Blog pic

Blog pic
S. Srinivas

01 July, 2018

Issue No. 202 I June 2018


                                                                  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.

No comments: