibited.
Every HIV infected or affected person below
the age of 18 years has the right to reside in a shared household and enjoy the
facilities of the household. The Bill also prohibits any individual from
publishing information or advocating feelings of hatred against HIV positive
persons and those living with them. The Bill also provides for Guardianship for
minors. A person between the age of 12 to 18 years who has sufficient maturity
in understanding and managing the affairs of his HIV or AIDS affected family
shall be competent to act as a guardian of another sibling below 18 years of
age to be applicable in the matters relating to admission to educational
establishments, operating bank accounts, managing property, care and treatment,
amongst others.
The Bill requires that "No person shall
be compelled to disclose his HIV status except with his informed consent, and
if required by a court order". Establishments keeping records of
information of HIV positive persons shall adopt data protection measures.
According to the Bill, the Central and State governments shall take measures to:
(i) prevent the spread of HIV or AIDS,
(ii) provide anti-retroviral therapy and infection
management for persons with HIV or AIDS,
(iii) facilitate their access to welfare schemes
especially for women and children,
(iv) formulate HIV or AIDS education communication
programmes that are age appropriate, gender sensitive, and non-stigmatizing,
and
(v) lay guidelines for the care and treatment of
children with HIV or AIDS. Every person in the care and custody of the state
shall have right to HIV prevention, testing, treatment and counseling services.
The Bill suggest that cases relating to HIV positive persons shall be disposed'
off by the court on a priority basis and duly ensuring the confidentiality.
There are no financial implications of the
Bill. Most of the activities are being already undertaken or can be integrated
within the existing systems of various Ministries under training, communication
and data management, etc. The Bill makes provision for appointment of an
ombudsman by State Governments to inquire into complaints related to the
violation of the Act and penal actions in case of non-compliance. The Ombudsman
need not be a separate entity, but any existing State Government functionary
can be deputed or given additional charge.
There are approximately 21 lakh persons
estimated to be living with HIV in India. Even though the prevalence of
HIV is decreasing over the last decade, the Bill would provide essential
support to National AIDS Control Programme in arresting new infections and
thereby achieving the target of "Ending the epidemic by 2030" according
to Sustainable Development
Goals.
***********
Source:
http://epaper.jagran.com/ePaperArticle/10-oct-2016-edition-DelhiCity-page_16-3445-1672-4.html
date 10
OCT 2016, dainik jagaran
Source:
http://epaper.jagran.com/ePaperArticle/10-oct-2016-edition-DelhiCity-page_16-3445-1456-4.html
dated
10 Oct 2016
Source:
http://epaper.jagran.com/ePaperArticle/10-oct-2016-edition-DelhiCity-page_20-3450-3382-4.html
Source:
http://epaper.jagran.com/ePaperArticle/10-oct-2016-edition-DelhiCity-page_24-3327-1535-4.html
or
http://epaper.jagran.com/homepage.aspx
source:
http://epaper.jansatta.com/963084/Jansatta.com/10-October,-2016#page/2/2
Source:
http://epaper.jansatta.com/c/13828284
With deforestation, langurs turn crop raiders
Agumbe
farmers seek compensation, since common langurs are a protected species
Karnataka’s arecanut farmers have a new problem to add to fungal
infections and the price slump: monkey menace.
Common langurs, a protected species under The Wildlife Protection
Act, 1972, are helping themselves to flowers and nuts. Not much can be done
about it and killing the animal attracts punishment. Crop losses due to wild
animal conflict are mostly covered by compensation, and farmers expect they
will get funds, but Department of Forest does not honour claims for damage
caused by langurs on the grounds that it is a semi-domesticated animal that can
reside in forest as well as in human habitats.
Changing behaviour
Agumbe is particularly hit. N. Prakash, a professor in animal
pharmacology at Veterinary College, Shivamogga who hails from Hebri near Agumbe
says deforestation has distorted the food habits and behavioural patterns of
wild animals in Malnad region.
The lion-tailed macaque, a shy primate that used to spend the
major part of its life in the upper canopy of trees has now turned social and
its members seek food from travellers along Agumbe ghat. The langurs can be
seen feeding on flowers of the arecanut tree, locally known as singara
and on tender nuts. Arecanut is rich in arecoline, an alkaloid that gives a
unique taste and aroma to it. In addition, arecoline is nitonic acid-based,
with a psycho-stimulant quality. Such factors may be attracting monkeys to
arecanut plantations, he said.
Crop losses caused by common langurs is acute in Agumbe and
surrounding areas. Hasirumane Nandan, President of Agumbe Grama Panchayat says,
monkeys captured by urban local bodies in Shivamogga, Davangere and Udupi
district are also released into the forest in Agumbe region. As the food habits
of these monkeys are different from their counterparts in natural forests, they
raid agricultural fields, he said.
