Goverment of India and its role in Tobacco Control
Tobacco addiction is a global epidemic that is increasingly ravaging countries and regions that can least afford its toll of disability, disease, lost productivity and death. It has been recognized as the single biggest causes of preventable death and disability world wide. Every year millions of people die due to tobacco use. By 2030 it is expected to kill 10 million people per year, half of them in the age group of 35 to 60 years. Tobacco use is a growing concern, with statistics which reveal facts where one is compelled to understand and take cognizance of the fact to tackle the problem we need to develop a multi sectoral and integrated approach.
The tobacco problem in developing countries like India is more complex and difficult compared to other parts of the world. India is the second largest producer of tobacco worldwide and ranks fourth in total tobacco consumption. Tobacco and its use are not new to our culture. It is easily accessible and consumed in rural India in various forms - smoking, chewable and snuff - like cheaper cigarette versions like beedis, betel leaves, flavored powder (pan masala and gutka), hookah etc. and is closely related with rituals and social status. Families already grappling with scant resources are pushed further into extreme poverty due to spending on tobacco products or on treating tobacco-related diseases.
As studies reveal 5,500 adolescents start using tobacco every day in India joining the 4 million young people under the age of 15 who are regular tobacco users. India also sees a steady rise in deaths attributed to tobacco every year. From 1.4% of all deaths in 1990 the number is expected to rise to 13.3% in 2020.According to the WHO, India would have the highest rate of rise in tobacco related deaths during this period, compared to all other countries /regions.
The Indian government, the civil society and we as citizens need to urgently take proactive steps to combat this demon.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Anand Kumar from Bihar
Anand Kumar, who founded Bihar's free coaching centre Super 30, thathas helped many to enter the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs),was conferred Wednesday the state's highest award in education.Anand was given the 'Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Shiksha Puruskar' byGovernor Devanand Konwar at a function here to mark the education day."I am happy to receive the award for my honest effort to make adifference to people who cannot afford quality education," Kumar toldIANS."The award is special for me. This is a big honour. My own state hasfinally recognized me," he said.Officials said Anand was chosen for his contribution in teachingchildren from poor families and preparing them for the IIT-JEE exams.At his school students get free coaching, lodging and food for ninemonths.The award was instituted by the Bihar government in 2007. It carries acitation and Rs.2 lakh.In the last three years, all 30 students of Super 30 have made it tothe Joint Entrance Examination (JEE). Since 2003, 212 students havemade it to the IITs.Kumar, who himself missed a chance to study at the Cambridge becausehe didn't have enough money, gives full scholarships to every annualbatch of 30 students.They have to pass a competitive test to get into Super 30 and thencommit themselves to a year of 16-hour study each day.Anand, who started the Ramanujam School of Mathematics in 1992,founded the Super 30 in 2002.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Dr. Sunitha Krishnan - Co-Founder Prajwala- Very Inspiring
BOB ABERNETHY, anchor: We have a strong and disturbing story today about sex trafficking and the courageous work of one woman in India who is rescuing young children from forced prostitution. Estimates of the number of young girls sold for sex across international borders go up to nearly two million a year, not counting those tricked or kidnapped into prostitution within their own countries. Fred de Sam Lazaro reports today from the southern India city of Hyderabad.
FRED DE SAM LAZARO: She's stands barely taller than these children, but to them Dr. Sunitha Krishnan is a towering figure -- big sister, mother, and school principal rolled into one. Their faces betray few outward signs of the trauma these children have endured. Every child at this transition center is HIV positive. They weren't born that way. They were infected as a result of rape or incest.
Dr. SUNITHA KRISHNAN (Co-founder, Prajwala): I don't know what their future is. I know what their present would be, and for me it's one day at a time right now. And my effort is to see that their smiles are restored everyday, and I can sustain their smiles.
DE SAM LAZARO: But beneath her smile lies a deep anger that propels Krishnan. It began when, as a teenage social activist, she was gang-raped.
Dr. KRISHNAN: The rape per se was not so much of an issue for me. I don't know, for some reason I was never traumatized by that, the fact that I was raped. But what happened after that made me think [about] the way my family treated me, the way the world treated me, the way people around me treated me. The sense that thousands and millions of children and young people are being sexually violated and that there's this huge silence about it around me angers me. This huge normalization of that angers me.
DE SAM LAZARO: Krishnan began working to combat sexual violence in what she says is its most pervasive form -- prostitution. After getting a doctorate in social work, she and a Catholic brother, who died in 2005, founded Prajwala, which means "eternal flame." It is dedicated to removing -- she says rescuing -- women from brothels. It begins with helping their children. In 1995 she started a school with five children. Today, aside from this boarding school for HIV positive kids, Prajwala runs 17 schools across the city of Hyderabad with 5,000 children.
Dr. KRISHNAN: If this facility was not here today perhaps most of the girl children would be inducted into prostitution.
DE SAM LAZARO (to Dr. Krishnan): Even at this age?
Dr. KRISHNAN: I would say eight or nine. The older children that you saw on the other floor are children who would have been easily procured for prostitution and most of the boys, right from the age of six or seven perhaps, would be pimping for their mothers.
