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Remember these ten tips before going to Thailand



Thailand is a popular destination for youngsters who want to enjoy their vacation fullest but remember to take care of these ten things when making a plan of visiting Thailand.

According to a survey last year Thailand received about 30 million tourists which is indeed a great number of people and it also tells that there is something very special about this country so why not give it a try next time you are planning for holidays.

Let us checkout some 10 travel tips which would be very helpful for you when you are in this beautiful country.

Basically Thailand is considered as calm and friendly country where almost all kind of tourist could be found including the gay/ lesbian, trans- genders. Thailand is full of food plazas, entertainment zones and beautiful landscapes if you are nature lover.

Visiting Thailand is not expensive and it is quite cheap to visit this happening place. We are not saying that you should visit this place because it is cheaper place to enjoy but because of lot of activities and water bodies it has where you can calm yourself without spending hell lot of money. It is also referred as the paradise of the Southeast Asia.

Thailand is also known for its openness and also because it is still a Buddhist country and this one reason is more than enough for those who are looking something on spiritual side.

First thing you should always keep in mind while visiting the temples in Thailand is that you have to wear appropriate clothes because temples in Thailand in general are the most visited places and people are very specific especially women should wear neat and proper clothes. A pair of T shirt and trouser would be fine.

Second suggestion is also for women and that is you should try to avoid standing near monks or touch them and if possible refrain from having conversation with them because it is considered taboo.

Third is never speaking anything against King of Thailand and avoid defaming royalty. It is because Thai people admire king and Royalty very much and they are very popular in Thailand, you can also there poster everywhere in Thailand.

Fourth tip is never handling their flag in inappropriate manner because nobody wants to see their national flag into a joke and this is very much true for Thai people. So avoid to have any dresses having flag printed on them.

Fifth tip is related to personal behavior in public like rubbing heads is usually considered as showing kindness and love but in Thailand people does not like this as they consider head as the noble part of the human body and touching others head is a big no no.

Sixth thing you should keep in mind is that people in Thailand do not like a person keeping feet and legs on table and it is considered as very lowly part of the body so try to avoid this gesture or they may feel easily offended.

Taxis in Thailand do not is meters and there are chances that they may overcharge you so be careful before using them. Some drivers may even refuse to use the meters even if they have meters installed in their taxis so be prepared about this fact.

Eighth tip for you is that if you like whistling then avoid it in night because people in Thailand thinks that bad spirits are attracted by whistling in dark or night and it also bring bad luck not just for you but also upon your friends.

Speaking loudly in public places is considered bad and try not to speak at higher volumes in restaurants and shopping centers if you want to mingle with local people.

Tenth tip is that always avoid getting intimate in public or Thai people do not like this behavior at all.

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The recent supreme court verdict giving the Delhi government of AAP led by Arvind Kejrival a clear hand to weild free power in Delhi without any interference of the LG execpt in the matters of Police, Law and Order and Land is being termed by them as a victory over the BJP ruled union government who according to them had been creating deliberate bottlenecks in the way of AAP government’s people welfare policies and initiatives through their nominee Anil Baijal, a former veteran civil servant.

However, despite the apex court according independent powers to the Delhi’s AAP government forbidding it to seek any consent on its decisions or proposals from the LG in the near future except in matters pertaining to land, police and law and orders, the Delhi civil servants have on the contrary refused to abide or obey the transfer/ posting orders of the Delhi government thus raising another fresh controversy. However, taking a strong view of the civil servants’ hostility the Delhi’s deputy chief minister has termed the non cooperation and hostility of bureaucrats as the violation of the apex court’s orders.

After the alleged attack on the Delhi’s chief secretary Anshul Prakash at the residence of the chief minister few months ago by two AAP MLAs’ when the former was asked to come for a meeting during midnight, the Delhi’s civil servants were feeling insecure and had gone on a go slow strike for three months giving up attending any meetings and answering the calls of the CM and his ministers thus compelling the latter and his three ministers to stage a nine day Dharna cum hunger strike at LG’s bungalow. This resulted in further chaos in the functioning of the AAP government.

