Odd & Even issue !

Dear Mr. Vohra,

You always bring out timely comments on various issues agitating the people at large with pictures and comments! However, I reserve my comments on the latest jinx of our hon'ble CM relating to the regulation of odd and even numbers vehicles! I wonder how many vehicles carry the 'Pollution check certificate'. I feel that even if a through check is done at various points whether the vehicles have a 'pollution check certificate' it may to a large extent reduce 'vehicles' pollution'. It may spread over a period time. All vehicles, including two wheelers should be checked. 

Secondly, people at large use their own vehicles to facilitate their mobility as all places are not connected either by metro or bus! The long term solution to reduce pollution is to increase the number of routes of metro and buses on various routes and expedite the completion of the metro routes on a war footing, solving all the local problems relating to land acquisition etc. which is a major hurdle in its way. Similarly, the frequency of buses on various routes has to be expedited. But all these may take time. However, we have forgotten/ignored one of the existing 'suburban railway routes' e.g. Delhi-Ghaziabad, via Tilak Bridge and Vivek Vihar, Meerut/Palwal routes, besides the 'ring railway system' which was invoked during the 82-Asian Games, which has since gone into oblivion, deliberately done by the Administration! These could be improved a lot to ease the traffic and ipso facto pollution as well and all these systems will ferry a larger number of people without any obstruction to the existing road-system! This could be taken up as an immediate step. Will they? NO! because of lack of coordination and ulterior motives inherent in the mindset of people who matters! Can we overcome this piquant situation for remedial action, as a immediate measure? NO!

If the car prices become steep, like in Singapore/Japan etc. this could be another way and a rich source of income too to the Govt. Besides, petrol/diesel prices for private car owners should be hiked so that usage of private cars could be reduced to some extent.But will they do it? NO!!

The above being are the impediments, how can you reduce vehicles pollution! What about the buses of neighbouring states like UP and Haryana mushrooming the ISBTs which are yet an another source for polluting the atmosphere to a great extent. Can they impose any restrictions/regulations to check this menace? NO!!

The industries mushrooming in Delhi are also the main cause for polluting the atmosphere, particularly in East and West Delhi. Can they restrict/regulate them? NO!!

This being the situation at the ground level, new ideas, copying Singapore and China cannot, I don't with discourage, be imposed as we are not a disciplined lot like the citizens in Singapore or China, where the 'discipline' is imbibed or imposed!!!

TK Balu/Anand Vihar

सम और विषम के चक्कर मे दिल्ली विषम परिस्थिति मे ?

"कहा जाता है की दिल्ली अब तक कई बार लुट चुकी है, कभी ग़ज़नवी तो कभी कोई और. कहीं ऐसा ना हो की इस बार दिल्ली एक बार फिर से लुट जाए और इस बार दिल्ली को लूटने के लिए कॅन्सर जैसी कोई ख़तरनाक बीमारी हो".....

दिल्ली मे सिविल लाइन्स मे बेंजेन की मात्रा 19 गुना पाई गई. दूसरे इलाक़ों मे भी बेंजेन की मात्रा नॉर्मल से काफ़ी ज़्यादा पाई गई. बेंजेन बहुत ही कॅन्सरस होती है. इसका कोई रंग नही होता. इसकी कोई स्मेल भी नही होती. कल्पना कीजिए क़ी यह कॅन्सरस बेंजेन, 19 गुना के लेवेल पर आपके घर मे, आपके बेड रूम मे, आपके ड्रॉयिंग रूम मे, आपके किचन मे फैली हुई हो, जिसमे आप, आप का परिवार, आपके बुजुर्ग माता पिता, आपके बच्चे, नाती, पोते, पोती सभी साँस ले रहे हो, तो क्या होगा ?

बेंजेन के साथ साथ तौलिन का लेवेल भी काफ़ी ज़्यादा है. साथ ही साथ PM 2.5 और PM 10 भी मानक से कई कई गुना उपर  चल रहे हैं. दीवाली की रात दिल्ली मे कई जगहो पे PM 2.5, 16 गुना तक पाया गया और PM 10 तो 23 गुना ( 2308 ) पर था. पर्टिक्युलेट मॅटर्स धूल के वो बारीक कन होते है जो सांसो के साथ साथ आपके लंग्ज़ मे पहुँच जाते है और फिर आपकी सेहत को भारी नुकसान पहुँचाते हैं. 