DE SAM LAZARO: She says about two million people are trafficked each year within India or from neighboring countries. Most are inducted into the sex trade at age 10 or even earlier, usually destined for big cities and tourist areas. Prajwala has developed a network of informants in the sex industry to help conduct what have become trademark brothel raids. Most of the young women rescued are already veterans of the trade. Many are actually very reticent.
Dr. KRISHNAN: There's so much desensitization that has happened, so much normalization of exploitation that has happened, so much internalization of trauma that has happened. Most of the time, you know, they develop some very close attachments, and they will any day go back. Some of them would any day go back to their pimps or procurer than rather be with us.
DE SAM LAZARO: In fact many do go back to a life that's become normal, a familiar routine. But Prajwala has managed to coax 1,500 women out of prostitution. Peer counselors like 20-year-old Malini play a critical role.
MALINI (Peer Counselor, Prajwala, through translator): When we get the girls, they cry a lot. I ask why, and I tell them my own story, that this is what happened to me and I don't want the same to happen to you.
DE SAM LAZARO: Malani's story is typical. There was abuse, poverty, and despair in her home. A seemingly helpful adult friend, often it's a relative, offered the young daughter work in the big city. Instead, says Malini, she was sold into a brothel. The price the brothel paid for her then became the price she would have to pay for her freedom, paid from her brothel earnings. The accounting is elastic and entirely dictated by pimps or madams, as she found out months into her servitude.
MALINI (through translator): One day they told me, "There's a small balance, and when you pay it off you'll be free to go." I asked how much, and they said 200,000 rupees. I got frightened. I said, "Why 200,000? I've been here so many months, and you've earned so much money from me." They just beat me, so I ran away.
DE SAM LAZARO: But running to the police in a city she didn't know, she encountered only more violence.
MALINI: When we asked the police, "Why are you hitting us?" they said "because you do this immoral work." And I said, "Well, why are you catching us? You should go after our house madams, not us." But they just beat us some more.
DE SAM LAZARO: Official corruption has decreased in recent years. Prajwala's rescue raids are now conducted with the police. At least part of this is due to pressure from Washington. The U.S. Justice Department publishes an annual T.I.P. or Trafficking in Persons report. Countries that show no improvement in cracking down run the risk of some trade sanctions.
Dr. KRISHNAN: At one level it irritates me to no end that my country would require somebody else from outside to tell them that this is a problem. That's not the right way to go about it.
DE SAM LAZARO: At the same time, she's not shy in telling the U.S. and others what to do. Twenty-five percent of sex tourists in Asia are American, she says.
Dr. KRISHNAN: So one needs to ask questions in America also about why American people want small children to have sex with, and that if they don't get it in their own countries, they seek it out in countries like Sri Lanka and India and Philippines. You're about imposing sanctions on India, but have you also thought about imposing sanctions on your own country?
DE SAM LAZARO: Krishnan says Washington has laws against sexual predators, even those that offend abroad. But she says it doesn't enforce them enough. In India, her advocacy has strengthened laws to counter trafficking and to protect victims. Prajwala's rescue raids are now conducted in many of the country's major prostitution areas.
Dr. KRISHNAN: Most of these girls have spent many years in flesh trade, and this is a kind of a transit shelter.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN (through translator, lecturing to group of children): You're not old yet, and at your age girls should remember a few important things: the way you dress, your behavior. How should that be? It should be acceptable to others. For example, the way you walk.
DE SAM LAZARO: It will take months with lectures and skits to unlearn the sexualized behavior and demeanor they've acquired.
Dr. KRISHNAN (speaking in Hindu to group of girls): Hey girl, where are you going? Come here. How much do you want?
First, tell me, why did all of this happen?
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: If a girl's good looking, people will make comments like that.
Dr. KRISHNAN (to unidentified girl): Do you think this happens to regular women?
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: No, it's because of the way we're dressed. That's why they are saying that.
DE SAM LAZARO: Young women like 19-year-old Abbas Bee are trained in traditional life skills and quite untraditional occupational ones. The goal is to find good-paying jobs, jobs rarely held by women in India. Prajwala itself runs a printing and metal workshop and that helps pay for its work, along with grants from UNICEF, Catholic Relief Services, and others.
Dr. KRISHNAN: We have trained young girls as welders, as carpenters, as printers, as bookbinders, as screen printers, as taxi drivers and auto drivers. We also train them as housekeepers to work in hotels and hospitals and things like that.
DE SAM LAZARO: Their earnings make women like Abbas more eligible as brides, even though she, like perhaps 25 percent of women here, is HIV positive.
ABBAS BEE (Through Translator): I want to get married to a very kindhearted man, and I definitely want an HIV positive man, because I don't want to ruin somebody's life. He should be caring. If he is sick, I'll take care of him, and if I'm sick, he'll take care of me.
DE SAM LAZARO: If she does get married, her wedding, like many others, will happen at Prajwala.
Dr. KRISHNAN: At any given point of time there is somebody pregnant, somebody delivering or somebody -- something's happening. So from birth to death, birth to death, we are the only linkage.