The recent decision of the apex court has however given the Delhi government extra mileage as well as moral boost who was nearly handicapped in taking decisions with regard to the various people welfare schemes. The supreme court has, while giving its verdict, judiciously favoring the Delhi government of AAP to an extent has specifically said that the LG despite being the sole administrator of the National Capital Territory is bound to act on the advice of the council of ministers in all matters except on the subjects pertaining to the land, police and law & order ( if not necessary) as Delhi is not a full fledged state. The court however refused to give Delhi the statehood as its a central subject and solely within the purview of the union government which requires ratification from both the houses of parliament and the president of India’s outright consent.

The apex court has advised both the chief minister and the LG to work in close cordination harmoniously without any ill will or prejudiced feelings against each other.

It may be recalled that in its previous decision the Delhi High Court has termed the LG as the sole powerful administrative head of the Delhi government unambiguously saying that all decisions of the state government would be effected only by the consent and at the mercy of the LG as Delhi is not the fullfledged state. As a result the AAP government had gone to the apex court against the HC’s verdict.

After the formation of the Modi led NDA government at the centre the relations between the centre and Delhi had been at loggerheads with the Delhi CM Arvind Kejrival and his party AAP levelling charges and accusations against the prime minister Narendra Modi and his government of not letting them work deliberately and creating bottlenecks on the way of the state government’s functioning.

The former Delhi LG and renowned academician Nazeeb Jung and the current LG Anil Baijal were also at confrontation with Arvind Kejrival incessantly.

Let’s see what finally comes out of the latest verdict of the Supreme court unambiguously spelling out individual powers for Delhi’s LG and the CM in the context of Delhi government’s functioning.

While the Delhi elections are due in the initial months of 2020 both BJP and AAP are in a hurry to capture power in the national capital though the Congress Party seems to be a distant third.

After being completely misfit in the national political scene for the present, the first and formost priority of Arvind Kejrival is to recapture power in Delhi in the 2020 elections of NCT of Delhi and he is in an abrupt hurry to fulfill the unfulfilled pre election promises. He wanted to give good number of sops to the Delhi electorates but the BJP led NDA at the centre through its nominee LG are creating various impediments in the execution of various pro people proposals.

Since lot of time has already been lost on his quarrel with the centre and on infrastructural front the AAP government has literally done nothing Arvind Kejrival is desperate to implement various populist schemes to earn the support of the minorities, people of the lowest ebb, the lower middle class voters and the women and youths including the government servants. Health, transport, water, power, food and civil supplies, pensions to the poor, sr citizens, widows and handicapped sections are the main sectors where he is trying to concentrate by way of giving huge reliefs before elections. But in the absence of freedom and the obstacles of the centre he was’nt able to fully execute his decisions. Hence approached the apex court for seeking full fledged powers without the intervention of the central nominee, the LG. Let’s see whatwould be his next master stroke now?

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After the hue and cry on account of the most tragic and dreaded accident in the Naini Danda block of districtPauri Garhwal on 1st of July that claimed 48 precious lives of passengers travelling in an overloaded bus carrying more than double the capacity, the newly elected youthful journalist turned MP from Garhwal in the upper house Anil Baluni has come forward with a constructive proposal to establish intensive care units (ICUs’) in various interior hospitals of Pauri Garhwal district to start with, in order to provide timely, adequate and emergency medical treatment / resustication to the patients suffering from various critical illness like cardio vascular deseases as well as the accidental victims before shifting them to fully equipped bigger government hospitals at Dehradun or Delhi for further medical care leading to their survival.

The Rajya Sabha MP from Garhwal and the BJP’s national media incharge stationed at New Delgi Anil Baluni has offered adequate funds from his annual member of parliament’s lad fund allocated to every law maker from the union government’s financial coffers.

