#dustfreehyderabad

we at #lokakshemamfoundation are coming out with a new campaign #dustfreehyderabad.

dust is one of the main forms of pollution which is affecting human health in a negative way. we will soon initiate a series of actions to curb the growing menace of dust.

apart from creating awareness , we also will be working on the ground. this would involve hundreds of people who share similar views.

we shall keep our readers posted on the same.

THE HINDU   ENVIRONMENT

NEW DELHI, May 25, 2016

Updated: May 26, 2016 11:35 IST

India fifth largest producer of e-waste: study

The Hindu

India discards roughly 18.5 lakh tonnes of electronic waste each year, a study says. File photo

With more than 100 crore mobile phones in circulation, nearly 25 per cent end up in e-waste annually.

India, which has emerged as the world’s second largest mobile market, is also the fifth largest producer of e-waste, discarding roughly 18.5 lakh tonnes of electronic waste each year, a study says.

Telecom equipment alone accounts for 12 per cent of the e-waste, a joint study by Assocham-KPMG said.

Matter of concern

The rising levels of e-waste generation in India have been a matter of concern in recent years. With more than 100 crore mobile phones in circulation, nearly 25 per cent end up in e-waste annually, it said.

“India has surely emerged as the second largest mobile market with 1.03 billion subscribers, but also the fifth largest producer of e-waste in the world, discarding roughly 18.5 lakh metric tonnes of electronic waste each year, with telecom equipment alone accounting for 12 per cent of the e-waste,” the study said.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has notified e-waste management rules, 2016, in which producers are for the first time covered under extended producers’ responsibility (EPR).

Waste collection target

The rules prescribe a waste collection target of 30 per cent waste generated under EPR for the first two years, progressively going up to 70 per cent in the seventh year of the rule.

The rules prescribe stringent financial penalties for non-compliance. However, the study said the unorganised sector in India is estimated to handle around 95 per cent of the e-waste produced in the country. Given the huge user base and vast reach of telecom in India, it is practically difficult and expensive for the handset manufacturers to achieve the targets prescribed in the rules from first year, the study added.

Phased manner

“It is suggested that electronic waste collection targets are implemented in a phased manner with lower and practically achievable target limits. Also, detailed implementation procedures for collection of electronic waste from the market need to be followed,” the study said.

• courtesy  THE HINDU news paper
• 
  
• S. VISHWANATH

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THERE ARE MANY SUCH FORGOTTEN WELLS IN MANY VILLAGES & TOWNS. 

THE ONLY THING IS THE LOCALS SHOULD EXPLORE AND PUT THEM TO USE.

TOPICS

water

drinking water

groundwater

water harvesting

water rights

The story of how village residents revive a well and nurture a tree.

The village is a small habitat of about 122 people and is off a National Highway by a kilometre in parched Kolar district of Karnataka. The water situation is difficult and the summer heat causes people to quarrel near the supply points as the volume is meagre. The borewells have reached 1,000 ft. and the drinking water has to be pumped a kilometre to the village. An overhead water tank stands in mute testimony to an infrastructure designed for better times while the water has run out.

Inspired by Grama Vikasa, an NGO, Gunashekhar of the village of Doddaganahalli has taken up the de-silting of two old open wells. Overtime they had fallen into disuse with people throwing rubbish into it since the source for water had shifted to borewells. Now, in desperate times, the village was looking to its old friends for help. After the de-silting both the wells have started to yield water.

Cleaning process

About 5,000 litres a day, enough for the domestic needs of the population. The villagers are busy adding limestone to the waters to clean it, they say. It is an old practice around open wells forgotten but being revived.

Women gather and joke that they had forgotten the exercise of lifting water and anyway it was better than paying and joining a gym. Schoolgirls are washing clothes around the well using the water carefully and judiciously. It is vacation time from schools.

The clothes wash water drops from the well platform into a small pit near a tree trunk and collect in a pool. Here is old Narayanappa, all of 85 years, thin and bent with age scooping the water into two small containers. He then walks about 300 metres to a few saplings he has planted and pours the wash water carefully around the root zone. He has mulched some of the area to prevent evaporation loss. The saplings have green leaves and are surviving the summer heat thanks to a person who cares and does not allow any water to go waste.

The young girls washing the clothes seem oblivious to the work of the old man and he also does not talk much. By hauling water about 60 feet the young ones have learnt the value of it. As they observe the well seeping slowly and filling up gradually they are forced to use the water as it comes and becomes available.

