Five most important issues for Delhi election 2008

The first thing that comes in my mind when I think of election is the particular candidate from my area which I never have any idea till the time these elections come up. Then all i get to see is posters all around, strange na.. Just came to know that Mr. V.K. Malhotra is standing for elections from my area. He is BJP's chief ministerial candidate. No wonder all the roads are being reconstructed so what if the roads was in pieces on Diwali day but now its done:)

1. Greener Delhi

As being the capital of India , Urbanisation and Modernisation are the two words that define it. But we are losing all the forest cover due to infrastructure increase. We will be the one who will face the consequences of global warming later. So it is very important to increase the area under green cover.

2. Controling pollution of vehicles

The cng initiative was one of the best till date in india. it helped delhi reduce its pollution to a large extent, but what needs to be put in mind is that the number of cars just keep on increasing. A family should not be allowed to have more than 2 cars. There are not enough CNG pumps also.

New alternatives of energy production should be used. Solar energy is a renewable source and will never get exhausted so it should be used to the advantages of the public, like solar rickshaws etc.

3. Public transport

Public transport system also needs to be very well defined. All most all people are scared of travelling in Blue line but most of them do as there is no option. Battery operated cars should come into play and their should be smaller buses that go inside colonies unlike one bus stop in a particular area because then people prefer to take autos.

4. Development Issues

The sewage system and sanitation are just not proper enough. Only the posh areas are taken care of and the rest never get highlighted. Services should be provided to all equally. Development should take place everywhere.

Malls are being built and all we get to see next to mall is poor people living in unhygenic conditions in slums next to the malls. Children on street lights and who are begging should be given education. Government should make particular bodies to take care of that.


5. Transperacy in the system

The government should give us an account the money which is allocated to them on how it is being used. This is very important because corruption needs to be tackled as half of the funds go into the accounts of the politicians.

They should show their faces more often to the people and explain them how the funds are being used as they are for the people and by the people.

Environmentally safe - Organic cotton

Organic cotton production is the only farming system by which cotton is produced entirely free of chemical pesticides – and thereby without the risks that such chemicals pose to human health and the environment.

Organic cotton production represents an alternative farming system within which natural predator populations are nurtured within cotton production zones, and measures such as intercropping and crop rotation are used to halt the development of cotton pest populations.

Over the last few decades organic cotton production has grown from just 30 farmers producing 113 tonnes of cotton fibre, to a global total of more than 31000 tonnes. While these figures represent only a small fraction (0.15%) of world cotton production, they represent an important proof of principle that contemporary cotton production can occur without the use of hazardous pesticides. In fact, so successful has organic production proved, that global production has increased 5-fold over the past four years.

Cotton, the most important fibre crop of India plays a dominant role in its agrarian and industrial economy. It is the backbone of our textile industry, accounting for 70% of total fibre consumption in textile sector, and 38% of the country's export, fetching over Rs. 42,000 crores. Area under cotton cultivation in India (8.9 million ha) is the highest in the world, i.e., 25% of the world area and employs seven million people for their living.

As PAN-UK recently noted, ‘Most small farmers are motivated to move to organic cotton to avoid corruption in the conventional sector, health risks, debt, and by the prospect of receiving organic premiums as well as prompt cash payments. For women, the prime motivations for organic farming are improved family health, and their children are not at daily risk of fatal poisonings. Their food supply is also safer, and more plentiful’. Women seem to benefit proportionately more from organic cotton production, particularly from the freedom to control their own incomes.

Driving Change by Buying Organic

Demand for organic products among Western consumers is substantial, and growing. In a 2005 survey prepared by Ipsos MORI almost half of British consumers reported buying organic products, with many registering environmental concerns among those that shape the way they shop. In 2003, UK market growth for organic cotton was estimated at 38% per year, and continues to grow at a steady rate. To add to this, major clothing retailers, including Wal-Mart, Harrods, Marks and Spencer, Coop Switzerland and Italia, Migros, and Monoprix are all now offering organic clothing ranges.

The growth in sales of organic cotton products is greatly enhanced by the existence of comprehensive labeling systems which enable consumers in the developed world to make informed choices about the type of cotton they wish to purchase. This vital connection, which endows the global cotton supply chain with a degree of transparency and traceability, may be our best hope to date of harnessing the concerns of those in the West as a powerful economic force for improving the lives of the million of people who work to grow cotton in the developing world.

global warming

Global Warming is defined as the increase of the average temperature on Earth. As the Earth is getting hotter, disasters like hurricanes, droughts and floods are getting more frequent.

Over the last 100 years, the average temperature of the air near the Earth´s surface has risen a little less than 1° Celsius (0.74 ± 0.18°C, or 1.3 ± 0.32° Fahrenheit). It is responsible for the conspicuous increase in storms, floods and raging forest fires we have seen in the last ten years, though, say scientists.

COVERAGE BY INDIAN MEDIA :-

India has an energetic civil society in which the media plays a key role in providing a forum for debate and discussion. The print media—by far the most prolific in a country where access to electronic media is exclusive—is largely private, owned by single families or corporations. These publishing houses have large control over the flow of information and on setting the tone of public debates, not least on climate change.

A survey by the Global Nielsen Survey in 2007 suggested that 70% of literate Indians use the press as their primary source of information on climate change. The press debate and coverage influence public understanding and perception, and those reading the press influence the government through voting and wider public pressure campaigns, such as the 1,000-strong New Delhi Climate Rally in December 2007.

Over the last six years the Indian press has given increasing attention to climate change, a turnaround after a long period since the 1980s during which the issue was largely dismissed in the country.

Historically, the Indian government and press had followed the line captured by Indira Gandhi’s statement in 1972 that “the environment cannot be improved in conditions of poverty”. Indian delegations at summits have continually argued that, in the words of one official, “had the emissions of the developed world been that of the developing world, the world would not face the threat of climate change”.

Since 2002, however, the Indian press has begun to pay increasing attention to climate politics, with coverage increasing by 280% between 2002 and 2005. Rapid and dangerous climatic change is reported in impressive scientific detail, often quoting specific reports from academic journals to inform readers about the plight ahead.

There is a close focus on the environmental threats from climate change, particularly that which may occur in India specifically: 75% of the articles on climate change between 2002 and mid-2007 suggested that India was “under threat” from climate change. Moreover, the press focus on these threats was centered on the impacts to Indian people themselves, rather than impacts on industry or absolute growth.

Two-thirds of the 75% of articles were concerned with either monsoonal change, Himalayan glacial retreat or falling crop yields. There appears to be a suggestion among the newspapers that climate change will bring catastrophic environmental change to India and that the people on the ground will suffer.

source : www.chinadialogue.net

source : - http://currents.ucsc.edu/04-05/09-06/coverage.html

Diwali...

Well this time Diwali came really fast and I din even come to know when it went. I was sick for a week before it and a week after it, but amazingly I was fine on the Diwali day:)

This Diwali was a very close knit one with just mom, dad bro and me. Just a few relatives who came for lunch. We decided not to burst any crackers so environmentally it was great.

As far as the gift was concerned, I gifted a boy who worked in one of the shops from where I bought some clothes and I gave him a pair of shoes. I had seen him working without them.

I felt bad and decided to give him the shoes. The smile on his face made my diwali completely successful and my smile too didn't stop.

God knows what satisfaction can do to you, It keeps you grounded and yet you can fly high.