‘No response’
The Malnad Arecanut Marketing Cooperative Society (MAMCOS),
representing the growers has written 11 letters to Department of Forest in the past
two years seeking compensation for the crop loss caused by langurs. Nagesh
Dongre, Managing Director of MAMCOS said, there was no response from the
department. MAMCOS recently passed a resolution demanding that the department
pay compensation for the loss caused by langurs, he said.
Ramesh Hegde, President, Zilla Adike Belegarara Sangha, an
organisation of arecanut growers, said monkeys sip the juice from the tender
arecanut and throw it away later. Even after they are satiated, they continue
to pick tender arecanuts and throw them away.
In many North Indian States, crop loss caused by the common
langur is compensated. When Minister for Forest and Environment Ramanath Rai
visited Agumbe last month, farmers submitted a memorandum to him seeking
permission to install ultrasonic monkey repellent device, that generates sound
to scare away the langurs. The department has not yet okayed the installation
of the device, he said.
World’s diamond city can guide India’s waterways
October 10, 2016
Port
of Antwerp could serve as a benchmark as India bids to make dry river beds
navigable and develop 2,000 river ports
Belgium’s Port of Antwerp could well be India’s lighthouse. In its bid to
drastically cut logistics costs, the Asian nation is planning to pump in
billions of dollars to make its dry river beds navigable and develop over 2,000
river ports across 111 national waterways spanning 20,000 km. And, it could
take away a few lessons on generating cargo close to its proposed riverine
ports from its European counterpart.
The Port of Antwerp, a river port set up over 500 years ago, and Europe’s
second largest port behind Rotterdam, attracts some of the biggest vessels to
its 86 terminals located 80 km inland, away from the North Sea, as it has emerged
as one of Europe’s major transshipment hubs feeding cargo to large parts of
Europe through water, rail and roadways.
Besides, it generates large quantities of cargo from manufacturing and
processing units located in the port area (the biggest in the world spread
across 12,068 hectares - or equivalent to about 20,000 football fields) to
cater to the growing demand of vessels calling on the port and barges that
transport cargo to the hinterland in Europe.
‘Cargo is king’
Located on the banks of the river Scheldt, a 350-km long perennial river
that originates from France and that receives tidal water from the North Sea,
the port has multiple canals dug up to create man-made waterways and additional
capacity as well as to set up terminals for specific purposes such as
container, liquid bulk, dry bulk and break-bulk cargo.
The port also boasts of 7 functional locks to ensure adequate water levels
for vessels during times of low-tide in the confined zones to keep port
activity going round the clock. Locks are created to enable vessels to sail
away using the tidal window after completion of loading or off loading work.
The landlord port, which gives away land, warehouses, coverings and quays in
concession to private enterprises, also houses Europe’s biggest petrochemicals
zone and warehouses spread across 610 hectares.
The combination of cargo-handing, value-added logistics and production from
local industry makes this port unique. The port boasts of railway and roads of
1,061 km and 430 km respectively for evacuation of cargo.
Through its quay length of 172 km, the port transports about 35 per cent of
cargo through barges across Europe through the Scheldt (in Belgium, France and
Netherlands), Rhine (Germany) and other European rivers. To ensure the entry of
large vessels the port authorities have dredged the river and during high-tide
the port gets draught that is about 15 metres more than available at India’s
JNPT.
“For long India has focused on sea ports,” Eddy Bruyninckx, CEO, Port of
Antwerp told
The Hindu . “Today, if ships are sailing through a river to
come to our port through the tidal window, it is because cargo is there. They
come here because cargo is king.” .
According to him, “Cargo is here because we host Europe’s biggest
petrochemical complex and 6 million sq metres of warehousing in the port area.
That is cargo in itself. We provide excellent connectivity through barges right
up to the Rhine,” he added.
Today, the port is focused on improving barge connectivity to the
hinterland, as well.
Choosing investments
“You may, of course, invest a lot of money in a canal but if there are no
services launched, if there are no barge operators, then you are nowhere,” he
said. “It is extremely important to identify as to who will use the inland
waterways. If you create industrial zones located at the border of the canal,
cargo can be generated. There have to be logistics facilities as well,” he
said.
For example, the port has helped in the creation of special warehouses or
cold chain facilities for storage of fruits such as pineapples and bananas as
well as vegetables that are transported across Europe even up to Russia. Many
such facilities have their own captive terminals within 10 metre from the
warehouse. This has become possible because terminals and the warehouses have
been set up on the river bank itself.
