Whose LIGHT is it anyway

Today morning (15th November 2009) while passing by Sankesar Bazar, Near Saroornagar Lake, I have noticed that the streetlights are still on even at 8-15 am. I checked up with the priest of local Hanuman temple as to who controls the streetlight switch, but he was not aware of the same. But, he asked me to check with some resident in the next lane. Thus began my journey in quest of locating who controls the streetlight switch. The locals were mentioning that sometimes the lights could be found on even till 1 pm ! After several house visits and kirana shop visits lasting more than 20 minutes and criss crossing through the lanes and bylanes of Sankesar Bazar Colony, I could finally trace the person who was entrusted with the job of switching on the streetlights. He was relaxing near his house, but when I asked him the reason for not switching off the streetlights promptly with sunrise, he said that he was too busy with other works ! I made him switch off the main which controls around 20 streetlights (halogen). Already 150 minutes of power was wasted on each of these 20 streetlights and you can imagine the tax payer's money that was wasted in the bargain. I impressed upon the locals to take responsibility of switching off the streetlights when they are no longer needed. Otherwise we all have to bear with powercuts and wasting the public money that could otherwise have gone for infrastructure development, education, health, etc

In the evening when I participated in a rally organised by SOCH at KBR Park to draw attention to safe driving, I noticed that the streetlights on KBR Park to Jubilee Hills road were switched on as early as 5 pm today. Each pole has two lamps here. It is a criminal wastage of public money as well as electricity. Time for GHMC to tighen the leakages in power sector. It can learn from Tuni Municipality in East Godavari district, which could save as much as 25% every month (a saving of Rs. one lakh per month) on their power bills by streamlining the management of streetlights.

Raghuveer
15-11-2009

Life is Too Wonderful To Be Spent Worrying

Iam concerned with the increasing number of suicides in our state, especially amongst the youth. The reasons are mostly depression arising out of fear of failure - in academics or love . The tolerance limit to reprimands by elders - be the parents or teacher or coach in case of sports persons - has apparently reached its nadir. Most decisions appear to be quite impulsive as well - as could be seen in the instances involving domestic discord. Financial trouble is another key driving factor in the suicides in the state.

Media has been highlighting instances of suicides, be it farmers, weavers, NRIs, housewives or students on a day to day basis. Sometimes analytical reports on the issue are also filed in the print media and panel discussions held in the electronic media. In almost all these cases, especially where the family of the deceased comprises of young children, we notice some action only after the event had taken place.

Whenver the media highlights stories of people in distress, we find a plethora of philanthropists - individuals as well as organisations - coming forward to render a helping hand. Iam sure there are quite a large number of well meaning people and organisations out there who can play a key role in improving our society. Just imagine had someone who committed suicide for want of say Rs.5,000 or for not being able to appear in an exam or withstand verbal abuse ,etc are made to get in touch with such individuals or organisations BEFORE they commit suicide we would have saved precious lives. How nice it would be if we can proactively enable some volunteers (say of Bhumi Foundation or Teach India, etc) to give special tuitions to those youngsters who fail (or fear that they will fail) the exam in a particular subject. For this we need to provide a mechanism to connect the needy seeker and the philanthropic provider.

A pertinent quesiton in this context would, therefore be, why can we not publicise on a regular basis (as we do the train timings, air timings, tv programs, etc) information about such individuals or organisations who are willing to help others (phone numbers, email ids to be provided). Even in a given case they are not able to immediately provide the needed help, atleast they can suggest other individuals / agencies that can help. Sometimes even a patient and empathetic hearing can do a lot of wonders to the depressed.

I consider it is a privilege to have been born as a human being and earnestly believe that there is tremendous potential in our ability to contribute to the betterment of society. We need to provide an enabling environment for all people to be able to do this. On 11th November 2009, I spent sometime with an organisation called ROSHNI which is totally dedicated for the past 12 years to the cause of supporting the depressed and those with suicidal tendencies. It is all a voluntary work and they in their little way could contribute to some extent in dissuading prospective suicide victims to make a U turn and find a new purpose of life.

There is an immense need to give Roshni service more visibility. It would be a great service to the society if the media can mandatorily give a small note (or box item) along with the news on suicides already committed mentioning that there is hope for others to live on and they can call up ROSHNI on 040-66202000 and 040-27848584 in case they feel depressed. Some suggested messages are given below for adoption by the media or even by civil society who can send SMSes or emails accordingly in their friend / relatives circle

1. Are you worried, depressed, Suicidal? call Roshni at 040 66202000, 27848584
2. Feeling depressed, suicidal? call 040 66202000, 27848584
3. Are you confused, worried, suicidal? call 040 66202000, 27848584

This small gesture of ours would go a long way in more people getting benefitted from this free service being offerred by over 60 volunteers of ROSHNI. They even offer counselling services on a one-to-one basis at their centre in Sindhi Colony, Minister Road. You may get in touch with Ms. Ranjana Haladker, Director on 9885050490 or Mr. Akheel Deputy Director on 98490 36185 for more details on the yeoman service being rendered by Roshni team.

