EDITORIAL
Its been a very
unpleasant month weather wise, not to mention power and water woes that we are
reeling under. Several dust storms with searing heat In June has made Delhi
seem like the Sahara desert. Power outage for a long time just made the
situation worse. Timely interventions to get water through tankers mitigated
the problem. However, getting water through tankers is costing the Society a
lot of money. Pipe bursts at DJB end are happening too often. One begins to
wonder whether these are cases of sabotage through a nexus between DJB
employees and the tanker mafia. On the relentless heat wave and consequent dust
storms, one’s concerns are whether this is the new normal or will things get
worse as weather pundits pronounce.
The standoff
between the Lieutenant Governor and the Delhi Chief Minister leading to dharna
at the LG’s office indicates a sorry state of affairs and total breakdown of
communication. There are faultlines on both sides but AAP with their
confrontationist attitude has made things worse for themselves. Both parties
dug in the heels and the impasse continued for days as any compromise would
have meant a big retreat from entrenched positions. Finally, AAP ended their
dharna as the focus of the media shifted elsewhere with the parting of ways
between BJP and PDP in Jammu and Kashmir. Since AAP doggedly looks for media
sympathy, with the change of the media attention, they saw no merit in
continuing with the dharna. The role caprice has to play in determining outcomes is
really unfortunate. The fractious times we live in hardly allow for nuance and
subtlety. Even though AAP pulled back, you can never write off Arvind Kejriwal.
He may be a pint sized assemblage of shortcomings, as he is vain, self absorbed
and priggish, but he is committed to his cause. Behind the narcissism, mangled
syntax in his utterances and illogical conclusions lies a devious brain
scheming the next move.
In the hot
summer months when the ACs are on most of the time, there is a relentless flow
of condensate from the rear of the AC. If there happens to be a plastic rain
shelter in its downward descent, the pitter-patter of the drops falling on the
rain shelter can be quite annoying, particularly if the origin of the noise is
outside your bedroom. The metronome like frequency of this noise can rouse the
most sound sleeper from his reverie. It would do a world of good if the AC
installer is mindful of his neighbour’s concern and attaches a plastic tube to
the drain pipe of the AC and position the tube away from the rain shelter
below. Even those who have already installed AC’s could do that for fostering
good neighbourly relations. The flow of condenate increases dramatically in the
rainy season because of high humidity. Imagine one tossing and turning at night
because of this irritable intrusion to your sleep, that you end up groggy at
work the next morning. Let it not seem like my complaint as my neighbours are
very mindful and compliant. I was asked to write about this by one of the
residents who is going through sleepless nights.
The admission rush is on
in colleges. It is baffling that the cut-off marks for most courses is in the
high nineties. Where will the other students go, who, inspite of scoring in the
mid nineties find themselves holding their seemingly impressive mark sheets in
vain? There can nary be any difference in intelligence or capability between
the person who secures admission with 97.75% marks and the one who doesn’t with 97.5% marks. This unseemly rat race for
securing prized admission to a BA Pass course seems astounding. What job is
anyone good for with a BA Pass degree? Such is the competition that even a
worthless BA Pass degree is held in such high esteem. Holy cow! I am glad I am
not a student anymore. I can now fathom why disappointed students take such
extreme steps as to commit suicide. No wonder that people with the means send
their students overseas to secure admission where colleges wait with open arms
to welcome them. However, the US Government is getting more strict in issuing
visas to students. Let’s call it the Trump effect.
The plethora of
complaints one has to deal with on a daily basis in the colony is quite vexing.
It could be external factors, such as power outages, water shortage, security
issues etc. or internal issues regarding absenteeism of staff, residents’
complaints on seepage, electricity, plumbing etc. Then there are common area
problems like falling trees, construction debris from residents’ homes in C
block garbage dump, clearing of accumulated twigs, leaves from the colony, general
age related deterioration of infrastructure, working of CCTV cameras,
maintenance of let out spaces, dumping of unwanted things in the meter rooms
and terrace, to name a few. In fact BSES has indicated that they will impose a
fine on the Society if meter rooms are used as storage areas. Presence of paper
and other waste in the meter rooms can act as incendiary in case of a short circuit.