The main objective is to generate enough cargo from the river banks so that
riverine transport can be made viable and which would ultimately attract
investors to invest in such projects.
Even as the government authorities are bullish on the prospects, India faces
many challenges to develop and run these waterways.
Identifying the areas where investment can be made could be crucial. “You
must know the potential of the particular waterway to attract water-way cargo.
Where does it come from? Multiple activities need to be set up for the
development and improvement of the waterway. You must address road congestion.
You can invest a lot. The sky is the limit. But there has to be cargo and
supply chain,” he said.
Draught concerns
Recently the Port of Antwerp undertook a study for the World Bank concerning
the development of a waterway connecting Patna to Garden Reach near Kolkata.
The study mentions the seasonal variations in the navigable depth. In the
monsoon, the draught (or the depth of water needed to float a ship) is fine but
in other seasons it goes down. “It requires some capital dredging and some
amount of maintenance dredging (to keep the water levels acceptable for
movement of barges),” said Raj Khalid, the India representative of Port of
Antwerp.
Both kinds of dredging - capital and maintenance - are important to deepen
river beds. Moving the dredgers into the rivers is not easy and in most cases,
the dredger needs to be assembled in the river to do its job. It may remain
there forever thus blocking capital. Besides, the riverine transport routes
should run uninterrupted for at least 300 km at a stretch so that desired
logistics cost savings might be achieved.
“At least two metres of draught is required for movement of even the
smallest barges,” said maritime expert Rohit Chaturvedi who was previously with
CRISIL Infrastructure Advisory. “Rivers carry a lot of silt and sand which need
to be removed constantly,” according to him.
“In India you have to do dredging and get the waterways into operation,”
said Luc Arnouts, Chief Commercial Officer, Port of Antwerp which is helping
Panama, Belgium, Netherlands, France and Germany to develop and maintain inland
waterways.
According to Mr. Chaturvedi, another concern was from the dams and barrages
that restricted the flow of water depending on local requirements. “No viable
business can be built on the Cauvery considering the ongoing tussle between
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu on sharing of water,” he said adding that Inland
Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) “is not institutionally strong to push
aside these regional concerns and develop a viable business model for
investors.”
After the successful movement of cargo on NW1 (the
Ganga ) and NW2
(the
Bramhaputra ), the World Bank, which had sanctioned Rs.4,000 crore
for the NW1, is now keen that IWAI takes up passenger transportation in the
second phase, said Pravir Pandey, Vice Chairman & Project Director, IWAI.
“MIT is designing the details on passenger movement for NW1,” according to
him. “In NW2, we have already provided Roll On/ Roll off (RoRo) facility. We
are facilitating the movement of buses, trucks and smaller vehicles.he added.
Meanwhile, NW5 on river
Brahmani is being developed at a fast clip.
This stretch is intended to mainly transport coal from the
Mahanadi
coalfield at Talcher to Paradip and Dhamra Port in Odisha.
India lagging
“We have started work to develop inland waterways, which are our priority.
The objective is to reduce logistics costs, which is now 18 per cent,” said
Union minister for Shipping and Roads Nitin Gadkari. According to him, “It is 8
per cent in China and goes up to 12 per cent in Europe. We have to bring it
down to 12 per cent to be internationally competitive. Only water
transportation can make it possible,” .
“We have a sea shore (line) of 7,500 km and we have 20,000 km of river
banks. About 2,000 water ports can be created. We are putting up to 50 ports on
the
Ganga . We are investing Rs.4,000 crore on NW1. We are putting up
multi-modal ports at Varanasi and Haldia. I am talking to the Korean government
to (help) create waterways across rivers,” Mr. Gadkari added.
According to the minister, in India only 3.5 per cent of all cargo is
transported through waterways. It is 47 per cent in China, 40 per cent in
Europe, 44 per cent in South Korea and Japan and 35 per cent in Bangladesh.
The writer visited Belgium at the invitation of the Port of Antwerp for
the unveiling of its new Porthouse.
It is extremely important to identify as to who will use the inland
waterways
Eddy Bruyninckx
CEO, Port of Antwerp
Not simply a vision thing
5 Oct 2016
The
act of developing a technology is as much work inside the laboratory as it is
of engaging with the state and society on various concerns and questions
Monsanto recently decided that it would stop the release of new genetically
modified (GM) cotton technology because of
“uncertainty in the business and regulatory environment”. At the same time, it
was reported that GM mustard has moved closer to obtaining clearance for
commercial cultivation in India following a key committee’s favourable
assessment on issues of soil suitability and risks to health and ecology.