I request everybody's support to this cause and help in saving a few lives. This is the least we can do as fellow human being who are concerned about the increased number of suicidal deaths especially amongst the youth. Let us do our little bit After all LIFE IS TOO WONDERFUL TO BE SPENT WORRYING ! There is a great purpose of living, provided you seek it !!

Raghuveer

15-11-2009

Remembering the Forest Martyrs

The Forest Martyrs Day is commemorated every year on 10th November. It is an occasion to salute the spirited foresters who laid down their lives while protecting the forest ecosystems of our country. It is on this day in the year 1991 that we lost a brave Indian Forest Service Officer Mr. P. Srinivas, who was beheaded by the notorious forest offender Veerappan in the forests of Gopinatham in Karnataka.

My day started with a visit to ITMR Blood Bank on Road No. 1 Banjara Hills, where the Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ram Mohan was quite helpful in accepting donation of my blood. It is just 300 ml comprising of 20% of the total blood volume in the human body and it would be recouped within 24 hours. A healthy human being can donate blood atleast once in 3 months. This is a RENEWABLE resoure and can go a long way in saving a few lives. So let us all make this a regular habbit.

The commemoration event was held at the Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad with the Forest Minister and the PCCF being present. On my request Mr. Raghuram CEO of MOHAN Foundation was kind enough to send his team to set up a kiosk at the zoo so as to sensitise people about the need for organ donation. I signed a pledge for donating body organs - while cornea donation is quite common, it is a revealation to note that other organs can also be harvested but only in those cases where a patient is declared as BRAIN DEAD. One can take out liver, pancreas, heart, heart valves, kidneys, etc which would be literally giving a new lease of life to many other suffering people. Was surprised to note that the leading supreme court lawyer Ms. Rani Jethmalini is also a recepient of kidney and liver transplants and she survived miraculously when she was in ICU in London, as at the last minute somebody was kind enough to donate Liver to her. There is a lot that every human can still do to make this world a better place to live even after their death. This is true immortality. Let us promote organ donation in a big way. As of now hardly 0.5% of the deaths in hospitals is declared as BRAIN DEAD, as against more than 5% that happen. Doctors are reluctant to declare a patient brain dead. Probably more sensitisation programs are needed to the medical fraternity duly supported by a legal and policy framework. Iam willing to spare some of my time for this cause.

On this occasion I sent a REQUEST TO ALL NATURE LOVERS to do their bit to show solidarity to the efforts made by these brave green soldiers. Response has been pretty encouraging. I for one have gifted 3 CFL, apart from donating blood and pledging for organ donation. Sent SMS to more than 30 friends urging them to cut down their monthly electricity bills by 10% and do their bit in reducing the contribution of greenhouse gases to global warming.

My Salute to all the untiring foresters of the country who are struggling against heavy odds in protecting and preserving the green cover of this country for posterity. My special tribute to Srinivas who displayed bravery beyond call of duty before sacrificing his life on this day in the year 1991. My heart also goes to the family of Mr. Rajamouli, a brave green soldier who was discharing his duties on a sunday in July 2001 at a forest checkpost in Eturnagaram of Warangal district, when he perished in the naxalite attack on the nearby police station. I did all I can to reduce the misery of the family by ensuring that several benefits from the Government reach the family, but alas one can not really compensate for the loss of a family member.

May his soul rest in peace !!

Raghuveer
10th November 2009

Green Panchayath complete with launch of WOW

Pragathinagar Gram Panchayath in Qutbullapur Mandal of Rangareddy district is an ideal one for emulation by others. Under the visionary leadership of Mr. Dayakar Reddy, Mr. Sudheer Reddy and Mr. Sreeramulu the panchayath has gone from strength to strength in its implementation of a pro-environment agenda. The current sarpanch Mrs. Jonnalagadda Lakshmi Kumari has contributed to quite a few innovative and creative ideas in making the panchayath really a "Green" one. With the assistance of HUDA more than 3600 plants have been planted along raodside since 1994 and now the entire panchayath has a very clean and green ambience. For the past 6 years they are promoting clay Ganesha worship and in fact have mastered the art of insitu creation of 6 feet plus clay ganesha in the temple premise itself. With their own resources they are in the process of setting up a sewage treatment plant and are exploring the options of recycling the waste water as well. It is heartening to note that they have a system in place to fine upto Rs.5,000 those people who resort to felling of trees in the panchayath area without seeking prior permission.