इसका एक बड़ा कारण दिल्ली मे गाड़ियों की बदती हुई संख्या भी है. सिर्फ़ पिछले 10 सालों मे दिल्ली मे गाड़ियों की संख्या लगभग 41 लाख से बॅड्कर लगभग 90 लाख तक पहुँच चुकी है. जबकि सड़के लगभग उसी अनुपात मे हैं जो की 10 साल पहले हुआ करती थी. नतीजतन, ट्रॅफिक जाम की भयंकर परिस्थिति और उसके कारण भारी पोल्यूशन. क्या आपको नही लगता की इस सबको अगर अब भी ना रोका गया तो क्या होगा. 

कहा जाता है की दिल्ली अब तक कई बार लुट चुकी है, कभी ग़ज़नवी तो कभी कोई और. कहीं ऐसा ना हो की इस बार दिल्ली एक बार फिर से लुट जाए और इस बार दिल्ली को लूटने के लिए कॅन्सर जैसी कोई ख़तरनाक बीमारी हो. 

अब इसका सिर्फ़ एक इलाज नज़र मे आता है और वो है कि दिल्ली की सड़कों से गाड़ियों को कम करना. दिल्ली के CM ने दिल्ली हाइ कोर्ट और NGT के स्ट्रिक्चर्स के बाद यह ऑर्डर कर दिया है की अब 1 जन्वरी से दिल्ली मे सिर्फ़ सम या फिर विषम नंबरों की गाड़ियाँ ही किसी एक दिन चल सकेंगी. यानी की जिस दिन सम नंबरों की गाड़ियाँ चलेंगी, उस दिन विषम नंबरों की गाड़िया नही चल सकेंगी.

अब पोल्यूशन को कम करने के लिए हमे कड़े कदम तो उठाने पड़ेंगे, लेकिन दिक्कत यह है की हमारे शहर मे यातायात के पर्याप्त साधन ही नही है. मेट्रो बड़ा अछा काम कर रही है लेकिन अब उसमे भी भारी भीड़ दिखने लग गई है.

सभी को डर है की पोल्यूशन हटाने के चक्कर मे कही हम अपनी नोकरी ही ना गवा बैठे क्योंकि तीन दिन बिना कार के, मुश्किल तो होने वाली है. अब सरकार को देखना है की वो यह स्कीम किस तरह से लागू करती है ताकि लोगो को कोई मुश्किल ना हो, काम धंधों पे पहुँचने मे परेशानी ना हो, सुख दुख मे शामिल होने मे कोई दिक्कत ना हो, किसी मेडिकल एमर्जेन्सी के समय कोई रोक टोक ना हो.

हम तो यह चाहेंगे कि दिल्ली सरकार शुरुआत मे रोज सिर्फ़ एक या दो डिजिट की गाड़ियों को ही बंद करे यानी की सोमवार को 0 , 1, मंगल वार को 2, 3, बुधवार को 4, 5, गुरुवार को 6, 7, और शुकरवार को 8, 9. बाकी के दो दिन, यानी की शनिवार और इतवार को किसी तरह की कोई रोक ना हो ताकि लोग अपनी छुट्टी एंजाय भी कर सके.

इस स्कीम को कुछ दिन चलाने के बाद, सरकार यह देखे की लोगों को कहीं कुछ दिक्कत तो नही हो रही और फिर उस हिसाब से ज़रूरी इन्तेजाम करने के बाद ही आगे के लिए ज़रूरी निर्देश दिए जाए. इससे एक तरफ तो सरकार भी सही तरह के दिशा निर्देश दे पाएगी और जनता को भी ज़्यादा नुकसान नही होगा.

अब देखते हैं की दिल्ली का उनठ किस करवट बैठता है लेकिन सच्चाई यही है की अगर दिल्ली को बर्बाद होने से बचाना है तो पोल्यूशन तो कम करना ही पड़ेगा.

B S Vohra

Social Activist,

President,

East Delhi RWAs Joint Front

www.RWABhagidari.com

www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.in

Pollution must be controlled but ..... ?

Dog Menace at Vasant Kunj !

I am a resident of vasant kunj d6. The dog menance here is reaching heights. There is no safety or peace in this colony. There is potty everywhere. They bark all night so no proper sleep for residents. And they are not vaccinated or immunized, so in case they bite our children or us there is a huge risk involved. Please get them removed with coordination from a animal shelter.

Regards

Anshujita Satpathy

Dum Ghutta Hai: Will Delhi Govt's Odd-Even Formula Work For Delhiites ?