Those who are privileged to get water when they open the tap unfortunately seem to lose all information on how scarce water actually is. How do we regain this communication? One small way seems to price water so as to capture its scarcity value. Are our institutions up to it? Unlikely when you see how subsidised water is and how wastefully it is used by those who can afford it.

Meanwhile true water heroes like Narayanappa continue to use it carefully and nurture trees. His one wish is to get a coconut sapling so that he can take care of the Kalpavriksh. A humbling experience it is to meet such good people. We must learn from them for only then will we be able to cope with the great water crisis that is upon us. That would be water wisdom.

Govt launches Green Highways Policy

Updated: September 29, 2015 19:46 IST | TCA Sharad Raghavan

Aims at planting trees along 6,000 km of highways in the first year

The government launched its Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification & Maintenance) Policy 2015 on Tuesday, the aim of which is to help the environment, help local communities, and generate employment by planting trees along all the highways in the country. The target for the first year is to plant trees along 6,000 km of highways.

“The Green Highway Policy will help in making India pollution free. It will also help in curtailing the number of road accidents in India. The vision of the policy is to provide dignified employment to local people and communities,” Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, said during the release of the policy.

“So far, there has been a lack of funds and lack of land banks. Under this policy, every year 1 per cent of the total cost of highway projects will go the Green Highways Fund. That works out to around Rs 1,000 crore every year. The Ministry is also focusing on land acquisition for this,” Vijay Chhibber, Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) said, also speaking at the function.

The target for the first year is to plant trees along 6,000 km of highways, for which 12,000 hectares of land is already available, he added.

The vision of the policy is “to develop eco-friendly National Highways with the participation of the community, farmers, NGOs, private sector, institutions, government agencies and the Forest Department for economic growth and development in a sustainable manner”, according to the policy document.

“The objectives of the policy include developing a policy framework for the plantation of trees along highways, reducing the impact of air pollution and dust, providing shade on glaring hot roads during summer, reducing the impact of noise pollution and soil erosion, preventing the glare from the headlights of incoming vehicles, and generating employment,” Alkesh Sharma, Joint Secretary, MoRTH said.

“At the moment, 40 per cent of the traffic in India is on the National Highways, which comprise just 20 per cent of the roads,” Mr Gadkari said. The most important issue is air and water pollution, he added.

The planting of trees will also help in achieving the country’s forest cover target, Mr Chhibber said. “The National Forest Policy mandate is for a forest cover of 33 per cent of the country’s land area. Currently, only 22 per cent is covered by forests. This difference can be met only through the planting of trees outside the forest areas,” he said.

The Policy envisages a strict system of auditing whereby money will be released by the government to the empanelled agencies only if they have achieved a survival rate of 90 per cent the previous year. “It is not about how many trees we plant, but how many trees survive and how useful this is for the local community,” Mr Chhibber said, adding that the policy will focus on planting indigenous trees only.

“There will be a strong monitoring mechanism in place by using ISRO’s Bhuvan and GAGAN satellite systems. Every planted tree will be counted and auditing will be done. The agencies performing well will receive annual awards,” Mr Gadkari said.

The first round of empanelment of organisations that will undertake the planting and maintenance of the trees will begin next week.

lets build the pressure on the govt.. it should reach such a level that no govt. in future should dare to atleast conceive the idea of cutting trees.

Chief Sec Govt of Telangana: Protect the KBR Park & ecology in Hyd, scrap SRDP & all project... https://www.change.org/p/chief-sec-govt-of-telangana-protect-the-kbr-park-ecology-in-hyd-scrap-srdp-all-projects-that-impact-biodiversity?recruiter=542679719&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=share_twitter_responsive … via @ChangeOrg_India

On behalf of our foundation, we have started digging 15 Rain water harvesting pits in different Police department offices of Telangana, in Hyderabad. This being one of our objectives, we are doing on a no profit, no loss basis . 

On behalf of our ‪#‎lokakshemam‬ foundation, with the continuous support of Ramaswamy Garu Traffic Inspector Mahankali P.S & staff and our volunteers, we could dig the First Rain Water Harvesting Pit outside Rathifile Busstop Secunderabad. the size of the pit is 5 feet x 5 feet depth being 6 .5 feet. 

this is one area lots of water gets accumulated during the rainy season, in the process spoiling the road. this is one of the busiest roads near the Secunderabad railway station.

WE INTEND TO DIG 250 RAIN WATER HARVESTING PITS IN THIS SEASON.

Green loss gives city blues

Sagarkumar Mutha | TNN | May 2, 2016, 06.30 AM IST

Hyderabad: A public interest litigation filed by senior advocate, K Pratap Reddy, seeking urgent steps to improve the green cover in the city, has thrown up several disturbing statistics and highlighted the abysmal response of authorities to an alarming situation.