The issues involved are complex and
contested, and the challenges and contradictions may be evident to even the
most casual of observers. Bt brinjal itself may have faded away from public
discourse but the debacle over its introduction is not something that will be
forgotten in a hurry. The contestations over Bt cotton continue to be alive in
scientific research, in experiences on the field, and in policy debates. The
seed industry has, in fact, split down the middle over a reorientation of the
regulatory and policy frameworks related to Bt cotton. And yet, for a certain
prominent section of the science and technology (S&T) establishment of the
country, the promise of GM mustard trumps all scepticism.
Contestations
The conundrum here is not so much about the technology itself as it is about
the promise that imbues the technology and which holds the present and the
future together. Building promises is very similar to building facts, notes
Cynthia Selin who studies the intersection of science, technology and society.
It is the promise and vision of the future that then becomes key in generating
a constellation that provides social and political legitimacy on the one hand,
and much-needed financial resources on the other. Bt cotton, Bt brinjal and
many technologies of the future exist through the expectations they generate
and mobilise about the future. The act of developing a technology, therefore,
is as much work inside the laboratory as it should be of engaging with the
state and society and with their various concerns and questions. This will not
be possible if the public is seen as ignorant or ill-informed, and the activist
reactionary or an agent of vested interests. The contestation is, in fact, over
the vision of S&T, of society and, for that matter, of the future itself.
In the case of GM mustard, work was
done at Delhi University using public money provided by the government. And yet
it needed the Central Information Commissioner to say that biosafety data
around GM organisms should be available in the public domain. There are some
key questions here. What explains, for instance, this deficit of trust in the
public and in democratic mechanisms set up by the very institutions that
provide the resources and the legitimacy for these new technologies? Is it an
anxiety about failure of the technologist or of the technology itself? Or is it
about the stakes involved in the socio-technical-economic system that has been
mobilised to create the legitimacy in the first place? Does it say something
about the potential failure of an imaginary technology that is based
exclusively on the promise of the future? Can the narrative be one of hope and
promise alone with no space for doubt or the possibility of any failure at all?
Technology Vision 2035
This indeed is the premise one sees embedded in India’s Technology Vision 2035
(TV 2035), a vision produced by the Technology Information, Forecasting and
Assessment Council (TIFAC), an autonomous organisation under the Department of
Science and Technology. Released earlier this year by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, TV 2035 charts out trajectories for society through various technologies
that will help make India a ‘developed’ country by 2035. The vision is both an
account of a future and a route to that future where technology delivers, provides
and secures. Risk and vulnerabilities that are inherent to technology and
therefore to our increasingly ‘technological cultures’, as Professor Wiebe
Bijker, sociologist of science and technology, calls them, are part of the
narrative in only a very marginal manner. There is little, if any, doubt about
the capacity of technology and the different technologies to deliver the goods.
TV 2035 sees people opposed to certain technologies like nuclear and big dams
as a barrier to their dreams. These then need to be addressed through better
governance and not better technological design because “bottlenecks lie in
policy and not technology”.
The past and the present, we know,
are full of various dilemmas, challenges, even failures of technological
promises and yet, a substantive engagement with the ethical, legal and social
(ESLA) issues of research, development and deployment of technology is
conspicuous by its virtual absence.
When failure and risk are integral
parts of the technological enterprise, why is it that technological visions
like TV 2035 have such little space for including and discussing them? It may
not be a conscious choice, but it is not an innocent one either. The particular
question here is not whether GM mustard is acceptable, which is a rather
different debate. The point is to note that the promise and the promissory
visible frontstage in advocating a GM mustard is complemented by a vision
backstage that is unwilling or perhaps unable to look at anything but that
promise. The ideal of the democratic in scientific and technological choices,
while desirable, is certainly not an easy one to realise because the messy
issues of the ethical, legal and social have to be dealt with both frontstage
and backstage.
Political and democratic promise
An illustration of this is visible in a situation where the technological only
appears marginal at first glance. On a visit to Kashmir, a conciliatory Home
Minister Rajnath Singh offered to engage with anyone who was interested in
finding a solution to the crisis there. “I will be staying at the Nehru Guest
House. Those who believe in Kashmiriyat, Insaniyat and Jamhooriyat
are welcome,” he tweeted in an effort to reach out to all. It was as much
an invocation of the political and the democratic promise as it was of the
technological promise of modern communications. The irony only came forth when
he was asked how this message of the Home Minister would reach the people when
the government itself had blocked Internet services.
What more can one say of the inextricable
intertwining of the political and the technological with the social, legal and
ethical? The technological has promise, no doubt, but it is not untethered to
chart territories of its own making.
Pankaj Sekhsaria and Naveen Thayyil
are researchers at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT-Delhi.
Vanya Bisht, also a researcher in the department, contributed to the piece. The
views here are their own.