Baluni said : whether the fellow party MPs’ from Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha contribute in this regard or not but he will allocate his maximum MP lad fund from the present year’s financial quota to the quota of coming years to ensure that majority of the interior hospitals of Pauri Garhwal district are adequately equipped with the ICUs and ventilators to enable timely resustication to the critically ill patients who require immediate oxygen and functioning of lungs to survive at the time of critical situations when their heart goes sinking due to various cardilogical complications.

There had been hundreds of cases in the past that patients suffering from critical illnesses give up on the way while being carried to good hospitals in Dehradun or other cities of Uttarakhand including Delhi for want of critical respiratory care in the absense of not a single ICU in any of the district hospitals.

While the initiative of RS MP Anil Baluni and his intent to help the needy patients living in the interior villages is definitely highly appreciating and a welcome initiative but sounds bit impractical as the BJP currently has governments in both the Uttarakhand state as well as the centre.

There is, as such, no dearth of central financial assistence to the health sector of the himalayan state if the government led by prime minister Narendra Modi is really serious for the welfare and well being of the people of Uttarakhand. It can allocate a substantial fund from the centre of few crores to set up these ICUs’ and ventilators in majority of the Uttarakhand hospitals bereft of these facilities for the last 18 years.

Why is it that an MP of Rajya Sabha having a meagre budget has to singularly come forward with this healthy proposal and why not the state government, the union government and other 6 MPs’ not coming forward to do the needful in their respective parliamentary constituencies.

The majority of government hospitals in Uttarakhand, whether in the interiors of various district headquarters, are lacking high number of doctors as well as various medical aids and equipments like beds, ultrasound machines, X Ray equipments, medicines and doctors.

Several hospitals are running under the guidance of pharmacists in the interior villages which unambiguously speaks of the sorry state of affairs in the health sector of Uttarakhand. To prove home the point even the 250 bedded newly constructed private charitable hospital constructed by Hans Foundation at Satpuli with several hundred crores has merely three doctors despite its being the hi tec state of the art hospital.

It’s not that the successive governments have not been trying hard to ensure that doctors are stationed in the interior villages in good numbers but despite getting heavy perks our medical practitioners prefer to start their own private clinics or nursing homes to mint excessive money than to serve the poor masses in the interior or district hospitals of Uttarakhand.

Just take the case of Pauri district government hospital where during the undivided Uttar Pradesh there were 22 doctors of repute but today after the formation of separate Uttarakhand state there are hardly three doctors most of whom are on leave or absense.

The crux of the story is : the people of Uttarakhand do need ICUs and ventilators like life saving machines but the presence of adequate number of doctors is the first and foremost priority. In Uttarakhand one can find good number of private hospitals minting heavy profits, the reason being our government hospitals are badly and ill equipped having dearth of life saving equipments and doctors. However, despite all this, the initiative of Anil Baluni is highly appreciative and needs a standing ovation.

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UK CM’s gesture to reach the accidental spot was appreciable but had carried senior doctors and medicines than the BJP leaders



The most tragic and horrendous accident that occured in Nainidaanda Block on 1st of July is the most harshest of the tragedy ever witnessed in whole of Uttarakhand with 48 innocent lives meeting the most anguishing end never ever expected for the negligence of the few.

After all, a question being asked is ! What was the fault of these innocent passengers? We may blame the driver, who himself has lost his own life, but the moot point is, what about those officers and their subordinates in the civil and transport administrative departments including the traffic police on whose shoulders lies the primary responsibility of check and regulate the entire transport system in entire Uttarakhand in order to avoid overloading of buses and to regulate and check if the driver of the bus is genuinely obeying or duly following the traffic norms for the safety of the commuters and the passengers.

In Uttarakhand if we actually see the past and present record of the officers on duties either in transport, health and in police departments including in traffic, one will be amused to learn that they are all enjoying the hefty perks than being committed towards the responsibilities assigned to them.

It’s literally a comfort zone to be in, as a government employee in Uttarakhand whether you are a District Majistrate, SDM or in any other department that matters. The moot point is, the government of the day is hardly responsive to the increasing accidental cases and subsequent casualties thereafter but wants to simply subside disastrous deaths by merely paying a meagre compensation of Rs 2 lakhs each to the deceaseds’ family and putting the hugest tragedy at rest.