DE SAM LAZARO: She tries to reconcile these women with their families, but for many Prajwala is the only family they know. It's a daunting parental role for the 34-year-old Krishnan, one for which she calls deeply on her faith.
Dr. KRISHNAN: I am a practicing Hindu. I have this deep-rooted belief that my life is a providence by itself, and God has brought me in this world to do what I'm doing, and God will allow me to stay in this world so long as he believes that my mission is not done, and therefore I do believe that the day God believes that my work is done, I'll be killed or I'll die naturally, or whichever way that is possible.
DE SAM LAZARO: Prostitution is a very lucrative organized crime she says. She's been beaten up 14 times since starting Prajwala, the price for rescuing thousands of children from what she calls "the world's oldest form of slavery."
For RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY, this is Fred de Sam Lazaro in Hyderabad, India.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeOumyTMCI8
FRED DE SAM LAZARO: She's stands barely taller than these children, but to them Dr. Sunitha Krishnan is a towering figure -- big sister, mother, and school principal rolled into one. Their faces betray few outward signs of the trauma these children have endured. Every child at this transition center is HIV positive. They weren't born that way. They were infected as a result of rape or incest.
Dr. SUNITHA KRISHNAN (Co-founder, Prajwala): I don't know what their future is. I know what their present would be, and for me it's one day at a time right now. And my effort is to see that their smiles are restored everyday, and I can sustain their smiles.
DE SAM LAZARO: But beneath her smile lies a deep anger that propels Krishnan. It began when, as a teenage social activist, she was gang-raped.
Dr. KRISHNAN: The rape per se was not so much of an issue for me. I don't know, for some reason I was never traumatized by that, the fact that I was raped. But what happened after that made me think [about] the way my family treated me, the way the world treated me, the way people around me treated me. The sense that thousands and millions of children and young people are being sexually violated and that there's this huge silence about it around me angers me. This huge normalization of that angers me.
DE SAM LAZARO: Krishnan began working to combat sexual violence in what she says is its most pervasive form -- prostitution. After getting a doctorate in social work, she and a Catholic brother, who died in 2005, founded Prajwala, which means "eternal flame." It is dedicated to removing -- she says rescuing -- women from brothels. It begins with helping their children. In 1995 she started a school with five children. Today, aside from this boarding school for HIV positive kids, Prajwala runs 17 schools across the city of Hyderabad with 5,000 children.
Dr. KRISHNAN: If this facility was not here today perhaps most of the girl children would be inducted into prostitution.
DE SAM LAZARO (to Dr. Krishnan): Even at this age?
Dr. KRISHNAN: I would say eight or nine. The older children that you saw on the other floor are children who would have been easily procured for prostitution and most of the boys, right from the age of six or seven perhaps, would be pimping for their mothers.
DE SAM LAZARO: She says about two million people are trafficked each year within India or from neighboring countries. Most are inducted into the sex trade at age 10 or even earlier, usually destined for big cities and tourist areas. Prajwala has developed a network of informants in the sex industry to help conduct what have become trademark brothel raids. Most of the young women rescued are already veterans of the trade. Many are actually very reticent.
Dr. KRISHNAN: There's so much desensitization that has happened, so much normalization of exploitation that has happened, so much internalization of trauma that has happened. Most of the time, you know, they develop some very close attachments, and they will any day go back. Some of them would any day go back to their pimps or procurer than rather be with us.
DE SAM LAZARO: In fact many do go back to a life that's become normal, a familiar routine. But Prajwala has managed to coax 1,500 women out of prostitution. Peer counselors like 20-year-old Malini play a critical role.
MALINI (Peer Counselor, Prajwala, through translator): When we get the girls, they cry a lot. I ask why, and I tell them my own story, that this is what happened to me and I don't want the same to happen to you.
DE SAM LAZARO: Malani's story is typical. There was abuse, poverty, and despair in her home. A seemingly helpful adult friend, often it's a relative, offered the young daughter work in the big city. Instead, says Malini, she was sold into a brothel. The price the brothel paid for her then became the price she would have to pay for her freedom, paid from her brothel earnings. The accounting is elastic and entirely dictated by pimps or madams, as she found out months into her servitude.
MALINI (through translator): One day they told me, "There's a small balance, and when you pay it off you'll be free to go." I asked how much, and they said 200,000 rupees. I got frightened. I said, "Why 200,000? I've been here so many months, and you've earned so much money from me." They just beat me, so I ran away.
DE SAM LAZARO: But running to the police in a city she didn't know, she encountered only more violence.
MALINI: When we asked the police, "Why are you hitting us?" they said "because you do this immoral work." And I said, "Well, why are you catching us? You should go after our house madams, not us." But they just beat us some more.
DE SAM LAZARO: Official corruption has decreased in recent years. Prajwala's rescue raids are now conducted with the police. At least part of this is due to pressure from Washington. The U.S. Justice Department publishes an annual T.I.P. or Trafficking in Persons report. Countries that show no improvement in cracking down run the risk of some trade sanctions.