Course correction
Neichute
Doulo, the recipient of Social Entrepreneur of the Year-India 2016, sees economic
development as a means to end conflict in the North-East
“Realising the need to change the society is not enough as it
needs to be coupled with determination to do so on one’s own steam and hard
work,” is how Neichute Doulo, sums up the philosophy of his life and the one
which guides the Kohima-based non-government organisation, Entrepreneurs
Associates (EA) he heads as the Chief Executive Officer. Recently, Doulo
received the prestigious Social Entrepreneur of the Year-India 2016 by the
Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship in partnership with the Jubilant
Bhartia Foundation, for his work in promoting entrepreneurship and peace
building in North-East India.
EA came into being 16 years ago when Doulo and his like-minded
friends started the NGO with the aim to promote entrepreneurship in Nagaland
and Manipur by training and mentoring unemployed youth to take up
self-employment and business besides providing start up capital to start micro
enterprises. It also motivated the farmers to become self-sufficient in certain
crops and gave them a crash course in marketing to produce surplus to earn
cash. Today EA has successfully launched the first generations of Naga and
Manipuri entrepreneurs, built vibrant local markets, catalysed local production,
generated local jobs and activated financial institutions. All this has given
hope for peace building in the conflict-torn region. “Such endeavours
channelise the energy of the young in a positive direction. In fact, we take
pride in the fact that all those connected with EA have never taken recourse to
alcohol, substance abuse or violence,” comments Doulo with rightful pride.
In Delhi to receive the prize, Doulo narrates some success
stories. Pewete, 41, a Class V pass out felt hopelessly lost as he neither
could get a job nor start a business. He was loaned Rs.20000 and trained by EA
to start a small firewood and vegetables business in 2005 which has flourished,
and Pewete employs 11 people now. In case of Ngonyi Krocha, the 50-year-old
school dropout neither age nor qualification were on his side. Mentored and
helped by EA in 2006 to set up a saw mill, today he has 32 people on rolls.
Thirtytwo-year-old Nitoshe Sema, MA in political science, was
disheartened as he could not get a job. Receiving a loan for Rs.20000 and
training from EA, he started selling high-end goods. Today, he is happily
settled and caters to the livelihood of eight persons. In the farm sector too,
Doulo points out, EA has contributed. At present Naga farmers sell potatoes and
cabbage to the neighbouring States of Manipur and Assam, vegetables in which
they were not self-sufficient once. The examples are innumerable considering
that the organisation has so far touched the lives of 13000 youth and about
3400 farmers.
Doulo, a MA in economics from the North Eastern Hill University
realised early the dependence of Naga youth on Government jobs for livelihood.
“These came easy then since Government then offered them left and right with
the idea to keep the youth away from violence. Unfortunately, it took away
their entrepreneurial spirit while also affecting their work culture and
wrecked havoc when these employment avenues were curtailed.” Seized by the need
to change, Doulo and his companions went about setting an example to others by
carrying luggage, selling newspapers on the roads and polishing shoes. “All
this impressed upon the youngsters the dignity of labour and essence of
self-help,” he explains.
While teaching the lesson of self-help, Doulo perceived the
difficulties one faced to finance a business. “Though commercial banks accepted
deposits and provided other services, they were shy of financing business. Even
today the exposure of commercial banks in SMEs in Nagaland is far less than in
other States,” reveals Doulo. Hence, in 2000, he resigned his teaching
assignment at the Baptist College, Kohima and started EA to not just handhold
young businessmen but also provide them seed money to start on their own.
Significantly, EA’s corpus came through contribution from people. “It was a people’s
movement which came into being through their efforts and money,” he says.
Managed on professional lines, EA disburses loans only after
complying with due diligence norms. All loans require a guarantor and have to
be repaid with 16 per cent interest. “This is necessary to ensure flow of funds
for EA to sponsor more enterprises and also inculcate a sense of responsibility
among the entrepreneurs,” points out Doulo. Thus, so far they have had very few
cases of bad debts.
Apart from the finance what stands the first generation
entrepreneurs in good stead is the training imparted by EA. Ranging from two to
three months, these modules include the basics of conducting business like
etiquettes to be observed while dealing with customers, value of prompt service
and cheerfulness, maintenance of proper accounts and stock system. “Most
importantly we inculcate in entrepreneurs a sense of fairness in them. We
emphasise cheating may benefit in the short run but honest business is forever.
Some of these business basics are unfortunately not taught even in business
schools,” quips Doulo.
Considering the high risk in business, does EA prepare people at
a psychological level? “Yes, we ready them for a hard grind and to face the ups
and downs of the business,” avers Doulo.