Just imagine, what would be the fate and condition of the bereaved families who have lost their sons, daughters, wives, brothers, sisters, parents and the sole earning member of the family.

Can the government of the day bring back the precious lives of these deceaseds’ whose families have lost their most loving ones and the bread earners. Would the financial aid of merely rupees two lakhs is enough for the life long sustenance who’ve lost their precious lives because of their ill fate or the deficiency of the system.

Does it not sound shocking that after the sad and the most shocking demise of 48 innocent passengers the chief minister of Uttarakhand hires a chopper with lakhs of rupees as its fare, supposed to be of the tax payers’ money and visits the accidental site near the Gweel village in Nainidaanda block for no use and relevance and takes with him the education minister Dhan Singh Rawat and the State BJP chief Ajay Bhatt who literally have no role to play in this whole tragic and traumatic episode except to take maximum media miliage and political advantage.

The moot point is that instead of accompanying these two political persons had the chief minister carried with him the senior most doctors or the best possible medicines or medical equipments required for the urgent treatment or diagnosis of the severely injured persons addmitted in the Dhumakot hospital it would have been more better and fruitful than carrying these politicians who were of no use and relevance in this episode except deriving political and media advantage.

However, we appreciate the gesture of the chief minister to go to the hospital and learn about the well being of the injured.

But this attitude unambiguously speaks of the fact as to how non serious was the Uttarakhand government was about this serious matter.

The fact of the entire development is: the politicians and the bureaucrats of Uttarakhand hardly care for the peoples’ lives and they are rated as just peanuts or non entities. There have been several hundred deaths in road accidents in Uttarakhand and the chief minister or the concerned ministers have never visited the accident spots nor ever paid adequate compensation to the bere aved families except the one happened in Nainidanda block and that too because the prime minister of the country and home minister have issued statements condoling these traumatic and tragic deaths and assured for the all possible help whatsover by the union government. What’s your take friends? .

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1st of July Sunday was the worst and most unfortunate day for the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand where right from morning till evening three fatal accidents occured with extremely heavy casualties sending shock waves all over the state and the country. Though tragic accidents have become the order of the day in Uttarakhand where fatal accidents occur on every third day due to the buses being over loaded, drivers being inebriated in some cases, brake failures, speedy and careless driving, deep holes on roads or due to the blunder at the blind turns etc but the one happened today near the Gweel village at Naini Danda block due to the private bus having been overloaded was the most tragic and heart rendering accident that took the toll of 48 passengers with 12 seriously injured. Just after this tragic incident another bus got overtirned after crushing against a tree at Haldwani injuring several commuters. However, there is no report of anyone being killed. While the disaster managing authorities and the chief minister including the entire state transport machinery wete involved in the rescue operations at the aforesaid accident sites highlighted nationally with the prime minister Narendra Modi and the home minister Rajnath Singh expressing their serious concern, grief and condolences towsrds the families of the deceased with a compensation of rupees two lakh to each of the deceaseds’ family another bad news arrived in the evening when a speeding MAX carrying several passengers fell down in the deep gorge seriously injuring several passengers including children profusely bleeding with deep wounds and grievous injuries. The MAX was totally damaged. So far no one has succumbed to injuroes in this accident. However, the severly injured have been addmitted to a hospital in Kotdwar. The roads of Uttarakhand have become tremendously accident prone which casualties of road accidents being witnessed on every third day. Only God knows as to when will this tragic accidental fatalities will end with the government issuing simple assurances of improving the situation by way of false commitments and promises.