B S Vohra
with thanks : Delhi Aajtak

Odd or Even Vehicles in Delhi ?

Pollution must be stopped in any case as it has crossed all the barriers. We support the idea of reducing the number of vehicles on the road. But instead of Odd or Even to be implemented in totality at the very first go, we suggest to start with barring the vehicles with a digit or two per day, to check its impact on the pollution as well as to the general public. Only after successful trials, after doing proper Home work, after understanding its pros and cons, it should be considered to be implemented in totality as the proper infrastructure of transport system as well as massive manpower of Traffic cops will be required, before its implementation.

B S Vohra, Social Activist.

Latest technology of 4G powered by Octacore !

Twenty years ago I had purchased my first mobile handset, with no internet & with no camera at all. My second one was a small 2 inches by 5 inches Samsung mobile with one inch screen with internet and a 1.2 MP camera. When I could open Google on it, it looked amazing to me and I rushed to show it to my parents. Speed at that time was amazing 128 kbps and that looked great to me as I could open my mail box over it and could click pictures also. The speed of internet connection on my Desktop at that time was 256 kbps with 500 MB monthly.

Technology changed and then came the big touch screen phones with massive screens, and I purchased one with a 5 MP camera in it along with FB and many other features. It was really awesome to find FB on your mobile with great 2G / 3G connectivity. The speed of internet on my desktop at that time was 1 MBPS with 5 GB monthly.

Technology changed again and it was the whatsApp era now on the smartphones with 3G. So bought the Android mobile with big 5 inches of screen, 13 MP Camera and a lot more features that included rear & front camera making everyone a Selfie Master.

But Soon it changed to the Broadband. The speed of the Internet now on my Desktop was 10 MBPS with 40 GB monthly with a WiFi Router connecting many devices. Now my handset has been always open for one of my E mail accounts, FB, Twitter, WhatsApp and so on.

It also created a big problem because when you are out of the range of your wifi connectivity, the 3G Data card looked so obsolete, so slow that you can’t work smoothly while on the go.

And than came  the era of 4G i.e. internet on the go. It offered the high speed internet connectivity while moving from one place to another or while away from your WiFi. It works better on a mobile suitable for a 4G sim powered by Octacore. So i have now taken a 4G mobile with a 4G Sim for smooth working, anywhere, anytime. Thanks to the new technology.

Chhavi Rajawat, India’s first and youngest village sarpanch with an MBA degree

After doing an MBA from Pune, Chhavi Rajawat worked for companies such as Times of India, Carlson Group of Hotels, and Airtel, before she realised the need to bring about a change in the grass-root level, if she wants to bring about a real difference. She went back to her village, Soda, in Rajashthan’s Tonk district to become India’s first woman Sarpanch with an MBA degree. Since then, she has been working to bring better water, solar power, paved roads, toilets and a bank to her village.

Despite being an elected representative, Chhavi is not affiliated to any political party. She has provided regular supply of drinking water to her village and facilitated the construction of more than 40 roads. “If India continues to make progress at the same pace as it has for the past 65 years since independence, it just won’t be good enough. We’ll be failing people who dream about having water, electricity, toilets, schools and jobs. I am convinced we can do it differently and do it faster,” Chhavi said in an interview with NDTV.

With thanks : LINK : social.yourstory.com/2015/11/chhavi-rajawat/

Munirka Vihar’s elderly couple wages war on ugly posters

ON A MISSION The couple started a campaign in 2009 to remove posters that deface the walls of the city

NEW DELHI: Efforts to keep the country clean might have gained momentum only after the Modi government came into power in 2014, but Col (retd) Shivraj along with his wife Laxmi Kumar has been doing his bit to clean the cities for a long time now. The couple has been spearheading a campaign against posters that deface public walls since 2009. For their campaign — Poster Hatao — they have travelled to different cities to create awareness among people.

S BURMAULA / HT PHOTO

Col (retd) Shivraj along with his wife Laxmi Kumar has been doing his bit to clean the cities for a long time now.

Following their campaign, there has been a considerable dip in the use of posters in Delhi, Gurgaon Mumbai, and Chennai. The Munirka Vihar based couple also managed remarkable success in removing posters during Delhi assembly (2014), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections.

Despite all the hard work and efforts, they realized soon that awareness among the masses is still missing, especially in Delhi and despite the enactment of Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 2007, people continue to place posters on walls. The lack of willingness on the authorities’ part to spread awareness and take strict action against defaulters forced Shivraj to move court and file a PIL against the municipal corporations of Delhi in May 2015 for gross violation of Outdoor Advertisement Policy, 2007.