Apart from the success stories, EA has been able to impress
various stakeholders in the region too with their performance. “The banks are
slowly opening to the idea of sponsoring enterprises by locals have channelised
some ventures through us though these institutions definitely need to be more
proactive. Likewise, youngsters too are visualising themselves not just as
entrepreneurs but as job creators. Many of the successful ones have taken
others under their wings for mentoring,” shares Doulo. He hopes with the call
for Skill India and Make In India, self-employment will get a fillip not just
in Nagaland but all over the country.
Draft Water Bill suggests basin-level management
It
pitches for a River Basin Authority to ensure ‘optimum and sustainable’
development of rivers.
Amid several inter-State disputes over river water sharing, the
Centre has brought final draft of the National Water Framework Bill, 2016, that
stresses managing water at basin-level and “right measurement” of State’s
contribution to river system to resolve conflicts.
The draft Bill pitches for establishing River Basin Authority for
each inter-State basin to ensure “optimum and sustainable” development of
rivers and valleys.
The Bill is expected to be placed before the Union Cabinet for
its approval in a month, before it is tabled in Parliament.
‘Public trustees’
It suggests States to recognise the principle that the rivers are not owned by
the basin-States but are “public trustees.”
It says all basin States have “equitable” rights over a river
water “provided such use does not violate the right to water for life” of any
person in the river basin.
The draft Bill says every person has a “right to sufficient
quantity of safe water for life” within easy reach of the household regardless
of caste, creed, religion, age, community, class, gender, disability, economic
status, land ownership and place of residence.
It also suggests that States ensure water is conserved.
“Presently, there are disputes because nobody [States] knows
his/her contribution to a river’s catchment area. When a State will know its
exact contribution to the catchment area, it will know quantum of its rightful
share.
The Bill focuses on right measurement of the water at
basin-level,” Water Resources Ministry Secretary Shashi Shekhar told PTI.
Describing the draft Bill as “comprehensive” one, he said the
model law also stresses on Centre and States working in partnership for
managing water.
It proposes establishing institutional arrangements at all levels
within a State and beyond up to an inter-State river basin level to “obviate”
disputes through negotiations, conciliation or mediation before they become
acute.
“All the basin States are equal in rights and status, and there
is no hierarchy of rights among them, and further, in this context, equality of
rights means not equal but equitable shares in the river waters,” the Bill
says.
Water being a State subject, the Bill, however, will not be binding
on States for adoption.
Palghar malnutrition death toll in September: 47, not
4
Fresh
govt. data shows causes of death include pneumonia, low birth weight, which are
linked to malnutrition
As the Maharashtra government faces widespread criticism for the
malnutrition deaths of four children in Palghar last month, it has now emerged
that 47 child deaths were recorded in September. The reasons, including
pneumonia and low birth weight, are broadly linked to malnutrition. Since April
1, 255 children have died in the district, including 82 deaths in August alone.
The four back-to-back deaths in Palghar last month had triggered
a frenzied government reaction with focus on the remote and tribal-dominated
Jawhar and Mokhada talukas. Fresh data shows most deaths happened in Dahanu,
but with respect to the ratio of deaths to population size, Jawhar and Mokhada
remain the worst-hit, district administration officials say.
Nidhi Choudhari, CEO, Palghar Zilla Parishad says 37 per cent of
the district’s rural population resides in the four talukas of Wada, Vikramgad,
Jawhar and Mokhada, which collectively report 59 per cent of child deaths.
“These talukas are hilly areas, and even in earlier months, the
number of children in the severe acute malnutrition and moderately acute
malnutrition categories was higher.
Dahanu is also a tribal area, but if it has 85 gram panchayats,
while Jawhar and Mokhada have 25 to 35 panchayats. So the ratio [of deaths] is
higher in these talukas.”
Officials say child death numbers haven’t gone up this year when
compared to previous years, but activists insist that the government is busy
treating symptoms instead of looking for a cure. They also point out that key
government posts lying vacant are to blame for the deaths along with poor livelihood
options and migration.
The district doesn’t have an additional district health
officer and an assistant district health officer, and all four posts sanctioned
for Palghar under the National Rural Health Mission are lying vacant.
Four paediatricians have been sanctioned for Palghar, but only
one post is filled. Of the 13 posts for child development officers to oversee
implementation of the Integrated Child Development Scheme, 12 are lying vacant.
Mental illness continues to be shrouded in stigma, guilt:
study
Most
respondents said the negative connotation kept people from seeking help
A new study, conducted in Delhi, has found that nearly 90 per cent of the
people living with mental illnesses feel that they are prone to ridicule and
discrimination and 63 per cent think that the illness makes it difficult to
lead a life of dignity.