Dr. KRISHNAN: At one level it irritates me to no end that my country would require somebody else from outside to tell them that this is a problem. That's not the right way to go about it.
DE SAM LAZARO: At the same time, she's not shy in telling the U.S. and others what to do. Twenty-five percent of sex tourists in Asia are American, she says.
Dr. KRISHNAN: So one needs to ask questions in America also about why American people want small children to have sex with, and that if they don't get it in their own countries, they seek it out in countries like Sri Lanka and India and Philippines. You're about imposing sanctions on India, but have you also thought about imposing sanctions on your own country?
DE SAM LAZARO: Krishnan says Washington has laws against sexual predators, even those that offend abroad. But she says it doesn't enforce them enough. In India, her advocacy has strengthened laws to counter trafficking and to protect victims. Prajwala's rescue raids are now conducted in many of the country's major prostitution areas.
Dr. KRISHNAN: Most of these girls have spent many years in flesh trade, and this is a kind of a transit shelter.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN (through translator, lecturing to group of children): You're not old yet, and at your age girls should remember a few important things: the way you dress, your behavior. How should that be? It should be acceptable to others. For example, the way you walk.
DE SAM LAZARO: It will take months with lectures and skits to unlearn the sexualized behavior and demeanor they've acquired.
Dr. KRISHNAN (speaking in Hindu to group of girls): Hey girl, where are you going? Come here. How much do you want?
First, tell me, why did all of this happen?
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: If a girl's good looking, people will make comments like that.
Dr. KRISHNAN (to unidentified girl): Do you think this happens to regular women?
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: No, it's because of the way we're dressed. That's why they are saying that.
DE SAM LAZARO: Young women like 19-year-old Abbas Bee are trained in traditional life skills and quite untraditional occupational ones. The goal is to find good-paying jobs, jobs rarely held by women in India. Prajwala itself runs a printing and metal workshop and that helps pay for its work, along with grants from UNICEF, Catholic Relief Services, and others.
Dr. KRISHNAN: We have trained young girls as welders, as carpenters, as printers, as bookbinders, as screen printers, as taxi drivers and auto drivers. We also train them as housekeepers to work in hotels and hospitals and things like that.
DE SAM LAZARO: Their earnings make women like Abbas more eligible as brides, even though she, like perhaps 25 percent of women here, is HIV positive.
ABBAS BEE (Through Translator): I want to get married to a very kindhearted man, and I definitely want an HIV positive man, because I don't want to ruin somebody's life. He should be caring. If he is sick, I'll take care of him, and if I'm sick, he'll take care of me.
DE SAM LAZARO: If she does get married, her wedding, like many others, will happen at Prajwala.
Dr. KRISHNAN: At any given point of time there is somebody pregnant, somebody delivering or somebody -- something's happening. So from birth to death, birth to death, we are the only linkage.
DE SAM LAZARO: She tries to reconcile these women with their families, but for many Prajwala is the only family they know. It's a daunting parental role for the 34-year-old Krishnan, one for which she calls deeply on her faith.
Dr. KRISHNAN: I am a practicing Hindu. I have this deep-rooted belief that my life is a providence by itself, and God has brought me in this world to do what I'm doing, and God will allow me to stay in this world so long as he believes that my mission is not done, and therefore I do believe that the day God believes that my work is done, I'll be killed or I'll die naturally, or whichever way that is possible.
DE SAM LAZARO: Prostitution is a very lucrative organized crime she says. She's been beaten up 14 times since starting Prajwala, the price for rescuing thousands of children from what she calls "the world's oldest form of slavery."
For RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY, this is Fred de Sam Lazaro in Hyderabad, India.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeOumyTMCI8
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Controversy
Few days back some medical experts have opined that smoking on screen by iconic actors like Aishwarya Rai will increase the smoking habits among the masses. The scenes from Guzarish in which Aishwarya Rai is smoking should be removed. This is because the doctors believe the former Miss World smoking on screen will influence people to smoke as well.
My question is do films make such an impact? If yes why isn't the impact visible if an actor or actress does a sensational act in films. Films like Gangajal, Shool, etc portrayed an honest government servant. How many government servants have changed after watching these films?
The habits are inculcated right from the childhood days by the schools and parents. People get influenced to some extent from their friends circle. Any impact made by the film stars can at best be momentary. If the people start smoking looking at the character portrayed by the film star then I believe its an individual problem and not the problem of the actor/actress.
We need to understand that the character portrayed by the actress is smoking. It is our responsibility to educate people around us what is good and what is not. Again the problem arises do we really know what is good and what is not?
My question is do films make such an impact? If yes why isn't the impact visible if an actor or actress does a sensational act in films. Films like Gangajal, Shool, etc portrayed an honest government servant. How many government servants have changed after watching these films?
The habits are inculcated right from the childhood days by the schools and parents. People get influenced to some extent from their friends circle. Any impact made by the film stars can at best be momentary. If the people start smoking looking at the character portrayed by the film star then I believe its an individual problem and not the problem of the actor/actress.
We need to understand that the character portrayed by the actress is smoking. It is our responsibility to educate people around us what is good and what is not. Again the problem arises do we really know what is good and what is not?
