Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna : Environment Friendly or Deadly ?????

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi, laying the foundation stone in December 2016, the construction of 900 km long highway has started and it has almost been 2 years since. According to the government, about 2000 crores work has been done, and other 10000 crores will be funded and worked shall been done by end of 2019.

Courtesy : One India

The budget of 12000 crores was allotted for the project and the government promised the construction without harming the environment but today as per reports of various media we can see some very large amount of damage.




COURTESY : THE QUINT'S REPORT TO CHARDHAM MAHAMARG YOJANA.

According to The Quint, around 25000 trees were cut, uprooted for laying the road along with streams being diverted from their natural way and relocation of large stones and river beds….

As we know that, Uttarakhand is mountainous and full of lush green forests. To develop such routes, government must find a way doesn’t hinder the Eco system.

Courtesy : Sacred Yatra 

The current Scenario,

The trees are being uprooted and riverbed stones are relocated to highway diversions and turns. The trees must not uprooted or if they are uprooted they must be replanted to ensure that they live and Ecosystem is maintained.  The rocky waste being dumped at turns may create blockage for waterfalls, as turns are mostly near streams or waterfalls, heavy rainfall in those dump areas may wash out this dumping sites. 

For making the highways, mountain slopes are steep cut, as if 90 degrees straight. This is the wrong method as they have higher risk of landslides. With one rain, it can ruin entire work by the government. With deadline coming close, the work as begun heftily, and working fast can also result into dangerous yet losses. Simply saying it will block the ongoing roots for days....

25000 trees, that’s huge, enough to create a natural disaster and shake the entire Eco balances.  Uttarakhand often known as “Land of the Gods”. And we humans here are demolishing the creation of God…..

So what should be done???? - By The Quint

How to minimise deforestation during road cutting?

Construction of roads in the eco-sensitive Garhwal region is challenging, as they cannot be constructed in a straight, linear manner. Hence, diversions and tunnels should be constructed wherever possible so that lesser trees are cut. But the government is in a hurry to complete the 2019 deadline. With more time and planning, lesser trees could have been cut. 

What is the proper way to redevelop Kedarnath?

In the report, we had suggested that no development work should take place beyond Sonprayag. Instead, smart buffer zones should be created in towns below Sonprayag, where pilgrims can be managed according the carrying capacity of the place. The flow of pilgrims can be regulated in a step-by-step manner, and at a time, up to 500 people can be allowed in the hill-top shrine of Kedarnath. The buffer zones can be called smart only if they environment friendly and provide rapid access to rapid evacuation routes, in the event of an emergency.

 Dr Srivastav maintains that every place has its own carrying capacity. In the steep-gradient of Kedarnath, the weather can change at any time. The government, he maintains, must be mindful of the limits of nature. Else, injudicious development, can lead to the possibility of yet another disaster.

Maintaining enough green cover for all the animal, bird species is need. We just can't let go or ignore the this kind of damage in terms of development. As we know India already has been among 5 worst countries in terms of environmental health. We are ranked 178th in terms of air quality. So, we have to take harsh steps to maintain green cover and re-establish the forests....

Courtesy: Hindustan Times.

 Out of 180 countries, India ranked 177, only better in environmental performance than the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh and Burundi. This is where they have to ponder and they have to act. 

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2018 : HOW INDIA CELEBRATED !!

Courtesy : Plastic Bottles in Hanoi, Vietnam

It was not earlier than yesterday that I figured out and saw people coming with solutions, efforts, ideas to beat plastic pollution. You may be thinking, What I did to beat plastic pollution, what were my efforts. Firstly, Out of ways which I suggested to implement in life, I implement and experimented those and it came out pretty well.

Before a month, I used a Thums Up Bottle to plant a Money Plant Creeper ( Epipremnum aureum - Devil's Ivy ), And it grew effectively.

NOW ( Date : June 5, 2018) 

THEN  ( Date : April 28, 2018)

I switched from drinking water from - recyclable cold drink bottles to refillable ones. I had almost narrowed my use of plastic bags to 0, by using cloth bags whenever I went for groceries or dairy products.


Few Months earlier we planted more than 30 trees in Fatehpura High School, which are now stable and growing peacefully everyday, along with kids studying there.


So, this were some minor adaptations by me, and by this week  I will collect and plant in more than 5 bottles. So the count will 6 bottles recycled. I know that recycling 6 bottles, does not make a change, but the beauty obtain from those bottled plants can inspire 50 others to adapt the technique which is favoured everywhere and we just don't know.

All we need to do is Inspire, make kids, teens, adults interest in small scale forestry or gardening, out these small steps, a larger impact can be seen.

Man Dressed as PLASTIC MONSTER @ UNEP Programme - June 5 2018

On June 5th 2018, India hosted World Environment Day with theme BEAT PLASTIC POLLUTION.

Efforts made all over india were remarkable.

Indian Railways :
The Staff of Shatabdi and Rajdhani express, one of the busiest trains, started using fully biodegradable food packages. 

Nagaland (state):
The Chief Minister of Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio, Declares Nagaland as a " FREE OF PLASTIC STATE " by December 2018. And with the help of government, They are planning to plant 48000 saplings next week.

Tamil Nadu (state):
The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, announced to "BAN SINGLE USE PLASTIC IN STATE" during the Assembly. And The ban will come to effect from next year and essential goods such as milk, oil and medicines have been exempted from the ban.The State has already banned manufacture and use of plastic bags below 51 microns.