The prime minister Narendra Modi has expressed his grief over the deaths of several bus commuters in Garhwal Uttarakhand and have assured of all possible help to the bereaved families. The prime minister has expressed his grief and condolensces by tweeting in his twitter handle this afernoon. After the news started appearing like wild fire in the entire electronics and print media the state Chief ministe Trivendra Singh Rawat has taken a very serious note of the anguishing sitiation that claimed 47 lives and has left for the accident spot in an official chopper to seefor himself the circumstances leading to this critical accident. The chief minister ha also announced the monetary compensation of Rs. two lakh each to the bereaved families of those dead those the amount is considered to be too meagre for the lives lost in this fatal accident. Meanwhile, orders for the detailed and indepth enquiry has also been issued in this regard. It may be recalled that the bus possessing the sitting capacity of merely 28 was badly overloaded and it seems that the driver had lost the balance. Even the chief minister TS Rawat has accepted on camera that the majority of the accidents are happening due to the over loading and his government would ensure that this trend would be averted in the near future. During the last two years there have been rapid increase in the accidents of heavy vehicles in Uttarakhand but the transport department of the state has been extremely complacent and untrust worthy towards the passengers as they never penalised any bus operator or the drivers for such fatalities. It seems as if there is literally no administration functioning in the state. In this particular case the entire state’s political and administrative appratus including the chief minister has come into action after prime minister Narendra Modi personally intervened in the matter and expressed his grief and condolences through tweet including financially helping the bereaved families. The traffic in the Char Dham Yatra Marg has tremendously increased in Uttarakhand and the speeding traffic of the outsiders not exactly knowing the geography of the routes and not well versed with hilly roads as well are also also responsible for such fatal accidents. The blind turns of hilly roads are devoid of strong iron railings and the transport department is also lacking putting indication boards and hoardings in majority of the hilly routes resulting in the tourists not able to have exact idea about various road indicators. These days Uttarakhand is the victim of severe road accident fatalities as well as the maneater attacks but little seem to have been done to provide relief to its inhabitants in both the above context

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Damage control exercise in full swing by the saffron party in Uttarakhand



How can a chief minister of a state be so arrogant and erratic towards his subjects or the government employees of his own state who approach him several times with a request for a transfer on humanitarian and companssionate grounds but the former tries to equate himself with a pleader by being squeezed hearted than a politician with a large heart asking for her suspension and subsequent arrest in his own convened Janata Durbar that led to mass protests in the state and burning of his effigies.

A politician and the political CEO of the state is supposed to be guardian of the state and the electorates considered as   his subjects and it is his socio political and constitutional responsibility to oblige the employee with grievances than taking her to task and publicly reprimanding a widow.

May be that the woman teacher was at fault as far as her behaviour was concerned but it was the cumulative effect of the depression she was undergoing after she could’nt get justice or her demand for transfer not fulfilled after her husband’s sad demise right from the days of former CM Dr. Nishank to Harish Rawat to the present incumbent.

After all the entire episode after having gone viral in social media and electronic as well as print media has adversely affected the saffron party government’s image inviting adverse comments from the people across the spectrum.

We have seen in the past seasoned politicians and chief ministers like H. N. Bahuguna, K. C. Pant, ND Tiwari, M. M. Joshi etc who had been extremely responsive and cordial towards the electorates and the sufferers and have rather impressed even their bete noire by first obliging them than their supporters.

They never became arrogant or erratic towards the people and rather obliged them to the hilt with good response and affectionate behaviour. The pro people leader is the one who obliges his subjects to the maximum by being sober, well behaved, flexible and diplomatic with his electorates irrespective of their annoyance or opposition as they are the electorates on whose support and blessings he or she is elected.

In public life , the politicians are supposed to be ready to face opposition, extremely patient but should never loose his or her cool as he or she after being elected are obligatory to serve the masses and resolve every problem of the people in distress.

But unfortunately in the case of the woman widow teacher whatever happened was highly distressing, uncalled for and even beyond anybody’s expectation. First calling the Janta Durbar to redress peoples’ grievances and then ordering the suspension and arrest of the woman pleader (for her misconduct) who had already served in the interior schools of Uttarakhand for the last 25 years demanding transfer has only made the matter more worse for the CM and the ruling party in the state by giving an unnecessary handle to his opponents, the Congress party and the media ultimately leading to more chaos in the state already in doldrums in terms of heavy fiscal deficit.