Then, there are residents who leave their taps open and go out of station
without leaving a duplicate key with anybody. Continuous flow of water from
these flats is a loss to everybody as we are bearing the cost of water in equal
measure. Every member should serve at least a term in the MC and take up
responsibility to understand the enormity of the task. While some members are appreciative
of the work done by the MC, there are others who come hammer and tongs at the
MC without realising that they have to address the concerns of 195 families and
not theirs alone. There is a general feeling as to why one should spend one’s
private time looking into other people’s problems for free when they could very
well stretch their legs in front of the TV and watch their favourite soap or
cricket or soccer matches.
The idea that
the world has enough for our need but not for our greed strikes resonance with
some of us but not with most. This is why we are battling with problems of
excesses of pollution, global warming, and conspicuous consumption. Unless this
idea gains currency, we will put the human race in peril. Our excessive consumption is leading to the
evolutionary imperative of extinction of species. The use and throw culture
that is pervading the world has resulted in plastic pollution that has become a
gargantuan problem. There are islands of plastic floating on the oceans, each
as large as the state of Texas. India is also battling this scourge. Recently,
a municipal worker exclaimed that floods in cities like Bangalore and Mumbai even
with short spells of rain are due to plastic bags choking the drains. The
recent step taken by Mumbai to ban single use plastic is a good measure.
Governments can do only so much. We as citizens have to be more responsible.
For a start we should take a cloth bag while going shopping instead of relying
on the plastic bag doled out by the shop keeper. Let’s take a pledge and start
today.
One resident
asked me why I have stopped featuring “Mirth Corner” and “Health Capsule” in
the Chronicle. I told him and I am telling the others who may be speculating
but not asking, that with the
wanton use of WhatsApp, where forwards of such nature are rampant, both Mirth
Corner and Health Capsule have been rendered redundant. There is no point
recycling stale jokes and health notes that have done several rounds through
social media.
Tarun General
Store has opened on 27th June, 2018 in one of the shops facing the
badminton court. The well stocked store will be welcomed by all the residents
of Yamuna who now don’t have to go to Alaknanda market to do their grocery
shopping. I understand that the items are priced either equal to or lower than
Sahni Store in the Alaknanda market.
The gym cum
children’s play area is being modified to make it user friendly. The children’s
slide and the jungle gym will have sand pits so that the children do not get
injured. They will also have the pleasure of playing in the sand making sand
castles and other creative sand art. The area around the gym which used to get
water logged, making it unusable in the
summer months when the lawn is watered on a daily basis as well as during the monsoon,
will now be weather proof with a more permeable surface.
The area
opposite the entrance of the park where all the twigs and leaves were being
dumped was an eyesore. Whenever the mound got too big tempos had to be called
to clear the dead vegetation, it left deep tyre tracks on the grass thus posing
a danger to senior citizens who use the park for walking. With the introduction
of garbage segregation and installation of several bins near the C Block gate
the garbage enclosure has become redundant. It has been decided to dump dead
vegetation in the garbage enclosure from where the same can be removed
periodically without damaging the lawn. The area so cleared will be used to
plant flowering shrubs for a prettier look.
The summer
vacations are coming to an end bringing the much needed holiday period to a
premature close. Many residents reported a very enjoyable time in holidays far
and wide. Beach resorts and hill stations were the favoured destinations. Many
used their time off to explore foreign shores. Unfortunately, at the end of it
all you have to come back to the sweltering heat of Delhi.