Himachal Pradesh (state):
The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Jai Ram Thakur, announces "BAN ON THERMOCOL PLATES" and one litre plastic bottles at functions. He also stated that the students in government schools would be provided steel bottles to drink water and state will install 12 major Waste management plants. 

Bombay or I say MUMBAI, had its own way to celebrate the day. A lawyer and environmentalist, Afroz Shah along with people from different corners of city, gathered to clean the Versova Beach. They cleaned the entire beach with help of police force, people who joined voluntarily. Along with that, several other people to joined to clean the plastic woven beaches of Mumbai. 

BUT, 

After Researching a bit, I found out that, most of the wasted 
collected either ended up in oceans or rivers or canals. These made plastic OCEAN CENTRIC. Because most of it was obtained for waste management either from beaches or found floating in water.
The most plastic producing cities lie either in African, Asian Continents. India, China, Vietnam are some countries to name. 

A WEEK BEFORE, A MALE PILOT WHALE, STRANDED IN THAI CANAL, MALAYSIA BORDER. EVEN BEFORE, THE RESCUE BEGAN, IT PUKES FIVE POUNDS OF PLASTIC BAGS. AND AFTER FIVE DAYS OF STRANDING AND RESCUE OPERATIONS ON FRIDAY, IT DIED. LATER, THE RESCUE OPERATORS REVEALED THE DEATH BECAUSE OF CHOKING DUE TO EATING AND INHALING ABOUT SEVENTEEN POUNDS OF PLASTIC BAGS. 

Courtesy : News - National Geographic Channel


SO, WAS IT A

ACCIDENTAL DEATH 
OR 
A MURDER ???

AFTER ALL THIS I CAN CONCLUDE THAT WE NEED TO STRICT ACTIONS. ABOVE MENTIONED SMALL STEPS WON'T BE ENOUGH. WE NEED TO RAISE OUR VOICES. MAKE BOLD MOVES......AND IT CAN'T BE DONE SINGLE HANDEDLY....

Images :
UN ENVIRONMENT
GOOGLE IMAGES

Specials : World Environment Day 2018

Ever Since the human has evolved, He is constantly developing, discovering, inventing for making his life easier and earn. But in the terms of development and making things easy, and earn (gather) much, Humans have made some mistakes which are not too late to accept and pay the consequences.

Courtesy : UN Environment

Humans invented guns, electric bulbs and much more things, but one thing of many, They invented Plastic.

Courtesy : Pinterest

Plastic is material consisting of any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic compounds that are malleable and so can be molded into solid objects.

 It is one material that chokes and living creature to death and it takes itself 450 years to die.

On this WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY ,  United Nations along with other NGOs and Teams have pledged to reduce this Plastic Waste to Maximum.

According to their studies,

1. Plastic makes total of 10% of all other wastes.
2. 5 billion plastic bags are used every year.
3. Every Minute, 1 million ( 10 lakh ) bottles are bought. 

We Humans, think that these are disposable, but eventually after their single use they end up in Oceans or Landfills, Which pollute both.

To overcome this rate of pollution and increase in The Waste, UN Along with Other Organizations has chose INDIA,  as the Host for WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2018.

India is joyous around for hosting and celebrating the day and people can join and raise the awareness with Theme.

#BEATPLASTICPOLLUTION

Courtesy:  UN Environment

Courtesy:  UN Environment

UN Environment is Part of United Nations which briefly examines the problems related to Environment. According to their studies,

Researchers estimate that more than 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been produced since the early 1950s. About 60% of that plastic has ended up in either a landfill or the natural environment.

More than 99% of plastics are produced from chemicals derived from oil, natural gas and coal — all of which are dirty, non-renewable resources. If current trends continue, by 2050 the plastic industry could account for 20% of the world’s total oil consumption. 

These single-use plastic products are everywhere. For many of us, they’ve become integral to our daily lives.  

After using it daily in our lives, this waste nearly ends up in rivers and then oceans. every year hundreds of thousands of waste is accumulated in ocean which hinders the biodiversity and results into death of marine creatures.

Yangtze river of China, accumulates upto 1.4 million tonnes of plastic being highest,whereas in India, Meghna, Brahmaputra, Ganges all three accumulate about 72000 tonnes of plastic. There are 10 rivers on earth that alone carry 90% of this waste ending up in oceans.

Courtesy : UN Environment

Plastic waste — whether in a river, an ocean, or on land — can persist in the environment for centuries

So What should be done to Stop wasting and saving the environment from PLASTICS ???

1. USE CLOTH BAGS INSTEAD OF POLYTHENE.
2. USE STEEL VESSELS, SPOONS AND OTHER STUFF.
3. GET RID OF SINGLE USE PLASTIC .
4. GET RID OF PLASTIC BOTTLES AND USE REFILLABLE BOTTLES.
5. SPREAD AWARENESS TO LOCAL AREAS TO STOP USING SINGLE USE PLASTIC.
6. PICK UP AND THROW ANY PLASTIC WHILE ROAMING, WALKING ETC.

Courtesy : UN Environment

CELEBRATE THIS DAY, WHILE PLANTING TREES, AVOIDING PLASTICS, SPREADING AWARENESS AND ALSO STAY TUNED FOR MORE UPDATES....