Monday, October 11, 2010
Waste Management
After lot of insistence from couple of my friends, I am posting my experience during Ganapati Visarjan.
Can you imagine how much of non- biodegradable waste we generate especially during the festivals?
We a bunch of young group of around 10 people in the age group of 16-26 volunteered during the Ganesh festival to segregate the bio degradable waste from the plastic bags. Dnyana Prabhodini, an NGO, gave us an opportunity to volunteer for this work. Since the group was small we volunteered at MIDC (Dombivli) on the 2nd day and on the Gauri visarjan day. A small group among us also volunteered at Thakurli on the day of Gauri Visarjan.
Our task was to segregate the the plastic bags from the biodegradable waste. Biodegradeable waste can be used for the production of fertilizers. However with the presence of plastic bags, the production of fertilizers is not possible. The work performed on these 2 days helped us collect an astonishing 84kgs of plastic bags at these places of Ganesh Idol immersion.
Just imagine if the plastic bags collected on 2 days at couple of places is such a big number, what would be the plastic non-biodegradable waste that we will be generating all over the country. We should minimize the use of plastic bags or take efforts to segregate the degradable and the bio- degradable waste. If more people volunteer we can execute this job at different places rather than restricting this job to a particular place.
It is worth noting that if such small issues are not addressed at this point it will be very difficult to control it at a later stage.
Can you imagine how much of non- biodegradable waste we generate especially during the festivals?
We a bunch of young group of around 10 people in the age group of 16-26 volunteered during the Ganesh festival to segregate the bio degradable waste from the plastic bags. Dnyana Prabhodini, an NGO, gave us an opportunity to volunteer for this work. Since the group was small we volunteered at MIDC (Dombivli) on the 2nd day and on the Gauri visarjan day. A small group among us also volunteered at Thakurli on the day of Gauri Visarjan.
Our task was to segregate the the plastic bags from the biodegradable waste. Biodegradeable waste can be used for the production of fertilizers. However with the presence of plastic bags, the production of fertilizers is not possible. The work performed on these 2 days helped us collect an astonishing 84kgs of plastic bags at these places of Ganesh Idol immersion.
Just imagine if the plastic bags collected on 2 days at couple of places is such a big number, what would be the plastic non-biodegradable waste that we will be generating all over the country. We should minimize the use of plastic bags or take efforts to segregate the degradable and the bio- degradable waste. If more people volunteer we can execute this job at different places rather than restricting this job to a particular place.
It is worth noting that if such small issues are not addressed at this point it will be very difficult to control it at a later stage.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Bribery
I have been thinking on corruption and bribe for many days now. I have discussed with some about who is responsible for corruption. These are my views on bribery and corruption.
There are 2 types of bribe offered-
1. Bribe paid to an official not to perform his/her duty.
2. Bribe paid to an official to perform his/her duty.
In the first case I feel the person giving the bribe is at fault and should be punished. This is known as reverse control. This is ther law in Israel.
In the second situation the person taking the bribe is at fault and hence should be punished. In other words in some situations the giver should be held responsible and in some situations the receiver should be held responsible and punished.
For example; If 'A' is not having a driving licence and is caught by the cop. Here the cop's duty is to fine him for the illegal act. In this scenario if A pays the bribe and gets away by not paying the fine then A should be punished rather than the cop. Here A is not allowing the cop to perform his/her duty. Therefore 'A' is at fault and should be punished.
Consider another situation where 'A' seeks permission for legal water connection. However he is asked to pay a bribe to get the work done which is the work of the officer incharge. In this case, the officer is at fault and must be punished. This is a case where bribe is demanded to perform the duty.
There are 2 types of bribe offered-
1. Bribe paid to an official not to perform his/her duty.
2. Bribe paid to an official to perform his/her duty.
In the first case I feel the person giving the bribe is at fault and should be punished. This is known as reverse control. This is ther law in Israel.
In the second situation the person taking the bribe is at fault and hence should be punished. In other words in some situations the giver should be held responsible and in some situations the receiver should be held responsible and punished.
For example; If 'A' is not having a driving licence and is caught by the cop. Here the cop's duty is to fine him for the illegal act. In this scenario if A pays the bribe and gets away by not paying the fine then A should be punished rather than the cop. Here A is not allowing the cop to perform his/her duty. Therefore 'A' is at fault and should be punished.
Consider another situation where 'A' seeks permission for legal water connection. However he is asked to pay a bribe to get the work done which is the work of the officer incharge. In this case, the officer is at fault and must be punished. This is a case where bribe is demanded to perform the duty.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Ulhasnagar Skywalk Project
Continuing from the previous post.........
Little bit of search reveals tht estimated cost of Ulhasnagar Skywalk is Rs 35 crores for Length of 650m and 4m width. This makes the per metre cost close to 135000 which is again more than Bandra Worli sea link. Again this is much costlier than 13crore skywalk in Bandra.
One good thing about Ulhasnagar skywalk is that it has overrun by couple of months unlike Kalyan skywalk which has overrun by about 8months.