The bin culture has also been introduced in the panchayath with dry waste and wet waste being segregated at household. However, the entire waste is being dumped in a single dumpayard in the outskirts of the panchyath, thus defeating the purpose of segregation. The dumpayard is also becoming a potential source of spreading communicable diseases with water stagnation, mosquito breeding, pig population growth, etc There is no revenue to the panchayath on account of introduction of the bin culture. On 24th August 2009, myself and Mrs. Ramalakshmi visited Pragathinagar and spent some quality time in the panchayath. They have more than 6 parks, a gym, sports complex (swimming, tennis, shuttle badminton) - all of which promote a healthy living culture. We also proposed to start a nature club in the school and this suggestion was accepted by the Sarpanch and others readily.

The Wealth Out of Waste (WOW) program has been launched in Pragathinagar by us in collaboration with ITC Bhadrachalam by giving away the collection bags to the Sarpanch and other members. The newsitem published in today's Sakshi Telugu Daily newspaper is given above. Pragathinagar is going to get greater visibility when a team from the panchayath would be sharing their experiences at an international conference on Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability to be held in Chennai by University of Madras and Government of Canada

Tharuni's stupendous work in Warangal

Today in Sakshi Warangal Edition (page 8 - 17th august 09) a crisp overview of the tremendous work being done by Tharuni under the dynamic leadership of Dr. Mamatha Raghuveer has been published. We are all proud of Mamatha and her tireless work trying to bring smiles to thousands of families in warangal. Her whole hearted efforts have yielded terrific results so far. but still there is a long way to go and many more things to accomplish. Her perseverance and dilligence are really worth emulating by others. Inspite of heavy odds she has done a marvellous job by continuing her fight against social evils relentlessly. It is her dedication and devotion to the cause that is making her work round the clock even neglecting her personal health. No wonder warangalites call her the Mother Theresa of the district. May the tribe increase. We are all really proud of her

Raghuveer
17th August 2009

weblink : http://epaper.sakshi.com/epapermain.aspx (17th August 2009 - Warangal edition - check archives in case you are trying to access it after 17th August)

Global Meltdown vs Global Warming

The past few months have seen several things happening both on economic front as well as ecological front. The news is bad on both the counts. The causal factor for both unfortunately is the same - human greed. This universe has enough resources to meet our needs, but not the greed. Over exploitation without any consideration for the tomorrow would seriously compromise the food security and health security of our future generations.

Global Meltdown has seen several millions of people all around the world turn paupers overnight and some of the weak minded amongst them resorted to suicide as well. Global warming on the other hand arising out of the excessive misuse of our resources resulting in uncontrollable carbon emissions has lead to billions of people, both rich and poor, all over the world getting adversely affected. If one looks at the stats, the expenditure on family health has more than doubled in the past 2 years and the number of instances of cancer of various types and bronchial and other URTI have increased manifold. We have seen unprecedented rains in deserts and continuous drought in areas which earlier used to get copious rainfall. In short the entire universal ecosystem is currently in a state of "churning" and the principal causal factor for this is Homo sapiens - the man himself.

It is not too late even now. Instead of confining our concerns to a lip sympathy, time has come for everyone to walk their talk and start acting with a purpose. No point in living in a false belief that all these doomsday predictions would come true only aftr 2100 by which time none of the present generation is likely to survive and hence the need to ignore these warnings - imagine if our forefathers had thought on similar lines then we would not have inherited this planet even in this present livable condition. THE CLIMATE IS CHANGING - WHY AREN'T WE ???

Rural Livelihoods through bamboo based products

Currently Iam working on evolving an effective strategy to improve livelihood opportunities for forest dwellers in the state of Andhra Pradesh. One of the potential areas identified is to make use of the rich availability of bamboo in the forests, especially in Adilabad and East Godavari districts, where Common Faility Centres with required machinery have already been set up. Training of local tribals in making over 40 different varieties of handicrafts has been completed as well. they can now make a mini replica of Eiffel Tower with bamboo in 2-3 days time and it is quite exquisite. The price for the same at source is around Rs.800 (US $ 20). Other popular products include flower boquets (US $ 1) and Cell Phone holders (US $ 1).


India currently has over 200 million cell phone users and even if less than 1% of them do support rural artesans by going for a mobile phone holder (which can mounted on a wall, kept on a table, fixed to the dashboard of a car) made up of bamboo it would immensely help several thousand rural artesans immensely.

Iam also exploring the possibilities of reaching out to overseas markets through sites like peoplink.org

any ideas in taking our plans further would be most welcome

Raghuveer
15th October 2007
(praghuveer84@gmail.com)