Everybody know that while the victimised woman teacher cound’nt get tranfer to Dehradoon on extreme compenssionate grounds despite her repeated requests at the highest level, there are the teacher spouses of politicians and bureaucrats who are serving in the state capital for more than two decades. People are questioning : what about them? What about the rules and regulations that have been bent for obliging them?

If these spouses of the influential leaders and bureaucrats can have there say why was it that in the case of Uttara Pant Bahuguna laws can’tbe bent as a special case especially when she is a widow and had already served in the interior villages for the last 25 years.

Now since the controvertial matter has gained tremendous momentum the party has brought Munna Singh Chouhan for the damage control as he is considered to be an efficient and eloquent debator carrying behind him quite a good reputation especially in the media being the outspiken politician with logical reasoning. Meanwhile it has also been revealed that the state’s education minister while exhibiting modesty n large heartedness has also sought pardon from the depressed victim Uttara Pant Bahuguna on behalf of the chief minister yesterday in order to subside the ongoing controversy. What’s your take friends?

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Uttarakhand CM orders arrest and suspension of a widow teacher in his Janata Durbar. Video becomes viral in social media



The controvertial issue of the misconduct of a woman teacher Uttara Pant Bahuguna with the chief minister of Uttarakhand and the latter’s directives to take her into legal custody and subsequently execute her immediate suspension is in the air these days with the social media making the vedio viral.

The controvertial issue has gained such a gigantic shape and proportion that it has literally become the talk of the town. While a section of the people are blaming the chief minister for not being patient and at the recieving end to resolve a woman teacher’s long pending genuine woes being at the helm of the government others are accusing the woman of grave misconduct with the chief minister which does not behove for a woman of the status of a teacher who is supposed to be the embodiment of decency, decorum and duty bound to be well behaved with her seniors, particilarly the political CEO of the state.

There is undoubtedly an ugly opinion about politicians these days irrespective of what status and position they hold as their credibility in public’s eye is under absolute suspicion due their being involved in various corrupt practices and in the habit of betraying and befooling people. But if we see the other aspect of some of our electorates they too are simply in the habit of blaming politicians but not contributing even neglibly to the society.

In the case of the victimised woman teacher Uttara Pant Bahuguna who was on the edge of her retirement and a depressed widow, her track record as a teacher was not as shining or remarkable as expected of her. It is said that she had been absent from duty for the last three years since 2015 and was also suspended for being erratic for her behaviour of misconduct in the past.

There is undoubtedly not an inkling of doubt that she being an old widow was suffering from innumerous problems for being away from her family in an interiors of Uttarkashi for the last more than two decades and had been repeatedly requesting the authorities concerned and even the education minister and the chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat for transferring her to Dehradun in order to enable her take care of her family, especially after the expiry of her husband who perhaps died of liver sirrhosis due to being the liquor addict as per her version that her husband met the said end as he was made the liquor addict due to the prevalence of liquor sale in the state.

The point is simple, when the chief minister of a state convenes the Janata Durbar and invites pleaders or people suffering from grievances to express their agony, its quite obvious that that he is bound to hear the electorates with grievances, extremely patiently and try to satisfy and resolve maximum of their grivances instead of scolding them or taking them to task by ordering their arrest or suspension. Restraint on the part of political leaders is mandatory while dealing with their electorates as they get elected at the mercy of their voters only ultimately leading them to hold significant positions in the government.

I do admit that Uttara Pant Bahuguna must have misbehaved with the CM or her tone and tenor might have been of a frustrated woman even going to the extent of using objectionable language but the CM being the executed head of the state with vast powers n being the public representative, should have had a large heart and generosity to hear her woes patiently and try to redress them componded with having pacified her.

But (by) ordering her arrest and subsequent suspension has actually brought bad name to him and his iconic personality as a CM who himself called the Janata Durbar first and then got the pleader women arrested and suspended.