Little bit of search reveals tht estimated cost of Ulhasnagar Skywalk is Rs 35 crores for Length of 650m and 4m width. This makes the per metre cost close to 135000 which is again more than Bandra Worli sea link. Again this is much costlier than 13crore skywalk in Bandra.
One good thing about Ulhasnagar skywalk is that it has overrun by couple of months unlike Kalyan skywalk which has overrun by about 8months.
Kalyan Skywalk Project costlier than Bandra Worli Sealink
It is a strange fact but true that Kalyan Skywalk is costlier than Bandra Worli Sea link on a relative basis. On an absolute basis it is much costlier than Bandra skywalk.
the BWSL, with a length of 5.5 km or 5,500 meter and width of 32 meters (8 lanes), was built with a cost of Rs16.5 billion.
the BWSL, with a length of 5.5 km or 5,500 meter and width of 32 meters (8 lanes), was built with a cost of Rs16.5 billion.
When you equalise the costs of both the skywalk and sea link, the cost of skywalk turns out to be a mere 30% less than the sea link! Here are the calculations.
BWSL
Length 5,500x Width 32=176,000 sq m
Project Cost 16,500,000,000/176,000=90,909 (per sq m cost)
Bandra Skywalk
Length 1,300x Width 4= 5,200 sq m
Project Cost 136,300,000/5,200=26,211 (per sq m cost)
So the cost of the Bandra skywalk is about one third than that of the per sq meter cost of the sea link. Now let’s check the cost of Kalyan Dombivali skywalk. MMRDA is constructing this 1.4 km skywalk at a cost of Rs839 million. The width is same for all skywalks i.e. 4 meters. So here are the calculations...
Length 1,400x Width 4= 5,600 sq m
Project Cost 839,000,000/5,600=149,821 (per sq m cost)
And here are the comparisons of the sea link and skywalks:
Bandra Worli Sea Link Rs90,909 per sq m
Bandra sky walk Rs26,211 per sq m
Kalyan sky walk Rs149,821 per sq m
This means the Kalyan skywalk is more costly than that of BSWL!
Source: Suchetadalal.com
Source: Suchetadalal.com
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Budget 2010, Taxes and Charity
The budget of this year has brought a smile on the faces of tax payers especially the educated class more. However I feel that the government could have increased the basic exemption limit. Obviously the government would have thought about this and then decided to provide the tax breaks without tinkering the basic exemption limit.
Also we need to consider that a budget needs to be looked from a political angle and not only from social and economical angle. Finance Minister who announces the budget is a politician at the end of the day.
My point is that instead of directly increasing the slab from 5L to 8L, the government could have increased the limit to say 6.5L and increased the basic exemption limit. One of my friend who works for Citi bank made this point to his colleague who told him that if you dont like the 40K you save give it to me. This was a shock to me. There is no sense of belongingness towards the country. Taxes are a liability rather than an opportunity. We need to understand that its a contribution.
I was checking Give India site to make some donation and one of my colleagues told me that it seems I have excess money. I just smiled and said yes.
I have heard people give excuses like why should we pay taxes we dont get benefit out of it. The money doesnt reach to the bottom of the pyramid. Politicians gulp the money,etc... Now there will be savings in terms of tax which means now the same people who gave excuses should find opportunities on their own to do charity and reach to the down trodden people. In other words next year we should see a surge in the donations made by people ideally.
I have been saying this time and again that it is not about money whether you do make a difference but its about willingness to influence a change. I sincerely hope that in times to come we cut down our ambitions (read as greed) and work towards reducing the inequality in the society.
Also we need to consider that a budget needs to be looked from a political angle and not only from social and economical angle. Finance Minister who announces the budget is a politician at the end of the day.
My point is that instead of directly increasing the slab from 5L to 8L, the government could have increased the limit to say 6.5L and increased the basic exemption limit. One of my friend who works for Citi bank made this point to his colleague who told him that if you dont like the 40K you save give it to me. This was a shock to me. There is no sense of belongingness towards the country. Taxes are a liability rather than an opportunity. We need to understand that its a contribution.
I was checking Give India site to make some donation and one of my colleagues told me that it seems I have excess money. I just smiled and said yes.
I have heard people give excuses like why should we pay taxes we dont get benefit out of it. The money doesnt reach to the bottom of the pyramid. Politicians gulp the money,etc... Now there will be savings in terms of tax which means now the same people who gave excuses should find opportunities on their own to do charity and reach to the down trodden people. In other words next year we should see a surge in the donations made by people ideally.
I have been saying this time and again that it is not about money whether you do make a difference but its about willingness to influence a change. I sincerely hope that in times to come we cut down our ambitions (read as greed) and work towards reducing the inequality in the society.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Family
I ask a question to many people- Given an option will they pay taxes and the typical answer I get is NO. " Why should we pay taxes without any benefit?" In other words we dont understand that the "haves" have a responsibility towards the "Have- nots".
Going by the same logic why should anybody earn for their family because what is the benefit obtained by earning the money for the family. The problem is our myopic definition of life and family. The point I am making is why cant we program our brains to think beyond a few set of people as family. Family is our primary responsibility but not the only responsibility. Even better lets broaden the definition of family.