According to the petitioner, the World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that every city should have at least nine square metre of green space for every person. However, the per capita green space in Hyderabad works out to a dismal 0.50 sq metre against the national average of three sq metre.

Despite the deplorable state of affairs in Hyderabad, the petitioner said authorities have not initiated any steps to address the situation. The most prominent parks in Hyderabad date back to the 1950s, when they were conceptualized and developed. Very few parks or green spaces have been planned or developed by authorities since then, amounting to a complete failure on the part of the state, Reddy said in his petition.


He alleged that civic authorities have not identified and designated specific stretches of land for development of new parks in each locality , which reflects a sorry state of affairs."Failing to provide adequate green spaces and park areas for the citizens of the state is a constitutional failure and violates fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India," Reddy said last week, when the PIL came up for hearing in the Hyderabad High Court.

Maintaining that almost all major towns and cities in Telangana lack the required green cover, Reddy said that the dearth of public parks, green spaces and urban forests in majority of residential localities in cities is a matter of grave concern. "Hyderabad, once a city of gardens and green open spaces during the time of the Nizams, is now turning into a mass of concrete jungle. Neighbourhood parks and urban green spaces are slowly diminishing and becoming a rarity in our city. The burgeoning expansion of the city and the haphazard mushrooming of commercial and residential buildings have only been making matters worse," said the petition. Skyscrapers, high-rise commercial buildings and residential communities are replacing playgrounds, community parks and green spaces, he said. As per records, there are only five major parks and negligible number of small parks spread over various localities in Hyderabad.
Newer layouts in the periphery of Hyderabad, including Madhapur, Gachibowli and Kondapur, have not been designed keeping the need for adequate lung spaces in mind.

In fact, petitioner said, citing reports, that Hyderabad's green cover had fallen from 2.71 per cent to 1.66 per cent over the last 20 years.A further prediction is that by 2024, the city will be staring at a dismal figure of only 1.84 per cent green cover if steps are not taken. The petitioner stated that, as per records, Hyderabad has the dubious distinction of having one of the lowest percentage of green cover and per capita green space among all metros in India.

Hacking of trees shameful, senseless'

TNN | May 2, 2016, 06.33 AM IST

HYDERABAD: Staunchly opposing the state government's proposal to mercilessly axe over 3,000 trees at the KBR Park, scores of readers sent in letters to TOI, expressing their shock and anger over the "shameful" and "senseless" decision.

Calling KBR Park "one of the best green zones in the city", Sandeep Pragadaraju wrote, "I'm shocked by the government's insensitivity and utter disregard for citizens and the city's environmental health. All the talk of development in the name of cutting trees is pathetic. It is a shame that some of the localities in Hyderabad don't have any green cover and the authorities are not even bothered to plant new trees."

Lashing out at authorities for axing trees in the name of development, Sasi E urged fellow city dwellers to stand up and fight to protect the city's green cover. "People who are talking of development by cutting down trees obviously don't know what development means. It is unfortunate that concrete jungles seem to symbolise development while the real indicators are adequate and clean drinking water and pure air to breathe.The administration's hair-brained ideas are unbelievable," said Sasi.

Pointing out that the responsibility of expanding Hyderabad's green cover lies as much with its denizens as it does with the state government, Ajay Kumar said, "The state government should plant at least double the number of trees that they have axed until now and also develop mini parks. People also have to be aware of the importance of green cover and should be encouraged to plant more trees. This is when one can really see a difference."

Sunil Bhat, meanwhile, pointed out that it is trees and not a multi level network of roads that offer some form of respite in times of soaring temperatures and a severe water crisis. "I think commuters can bear a bit of pain and sacrifice for the greater good by not cutting trees. Hyderabad is facing the one of the worst water crises, which will only aggravate because we're clearing vegetation," cautioned Bhat, adding, "We should be planting more trees around the arid lands of the city. I hope we don't reach a point where we have wide roads and skyscrapers but not clean air and water."

Urging authorities to consult environmental and ecology protection experts before go ing off on a hasty hacking spree, Kasturi Rangan pointed out how the Telangana government, unlike administrations across the world, seemed quite oblivious to pressing issues such as global warming, cutting down emissions and improving the green cover. "The flyover can be made around the park without touching the trees even if it requires commuters to travel a few extra kilometres. If GHMC has the power and plan to create another green cover with 3000 trees of more than 50 years old within a month's time, let them do so and then go ahead with this project," said Rangan.