 Dear
Panditji,
Your 'India immobile' cover story in the July 31 issue is
simple yet astounding. In the recent past we have seen flyovers being built, trees felled
to widen roads and encroachments removed in many Indian metros, but the traffic jams
persist. I live in San Francisco bay area and
commuting at peak hours is a bad experience here too. During the rush hour the freeways
look like parking lots – an endless ocean of cars, suvs and trucks. One can only
imagine the how much these vehicles add to the pollution load! Even though the Bay area
boasts of super highways and magnificent freeways, there is no public transport worth its
name. BART (Bay Area Rapid Transport) is a magnificent system but that alone can’t
take the entire passenger load.
As long as governments neglect public transport, the
roads will remain congested and the pollution levels will not come down. So I was very
pleased when your story reported that our central government is considering a new 'urban
transport policy' for India. Can you publish more details about the new policy in your
forthcoming issues? Where I can find the draft and if it is open for discussion how can
NRIs contribute to it?
Keep up your great publication and do consider making Gobar
Times fortnightly so that I can get it with every issue of Down
To Earth. You might want to increase the magazine fee for this. But it is worth
it!
Ramachandran Balachandran
Via Email
Dear
Panditji,
I am a subscriber to Down To Earth
and a graduate of LEAD International (LEAD Canada).
I am presently teaching an online course in a US-based
graduate university, for students pursuing an MS in Environmental Education. In the coming
weeks, we will be focusing on issues related to environmental education and biodiversity
and I was going to refer them to the online issue of Gobar Times, especially the
article about conservation of tigers and tiger habitat.
I was also wondering whether you could share your views
and perspectives about environmental education in India. As I am trying to give the
students an idea of the challenges and approaches being taken throughout the world that
would give them an idea of how teaching environmental education in India might differ (and
be similar) to teaching it in North America.
I find your online Gobar Times an invaluable tool
in teaching and learning about environmental issues online. It is tremendously
interesting!
Jane Dougan
LEAD Canada
Coordinator of Distance Learning
The Oceanographic Center
Dear
Panditji,
I am writing to Gobar Times for first time but I am a
regular reader and I appreciate the research that I am sure goes into every issue. In one
of your previous issues (no 48) you had written about the plight of rural India and I
wanted to share my views on it.
 Rural India is sadly
neglected. Outsiders have always used villages in rural India for their vested interests.
When an industry is set up in villages it often does not take into account the problems
that villagers face. As a result many a time industries only multiply the woes of
villagers. People’s initiative is very important to make substantial change in the
lives of rural populace. I think the villagers should take development initiatives
themselves and set up peoples’ forum or working groups to plan and implement the
initiatives. Well here are a few I thought of:
- Improved irrigation techniques and afforestation
activities
- Organic agriculture and orchards for better returns.
- Rainwater harvesting structures in villages
- Vermicompost production by rural youth and women
- Primary processing and packaging of organic food products
- Formation of self-help groups to encourage small savings
- Manufacture bio-fertilizers and bio-pesticides.
Ms Ravdeep Kaur
Punjab, India |