We have not liberated our minds. We are yet to get independence from the narrow minded thinking.
Going by the same logic why should anybody earn for their family because what is the benefit obtained by earning the money for the family. The problem is our myopic definition of life and family. The point I am making is why cant we program our brains to think beyond a few set of people as family. Family is our primary responsibility but not the only responsibility. Even better lets broaden the definition of family.
We have not liberated our minds. We are yet to get independence from the narrow minded thinking.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Global Warming
An initiative by Art of Living and Times Foundation.
To: Airline Corporations
Global warming has reached alarmingly dangerous proportions and governments all over the world now are taking measures to contain it. It is our collective responsibility to join in these efforts in all our capacities to save our precious planet.
A 2006 United Nations report summarized the devastation caused by the meat industry by calling it "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global." Everybody today is aware that the environmental cost for producing a meat-based diet is monumentally higher than a vegetarian one. These costs have escalated to enormous proportions and now pose as very disturbing details.
Additionally, more and more people are increasingly becoming aware of the unhygienic and cruel practices involved in producing meat. Apart from the horrible treatment given to animals reared for meat, they are also injected with harmful chemicals and hormones to add bulk to their bodies, which show strong signs of being poisonous for human consumption. Consequently, health agencies are also recommending people to reduce meat consumption.
It has been established that if a small fraction of the population brings down the meat consumption, by even a little bit, it will do wonders for the environment. Leading researchers all over the world have started recommending a vegetarian diet. Therefore, we would like to solicit your support in declaring all flights meat free. Such a policy change would not only benefit the airline industry, by cutting cost and increasing profit margins, but also the environment and is both economically prudent and ecologically responsible.
It has become imperative that all of us attend to this issue. We, therefore, request all Airways to serve completely vegetarian meals during flights. To increase awareness among people, we have launched a massive signature campaign in support of this drive.
We look forward to a positive response from you.
Warm Regards,
The Art of Living India & Times Foundation. If you believe that this makes sense please voice your opinion.
click to add your voice to this initiative
To: Airline Corporations
Global warming has reached alarmingly dangerous proportions and governments all over the world now are taking measures to contain it. It is our collective responsibility to join in these efforts in all our capacities to save our precious planet.
A 2006 United Nations report summarized the devastation caused by the meat industry by calling it "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global." Everybody today is aware that the environmental cost for producing a meat-based diet is monumentally higher than a vegetarian one. These costs have escalated to enormous proportions and now pose as very disturbing details.
Additionally, more and more people are increasingly becoming aware of the unhygienic and cruel practices involved in producing meat. Apart from the horrible treatment given to animals reared for meat, they are also injected with harmful chemicals and hormones to add bulk to their bodies, which show strong signs of being poisonous for human consumption. Consequently, health agencies are also recommending people to reduce meat consumption.
It has been established that if a small fraction of the population brings down the meat consumption, by even a little bit, it will do wonders for the environment. Leading researchers all over the world have started recommending a vegetarian diet. Therefore, we would like to solicit your support in declaring all flights meat free. Such a policy change would not only benefit the airline industry, by cutting cost and increasing profit margins, but also the environment and is both economically prudent and ecologically responsible.
It has become imperative that all of us attend to this issue. We, therefore, request all Airways to serve completely vegetarian meals during flights. To increase awareness among people, we have launched a massive signature campaign in support of this drive.
We look forward to a positive response from you.
Warm Regards,
The Art of Living India & Times Foundation. If you believe that this makes sense please voice your opinion.
click to add your voice to this initiative
Adoption
Why does the educated class still dont consider Adoption as an option? What can be done to make it popular?
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Facts about India
A mail forward which I recieved and I loved it. Hope you also like it.
Q. Who is the creator of Pentium chip (needs no introduction as 90% of the today's computers run on it)?
A. Vinod Dahm
Q. Who is the third richest man on the world? A. According to the latest report on Fortune Magazine, it is Azim Premji, who is the CEO of Wipro Industries. The Sultan of Brunei is at 6 th position now.
Q. Who is the founder and creator of Hotmail (Hotmail is world's No.1 web based email program)?
A. Sabeer Bhatia
Q. Who is the president of AT & T-Bell Labs (AT & T-Bell Labs is the creator of program languages such as C, C++, Unix to name a few)?
A. Arun Netravalli
Q. Who is the new MTD (Microsoft Testing Director) of Windows 2000, responsible to iron out all initial problems?
A. Sanjay Tejwrika
Q. Who are the Chief Executives of CitiBank, Mckensey & Stanchart?
A. Victor Menezes, Rajat Gupta, and Rana Talwar.
Q. We Indians are the wealthiest among all ethnic groups in America , even faring better than the whites and the natives.
There are 3.22 millions of Indians in USA (1.5% of population).
YET, 38% of doctors in USA are Indians.
12% scientists in USA are Indians.
36% of NASA scientists are Indians.
34% of Microsoft employees are Indians.
28% of IBM employees are Indians.
17% of INTEL scientists are Indians.
13% of XEROX employees are Indians.