Troubling trends?
The survey was conducted by Cosmos Institute of Mental Health &
Behavioural Sciences (CIMBS), examining general attitudes and perceptions about
mental health in the Capital. It was released on Monday on the occasion of
World Mental Health Day.
Over 500 people tracked
The researchers tracked 529 subjects in the age group of 18 to 62 from
across the National Capital Region (NCR).
The researchers found that 58 per cent of the participants knew of someone
in their personal or professional life, with a psychiatric or psychological
health issue.
Of them, over 70 per cent felt that the person was not taking adequate
medical treatment.
Further, 39 per cent knew someone who had hidden their illness from their
spouse before marriage, and 53 per cent had prevented disclosure of such information
to their employers.
‘Not enough done’
And an overwhelming majority — 94 per cent of the respondents — thought not
enough was being done to remove stigma attached to mental illness.
“Mental illness continues to be shrouded in an air of secrecy and guilt. We
often come across patients afraid to disclose their illness publicly. While
maintaining confidentiality is routine and important for us, we see patients
with serious illnesses or even common problems like depression, anxiety and
stress, from all backgrounds, eager to keep their illness a secret,” said Dr.
Shobhana, consultant psychiatrist at CIMBS.
Stigma surrounding mental illness is a continuing problem that mental health
experts and patients have battled for long.
Pranav Mittal, a lawyer who has worked on mental health policy reform and is
a coordinator of the study, says, “An astounding 89 per cent of the respondents
felt that those with psychiatric illness were more likely to be ridiculed,
discriminated against, or looked down upon in society. Of the respondents, 63
per cent said mental illness made it difficult to lead a life of dignity. This
explains why 80 per cent thought biases and stigmas were so severe that they
prevented people from seeking treatment.”
Misconceptions promoted?
A striking revelation of the study was the role attributed to popular
culture in promoting misconceptions about mental illness. “Over 68 per cent
believed that popular culture, especially cinema, wrongly depicted people with
any mental illness as being violent, eccentric, unsociable and in need of
'lock-up' or 'shock-therapy', which contributed to the stigma and even deprived
persons with mental illness of their dignity.”
The study also revealed the limited success of national-level awareness
campaigns, and underlined the urgent need for renewed efforts to de-stigmatise
mental health care in India.
Over 68 per cent believed that popular culture, especially cinema,
wrongly depicted people with any mental illness as being violent, eccentric,
unsociable and in need of
‘lock-up’ or
‘shock-therapy’
The study also revealed the
limited success of
national-level awareness campaigns
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http://epaper.jagran.com/ePaperArticle/13-oct-2016-edition-Delhi-City-page_14-3922-4549-4.html
India blocks Pakistan climate change project at Green
Climate Fund board meeting
India singled out to oppose and block a climate change project
from Pakistan at the Green Climate Fund, raising eyebrows at the meeting
currently going on in South Korea. The project is to be located in Gilgit
Baltistan and the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is the arm of the climate change convention meant to
fund projects in developing countries supported by financing by the rich
countries and other multilateral donors. India is one of the three board members representing the Asia
Pacific region along with China and Saudi Arabia.
The fund’s board is meeting in
Songdo, South Korea to consider a tranche of proposals for funding. It was in
this meeting on Wednesday that India’s representative, Dinesh Sharma, special
secretary in the finance ministry singled out the Pakistan project for adapting to climate change in the Himalayan
region, calling the project flawed. He said that he agreed with all others.
In response to emailed Business
Standard queries, Sharma defended his intervention at the GCF board meeting and said it was purely on technical grounds
that he found the Pakistan project flawed and nothing else should be implied from it.
But, two other developing country
board members that Business Standard spoke to expressed anguish and
disappointment. “Here (at climate negotiations) we don’t represent just our
individual national interests but we work as a group to protect developing
country interests. India could have put more conditions but let it move ahead.
Unfortunately it is not budging. This will, we fear, isolate India and at the same time weaken our unity,” said one of the two
wishing to remain anonymous.
India did not object to another multiple-country project which did
not have approval from some host countries – a ground principle that developing
countries, including India, had earlier fought to get in as a mandatory
requisite. Many other developing country board members did.
The Pakistan project, supported by the UNDP, is meant to reduce risks in
Northern Kashmir area from flooding caused by outbursts of glacial lakes. The
independent technical committee of the GCF assessed that the project would provide protection to more
than 700,000 people and save more than 100 lives that get lost due to the
frequent glacial lake outbursts.
The GCF’s technical committee
examines each project and put conditions to fix the projects to the GCF parameters before it is tabled before the board. The board
meeting discussions are webcast for public.
