Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Lord of misrule!

                                         Lord of Misrule




                                      




We live in a country of paradoxes, on the one hand we have our Prime Minister going hammer and tongs with the “make in India” campaign, rightly so I must admit, and on the other hand farcical hand, we have the environmentalists shutting down the already “made” Indian industries in the name of pollution!
More than a decade and a half ago, as soon we crossed borders to a lesser populated state in terms of vehicles, my son would be gasping for air and we would reach for the inhalers. Numerous visits to the child specialist revealed that his lungs were weak and when exposed to dust, climatic changes and cracker pollution would be in choking trouble. It had nothing to do, at least in his case and I can only vouch for my personal experiences, with the emissions of automobiles because hardly there were any at the place where we were domiciled, and that too diesel vehicles plying in those days were without Euro norms or other emission standards!
The dust was invariably from untarred country roads that threw up lot of grime and particles which was a major irritant to the small collapsed lungs. The climatic conditions were not related to temperature dips, as I stayed in a tropical region with no known winter but the moisture content in the air with cool breeze caused more hardships to my little son then. The fire cracker dust and smoke was an annoying factor that aggravated his problem further. The fact that he suffered more during the months of July and August and again during October and November logically point fingers to my reasoning, as October/November normally is Diwali time and beyond doubt the season of bombs and rockets!!!





 It is also surprising that the apex court has resorted to the extreme steps to curb pollution by faithfully following the study conducted by our premier institute, the IIT Kanpur. With no vengeance to the portal of learning or trying to settle scores, I have my own lack of faith and scepticism on the conclusion of the study by their incubator that has revealed an alarming statistic of 60% pollution contributor as diesel vehicles, a matter of scrutiny and debate is necessary as I find lot of anomalies and aberrations in the findings
I can quote umpteen surveys across the country over the years which have given startling figures of asthma patients in other parts of India where the number of diesel vehicles are way low in number!
These surveys carried out by recognised bodies have narrowed down on various determinants for asthma, prime among them being industrial pollution, construction materials and debris, dust, pollen grain, domestic mites and other allergens and vehicular emission appear down in the list in many of the research papers.  
Our automobile manufacturers have strictly adhered to the emission norms as laid down by the Government and have constantly upgraded their vehicles to match the requirements which have been very challenging. It is only recently that the automobile sector has turned the corner and looking up. The automobile sector is contributing almost 10% of India’s GDP according to the latest figures which is without doubt a major chunk. This is in addition to their contribution to the exchequer in the form of excise duty and exports. Apart from this, it has also provided jobs and helped in the setting up of ancillary units thereby augmenting the growth of the country.
Be that as it may, I for one in my individual capacity been driving a home manufactured Mahindra Scorpio from 2008 with an engine capacity of 2200 CC, and proudly so for the simple fact the emissions have always been well within the limits and never discharged copious smoke! I feel disheartened to see an automobile manufacturer such as the M&M at the receiving end of the ruling of the Supreme Court!
The situation in the capital Delhi and the region around may be grim and alarming but the causes are many and few wise people may argue that well begun is half done without realizing the consequences of the action. The construction activity in almost all cities across India is one of the major contributors to our cup of woes and topping the list to our health hazards. The dust and storm raised by the materials and the debris left behind uncleared is a cause for concern!
The panic button has been depressed by the Delhi Government, which is synonymous with a state of anarchy and the hapless citizens floundering in chaos and confusion. Soon by this standards, a large country like ours with huge potential in all fields will be woefully reduced to a banana republic, thanks to the reign of misrule by a few!


 Political antakshari courtesy:

10 comments :

  1. Because its easier to ban diesel vehicles than to stop all (illegal) constructions sponsored by the politicians. They will be losing big. By putting ban on diesel vehicles they can claim "atleast they are doing something".

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    1. Absolutely and the poor car manufacturers have to bear the brunt.and they have a major market share in NCR region...imagine the losses they have to surmount..

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  2. I have come to believe that, all the correction measurements generally taken are meant to promote some other related business. For ex. Ideally, a helmet is compulsory for 2 wheelers, but it nobody cares. Someday, one of the close personnel of a minister happen to have a related business, and then suddenly helmet compulsion comes into picture. So, you are right. Such abrupt changes brought doesn't make sense.

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    1. Well said...now I wish that our Dilli CM owns an automobile company!!!

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  3. I always wonder to what levels they can stoop to and lie... misrule is such an understatement...
    Cheers, Archana - www.drishti.co

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    1. Yes Archana...the politicians are indeed a species that we abhor and loathe for their eccentricities!

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  4. I wish the so called rulers will hear your or our cry and help people live in an unpolluted or less polluted India without making huge slogans like 'SWach Bharath'. Let us hopefully wait and see

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    1. Yes..they are bats in the belfry and never behave sensibly or rationally...

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  5. Is Democracy going to help the current situation in India?
    Are the countrymen going to change for the better with the current political scene?
    Will there ever be a complete non-corrupt politician and will he/she/they be able to implement clean governance in Democracy?
    Do we really think Democracy will change the face of India?
    :) I can only throw questions allowing each of us to answer for themselves.

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  6. Very revealing post. I agree with you. There is no point in focussing attention on one issue ignoring the other in the name of development or reform. It has to be a multipronged attack but reasonable and unimposing.

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Stop by or stumble or take a forced break and share your wonderful thoughts , I am waiting with bated breath!!!