Some of the following facts may be known to you. These facts were recently published in a German magazine, which deals with WORLD HISTORY FACTS ABOUT INDIA .
1. India never invaded any country in her last 1000 years of history.
2. India invented the Number system. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.
3. The world's first University was established in Takshila in 700BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BC was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
4. According to the Forbes magazine, Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software.
5. Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans.
6. Although western media portray modern images of India as poverty striken and underdeveloped through political corruption, India was once the richest empire on earth.
7. The art of navigation was born in the river Sindh 5000 years ago. The very word "Navigation" is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH.
8. The value of pi was first calculated by Boudhayana, and he explained the concept of what is now known as the Pythagorean Theorem. British scholars have last year (1999) officially published that Boudhayan's works dates to the 6th Century which is long before the European mathematicians.
9. Algebra, trigonometry and calculus came from India . Quadratic equations were by Sridharacharya in the 11 th Century; the largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Indians used numbers as big as 1053.
10. According to the Gemmological Institute of America, up until 1896, India was the only source of diamonds to the world.
11. USA based IEEE has proved what has been a century-old suspicion amongst academics that the pioneer of wireless communication was Professor Jagdeesh Bose and not Marconi.
12. The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurashtra.
13. Chess was invented in India .
14. Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted surgeries like cesareans, cataract, fractures and urinary stones. Usage of anaesthesia was well known in ancient India .
15. When many cultures in the world were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley ( Indus Valley Civilisation).
16. The place value system, the decimal system was developed in India in 100 BC.
Quotes about India :
We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.
Albert Einstein.
India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend and the great grand mother of tradition.
Mark Twain
If there is one place on the face of earth where all dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India .
French scholar Romain Rolland.
India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border.
Hu Shih (former Chinese ambassador to USA )
I hope you enjoyed it and work towards the welfare of INDIA .
Say proudly, I AM AN INDIAN.
Q. Who is the creator of Pentium chip (needs no introduction as 90% of the today's computers run on it)?
A. Vinod Dahm
Q. Who is the third richest man on the world? A. According to the latest report on Fortune Magazine, it is Azim Premji, who is the CEO of Wipro Industries. The Sultan of Brunei is at 6 th position now.
Q. Who is the founder and creator of Hotmail (Hotmail is world's No.1 web based email program)?
A. Sabeer Bhatia
Q. Who is the president of AT & T-Bell Labs (AT & T-Bell Labs is the creator of program languages such as C, C++, Unix to name a few)?
A. Arun Netravalli
Q. Who is the new MTD (Microsoft Testing Director) of Windows 2000, responsible to iron out all initial problems?
A. Sanjay Tejwrika
Q. Who are the Chief Executives of CitiBank, Mckensey & Stanchart?
A. Victor Menezes, Rajat Gupta, and Rana Talwar.
Q. We Indians are the wealthiest among all ethnic groups in America , even faring better than the whites and the natives.
There are 3.22 millions of Indians in USA (1.5% of population).
YET, 38% of doctors in USA are Indians.
12% scientists in USA are Indians.
36% of NASA scientists are Indians.
34% of Microsoft employees are Indians.
28% of IBM employees are Indians.
17% of INTEL scientists are Indians.
13% of XEROX employees are Indians.
Some of the following facts may be known to you. These facts were recently published in a German magazine, which deals with WORLD HISTORY FACTS ABOUT INDIA .
1. India never invaded any country in her last 1000 years of history.
2. India invented the Number system. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.
3. The world's first University was established in Takshila in 700BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BC was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
4. According to the Forbes magazine, Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software.
5. Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans.
6. Although western media portray modern images of India as poverty striken and underdeveloped through political corruption, India was once the richest empire on earth.
7. The art of navigation was born in the river Sindh 5000 years ago. The very word "Navigation" is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH.
8. The value of pi was first calculated by Boudhayana, and he explained the concept of what is now known as the Pythagorean Theorem. British scholars have last year (1999) officially published that Boudhayan's works dates to the 6th Century which is long before the European mathematicians.
9. Algebra, trigonometry and calculus came from India . Quadratic equations were by Sridharacharya in the 11 th Century; the largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Indians used numbers as big as 1053.
10. According to the Gemmological Institute of America, up until 1896, India was the only source of diamonds to the world.
11. USA based IEEE has proved what has been a century-old suspicion amongst academics that the pioneer of wireless communication was Professor Jagdeesh Bose and not Marconi.
12. The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurashtra.
13. Chess was invented in India .
14. Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted surgeries like cesareans, cataract, fractures and urinary stones. Usage of anaesthesia was well known in ancient India .
15. When many cultures in the world were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley ( Indus Valley Civilisation).
16. The place value system, the decimal system was developed in India in 100 BC.
Quotes about India :
We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.
Albert Einstein.
India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend and the great grand mother of tradition.
Mark Twain
If there is one place on the face of earth where all dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India .
French scholar Romain Rolland.
India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border.
Hu Shih (former Chinese ambassador to USA )
I hope you enjoyed it and work towards the welfare of INDIA .
Say proudly, I AM AN INDIAN.
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