When the proposals came up for
discussion at the board India intervened to ask if it could put conditions on specific
projects or would they apply to all the proposals. When the chair allowed India to raise issues about specific projects, the Indian
representative said he had read the Pakistan proposal in detail and had objections to it. He repeated
that he had no objection to projects from other countries.
He said that the Pakistan project’s success was predicated on there being no glacial
outbursts during the five year tenure of the project which was unlikely
considering the frequency of glacial bursts in the region. He added, “Himalayas
is the highest peak on earth…it feeds rivers into six countries…the project is
fundamentally shaky and our (GCF’s) reputation will be at risk.”
Surprised at the Indian rejection,
the chair asked if he would be willing to consult with the experts on the
proposal to see if there was any way to amend the project or resolve the
impasse, Sharma said, “I can’t think of any conditions on which it can be
passed. Just to show that I don’t have a closed mind I can hear them but there
is very low probability of learning something or adding something.”
The Indian intervention raised
eye-brows at the meeting among several observers and other board members from
developing countries. At the GCF developing countries and within that particularly the Asia
Pacific group usually coordinate their moves closely to maintain a negotiating balance
against the developed countries. But, in this case, they were taken by surprise
by the Indian opposition to Pakistan’s project.
Even closed door meeting later in
the day between developing country board members failed to convince India to change its stance. The tension created by the Indian
intervention led one the board member from Africa to ask that meeting be
shifted off-camera because it touched sensitivities of constituencies (groups
of countries). The board could not clear any project on Wednesday subsequently
and postponed the decision.
“It is quite naturally being seen as
a Pakistan-India political issue, even if it is not. It is not healthy that
we are seen fighting between ourselves. So far we have made gains here by
sticking together,” said the second developing country board member Business
Standard spoke with. “Even when we have found projects to be weak we have
pushed for them to ensure the funds flow to developing countries, something the
developed countries would like not to happen,” he added.
But Sharma, responding to Business
Standard queries dismissed the notion that India had singled out Pakistan’s project for any other reason but
technical flaws in it. “Every board member is duty bound to point out what is
seen as a serious flaw in any project. It would be wrong to imply any of the
things mentioned in your mail,“ he said.
Sharma added in his emailed
response, “Other projects did not suffer from such fundamental weakness nor are
they in such ecologically fragile area having repercussions on more than one
country.” He repeated the claimed weakness in the project that he had told the
board members.
Business Standard had asked on what
grounds India had objected to Pakistan’s proposal, the reasons behind
objecting to only one proposal and if opposing the Pakistan project would have adverse repercussions for future Indian
projects at GCF.
A senior climate change negotiator
in India, said, “Our mandate, as I understand, is to get India proposals through when they are ready. There is no specific
mandate to block any other developing country’s proposal.”
An observer at the meeting, also
wishing to remain anonymous said, “The political tiff between the two countries
should not have played out here. The GCF board members represent regions not just their countries.
This could lead to a situation that later others oppose Indian projects when
they are lined up for GCF funds.”
At the time of writing this, the GCF board had not restarted discussions on funding proposals
that had hit stalemate on Wednesday. The board meeting ends on Friday by when a
final call would have to be taken.
BRICS in liberalisation trap: Medha
Attacking BRICS for falling in the trap of liberalisation,
globalisation and market-led agenda of global power centres, activist Medha
Patkar, opening the two-day meeting of People’s Forum ahead of the BRICS
summit, on Thursday said the BRICS summit gave “us an opportunity to review
what is happening at global power centres.”
Ms. Patkar, who represents National Alliance for People’s
Movements, took note of various struggles of people across the country
including Goans successful fight against special economic zones and also
against illegal mining and appealed to the people to build solidarity in the
resistance against neo-liberalism and corporate globalisation “which has also
not spared BRICS.”
In a hard-hitting speech delivered at the Xavier Centre of
Historical Research here, Ms. Patkar said,“Our fora is not parallel to BRICS
but of communities. They (official BRICS) are in the market-game to channel
funds away from common people’s fulfilment, which is real development we feel.”
Attacking the BRICS, she said that they only make a show that
with the Development Bank they will change the impact of globalisation, but the
changes they make in labour acts and other legislation affecting the people are
aimed at competing with global powers.
“We want swadeshi, not of Modi or the RSS, but the one that incorporates
self-sufficiency and equitable distribution, which challenges disparities in
harnessing community resources,” she said. Speakers from South Africa, Brazil,
China and also those representing various movements in India spoke on diverse
issues like students movement and workers’ protests in South Africa, protests
of the intellectuals in Brazil and other issues and came up with people’s
alternatives built by social movements in BRICS countries as a counter to
neo-liberalism.
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