Monsoons
usher in a period of bountiful rains. In the initial days, monsoon rains are
very welcome as it brings a much needed relief from the torrid heat. The aroma
of wet earth released when the first rain falls on scorched ground causes a
titillation of the olfactory nerves. But as the rains gather steam it
brings problems of flooding, water
stagnation, mosquito menace, seepage from buildings, and overflowing drains to
name a few. Yet good rains are essential for the crops and water availability
is essential for our survival. I read a very disturbing report that Delhi will
be one of the cities where ground water will get depleted by 2020. It points to
a case of poor water management rather than non availability of water. It is a
well known fact that only a very small percentage of precipitation is actually
used, the rest is lost to evaporation, leakages, or flows into the sea.
Proper water
harvesting, plugging the leakages and restoring the aquifers are some of the
steps that can mitigate the problem. To reduce the effect of mosquito menace,
please drain out your water coolers to prevent breeding of mosquitos. In any
case water coolers become ineffective when the humidity rises.
All eyeballs are glued to the Football World Cup.
I am finding many people who did not know the ABC of football suddenly taking a
fancy for the sport. They stay up most of the night watching football with
friends. The game has thrown many surprises. Unfancied teams have upset the
favourites. The shock exit of World Champion and number one team in the world,
Germany at the hands of South Korea, who were at the bottom heap of the World
Cup contenders, shows that the gap between the teams is narrowing. It is the first
time in eighty years that Germany has not got past the first round. They were
just a pale shadow of their imperious self. Even the fancied Argentinian team
led by the supremely talented Lionel Messi just made the group of 16 after much
trials and tribulations. National pride and fervour can be seen in the faces of
fans and supporters. In India, Kerala is a state which is gripped with football
fever. They fancy the South American teams of Brazil and Argentina and many sport
the respective countries’ T shirt. One house in Kerala is painted in Brazilian
colours. An Argentina fan in Kerala committed suicide when he felt that
Argentina will not make the round of 16. While it may take several decades for
India to qualify for the World Cup, the passion for the sport is increasing
quite impressively. India has also gained several spots in world ranking from a
lowly 142 a couple of years ago to below 100 currently. From Yamuna, Antariksh
Das and Aditi Rastogi were seen in the stands in Moscow watching the World Cup
game between France and Denmark. A dull and boring match, but who cares? To be
in the midst of thousands of screaming fans is so exhilarating that the result,
except for the passionate home teams, is just a number. Touche, watch out the Indians will be coming in
droves in 2050 both in the stands and the ground.
The Readers
Rendezvous, the charming and quaint children’s library in the Club House which
opened about three years ago at the initiative of Renu Garg, Vidya Nair and
Prashant Sr. had gone into a limbo owing to Renu moving to Thailand and Vidya
taking up a new job which involved a lot of travelling. The children who used
to frequent the library then, have now moved to higher classes and are too
occupied with academic challenges to keep the buzz going in the library. Thanks
to the productive young mothers of Yamuna, we have a new lot of younger
children who can fill the breach. Additionally, Farida Pacha and Falguni Bhatt
along with Prashant Sr, have shown interest in reviving the library. It would
be a good and productive outlet for the children. Periodically, movies may also
be screened in the Club House. So, all the residents who have children upto the
early teens should look forward to this opportunity and send their children to
the library. It will be open every Sunday. Interested residents should e-mail
Vidya asap at vidyanairs@gmail.com.
SNIPPETS
Vidyut Mohan of G-206 got the award for the most innovative
idea in the Smart 50 competition, organized by IIM Calcutta Innovation Park and Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India. The competition
was a business plan competition on 'Ideas to Transform India'. There were 15000
applications and he and his partner were one of the three winners. This was
decided on the basis of a final pitch to a jury and an audience at NDTV studios.
NDTV’s Vikram Chandra was the host, Niti Aayog’s CEO Amitabh Kant and
other prominent business personalities constituted the jury. It was shown on
NDTV.
The business name is Takachar and they are into decentralized upgradation
of biomass waste residues, such as agricultural and forest residues. Through their
patented technology they hope to transform the existing biomass industry by
making them cost competitive and less polluting. We wish him well in his
endeavour.