There had been accusations and charges that the teacher spouses of those at the political and administrative helm in the state are stationed at Dehradun for several decades while those who are non influential and devoid of political connections are running from pillar to posts as was Uttara Pant Bahuguna who was posted in the interior school for the last 25 years.

Everybody know about the transfer racket existing in the state during the tenure of successive governments where in people who allegedly pump money in the pockets of the mediators functioning on behalf of the politicians get the posting of their choice in plains while the genuine teachers are left in lurch and forced to serve in the distant interiors for years together.

Anyways, what has happened in the JANATA DURBAR of the chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat is a matter of immense shame and disgust for all of us and should have actually not had happened.

The incident brought disrepute to the UK government as well as the entire teaching fraternity of Uttarakhand. It shouldn’t had happened. We sincerely hope that a good moral sense would prevail in future and such ibnoxious and shamefull incidents do not re occur in the near future. What’s your take friends?

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India produces a collosal 15000 tons of plastic waste, a greatest health hazard! Let’s give up plastics



The metropolitan cities of the country are becoming excessively overcrowded and so are other towns and cities of various states of the country.

The need for survival and non availability of job avenues compell them to throng these cities, towns and metropolises in uncontrollable numbers leading to overcrowded plains and hence excessive pollution.

The fastly depleting underground water table due to excessively enhanced water consumption and irregular rains due to global warming including massive withdrawal of underground water through electronic pumps by one and all have added to the problem multiply with no or negligible efforts or initiatives for warer conservation.

But despite all this, the uninterrupted and rampant use of plastic all over the country has assumed gigantic proportions and infinitely added to the already existing pollution woes.

India today is the highest consumer of the plastics amongst the countries of the globe despite Delhi and 17 other states having already banned the use of plastics.

The massive use of plastics through pakaging of food stuff, oils, garments, eatables, water and in other forms like plastic plates, spoons, cups and even water packets n thermocol etc in marriages and other homely functions nationally have become the hugest nuisance for the society and its population.

It’s usually said that a bottle of plastic takes over three hundred protracted years to vanish or perish and its hard plastic lids about 500 years and by the time if the use of these plastics would not be strongly countered and checked by the alternative use of soluble or perishable paper bags or jute bags compounded with the use of bamboo items etc our rivers and open drains including oceans may get converted into huge mounds or mountains of plastics.

What is more disturbing about this increasing menace is the fact that plastic production is a multi billion dollar industry worldwide with multinational companies and indigenous corporates in collaboration, earning extremely handsomely at the cost of the peoples’ health.

Lot is being said and talked about the emissions of green house gases destroying the ozone layer at the international forums but literally nothing is being talked about the rampant and uncontrollable use of plastic globally and there producers are none other but all those very countries who talk so much about lessening the green house emissions including our own politicians sitting at the helm of affairs.

Just implementing laws to ban plastic would in no way resolve this vexed issue playing with the environmental health of all the developed and developing countries of the globe but what we exactly needed is a global campaign against this dreaded menace to mobilise, awaken and enthuse populations to themselves desist from using plastics in their daily life and routine thinking considering it as the worst kind of cancer that is perrcolating expeditiously into our daily lives and the system that needs to be checked and countered extremely fast and with a duty oriented perception.

Let’ s talk of Maharashtra in this context. It has banned the use of plastic just yesterday through a legislation and Delhi did more than five years ago under the leadership of the then chief minister Shiela Dikshit imposing a heavy fine of Rs. 5000 on anybody using plastic.

But shockingly there is not an inkling of the terror of law on this count and even today the capital city of India is one of the hugest consumers of plastic as is Maharashtra, its economic capital Mumbai and several other states of the country, even those states which had banned the use of plastic quite before.

According to an editorial in HT quoting the report of the Central Pollution Control Board the Maharashtra government has enough reason to ban plastic : the state generates 1, 200 tonnes of plastic waste every day and Mumbai alone generates a collosal 500 metric tonnes which accounts for merely 10% of its total waste.