“The citizens are not aware of the fact that their act is illegal and that they are defacing the city. Even the authorities are not keen to spread awareness and fight against the issue,” said Shivraj, 82.

“The idea came all of sudden when my wife and I were enjoying tea at home one day and all of sudden it began to rain. Suddenly my wife took a piece of cloth and asked me to join her. I followed her without asking any question. She began to remove the posters on the walls in our lane. Soon I also realised that these posters all over the city are ruining its beauty. I directed the chowkidars in the colony to not allow anybody to paste any advertisements or posters,” said Shivraj, who was the president of Munirka Vihar RWA.

He later took up the matter with KS Mehra, the then MCD commissioner, who liked the idea and called the deputy commissioner, advertisement. A plan was drawn and a team was formed which included officials and residents to carry out the drive for removing posters. “It continued for some time, but the group realised that these posters were reappearing after sometime and despite the presence of Delhi Defacement Act, 2007 no action was taken,” added Laxmi Kumar.

“We asked the police to take action against defaulters, but they didn’t show any interest while MCD expressed their helplessness to do the job. Finally, we wrote to the former LG and to fix a meeting with him to request him to issue necessary instructions to Delhi Police and Municipal Corporation in this regard. But we didn’t get an appointment. About two months back we wrote to Najeeb Jung for the meeting,” she said.

Eventually, Shivraj filed a PIL and the court gave directions for necessary action else the commercial officers (advertisement) of each municipal corporation would be held responsible.

As per the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 2007, “Sticking of posters, banners, wall-writings on the properties in public view, is a violation of the provisions of Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 2007 (which has come into force w.e.f. 01.03.2009) and is a cognisable offence. The penalty under this act is up to Rs 50,000, or jail up to one year or both,” shared Shadan Farasat, advocate.

Col Shivraj

President

Munirka Vihar Welfare Association

With thanks : Hindustan Times : South Delhi Section : LINK

With Karishma Kapoor : B S Vohra

DERC - Petition for MANDATORY payment of Power Bills in PSU Banks only, to ensure Transparency and Accountability

The Secretary,
Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission,
C-Block, Malviya Nagar, New Delhi.

Sub: Petition for MANDATORY payment of Power Bills in PSU Banks only, to ensure Transparency and Accountability
Madam,

I write to you in the interest of Delhi consumers who are suffering due to exorbitant Power Bills despite curtailing their consumption by prudent usage, paying a premium on Five Star Rated Appliances and switching to expensive CFL / LED Bulbs.

The High Court disappointed Delhi consumers by staying the CAG Audit on Technical Grounds, despite the fact that CAG had found discrepancy of around Rs. 8,000/- Crorers. Activists and RWAs including me, have been seeking Distribution Transformer wise details of Units of Electricity Supplied and Units Billed by DISCOMS, with no response.

It has been our contention that DISCOMS have not been filing complete details of Billing to DERC or Delhi Government and has beenconcealing unearned Profits due to Fast Meters on account of recording Unutilised Current in Common Neutral due to RESIDUAL BACK FLOW.

Presently DISCOMS are solely responsible for collecting Power Bills in their offices, both in Cash and Cheques. THIS PRACTICE NEEDS TO BE STOPPED FORTHWITH and the task of Bill Collection should be ENTRUSTED TO DESIGNATED PSU BANKS. This change will result in the following benefits:-

1.    Right now we have to rely on DISCOMS data only and the stake holders have no way of verifying the actual Collections made and Data supplied.

2.    The issue of Fast Meters will also be addressed as we can then verify Units Supplied and Units billed after factoring in the Area Wise losses.

3.    The additional benefit will be that Cash Deposits when deposited in PSU Banks will earn INTEREST on Daily Basis as Majority of payments under Rs. 4000/- can be made in cash. The interest earned will help lower Tariffs.

4.    The shares of Transco, Gencos, Delhi Government and Energy Tax collected can be automatically disbursed to the respective entities. They will no longer be at the mercy of DISCOMS who have been defaulting in disbursement despite collecting the payments for energy consumed.

5.    This will lead to greater Transparency and Accountability and will go a long way in allaying the Trust Deficit between the Stakeholders and DISCOMS.

These are preliminary submissions, I request you to give an opportunity to elaborate in person along with fellow activists so that our concerns are suitably addressed.

Warm Regards,

s/d

Rajiv Kakria