In contrast the Indian cities generate 15000 tons of plastic waste everyday of which 9000 tons is collected and processed/ recycled while the remaining 6000 tons go into the drains, blocking their incessant n seamless flow thus badly polluting the rivers into which these drains finally flow their highly toxic waste including in open streets, dumps and landfills.

So finally what’s the alternative to get rid of this huge menace that’s playing with the peoples’ health and environment. The answer is: our scientists should invent and innovate the credible alternatives to the use of plastics that are cheap and perishable and educating people creating in them the credible awareness to themselves, give up plastic though phasewise are some of the best alternatives.

The government should also stop the plastic production used in consumer durables phase wise, thus simultaneously producing the alternative materials to compensate for the shortage of plastics but with eco friendly alternatives, ofcourse. What’s your take friends?

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Today is the forty third anniversary of the black chapter in the Indian political history when emergency was imposed in the country by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi after she lost to the Allahabad High Court Judgement, thus instead of resigning honourably as the country’s prime minister, preferred to impose an unconstitutional and undemocratic emergency forcibly putting all the opposition leaders of the country behind bars whether they were the leaders of the left or right barring the leaders of the Communist Party of India who solely supported this unconstitutional proclamation. It was termed as a horrible saga to capture power by crushing the constitution and democracy and the opposition still calls it an unforgivable sin.

I fondly remember how people of the country, men and women were terrorised by the police and the law enforcing agencies who misused the act and weilded their dictatorial authority to harass, victimise and terrorised the opposition party leaders and workers and even the common masses.

Late Mrs. Gandhi’s son Sanjay Gandhi was then the autocratic boss who actually run the government during the emergency phase using his dictatorial tactics on fiicers and the entire police force to ensure that his five point programmes were implemented at all costs that included plantation on a massive scale, forcible sterilization (NASBANDI) of men andd women to contrl population etc. It was during the emergency that the then DDA governor Jagmohan was ordered by Sanjay Gandhi to demolish the Turkman Gate JJ clusters and colonies housed and inhabitated by the minorities creating lots of hue and cry that made headlines of every newspapers.

Sanjay wanted a clean and systemetic Delhi irrespective of the fact whether the Congress party gets votes or not. The forcible sterilization has badly annoyed the people of the country who were even put behind bars for not fulfilling the requisite quotas of NASBANDI CASES. It was ultimately the leader of the total revolution a socialist Jay Prakash Narayan who led a movement against the draconion emergency and formed the Janata Party to overthrow Mrs. Gandhi in 1977.

However, the conglomeration of good number of anti Congress parties, national and regional, whose one point agenda was to avenge Mrs. Gandhi by putting her behind bars for only two days have generated so much of nationwide sympathy for her that after 22 months these fractured parties, who always quarrelled within themselves fell apart and the Congress Party under the leadership of Indira again came back to power at the centre with a resounding majority.

The two most significant leaders of the Congress party then, the then Defence Minister Babu Jagjiwan Ram and former UP chief Minister Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna who accorded the red carpet welcome to Indira Gandhi’s bete noire Jai Prakash Narayan in Lucknow when the former was the chief minister joined the opposition band wagon in 1977 opposing the draconion emergency and Indira Gandhi thus providing a significant impetus to the process of formation of Janata Party.

According to an authentic report of an international human rights organisation about 1 lakh 40 thousand people from all walks of life were arrested without trial and put behind bars for more than twenty months. The prime minister Narendra Modi was today in Mumbai to commemorate the 43rd anniversary of emergency which he termed as the black chapter in the India history. While addressing the audience on this black day he said: Emergency is a black spot on the golden history of the nation. Observing black day today is not just to criticise the Congress for its sin of imposing Emergency but also to create an awareness for the protection of Constitution and democracy,” PM Modi said.

Prime minister Modi further said:
“I salute the courage of all those great women and men who steadfastly resisted the Emergency, which was imposed 43 years ago. Their struggles ensured people power prevailed over authoritarianism and the stifling of civil liberties,”.

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Taking the cue and inspiration from the internationally famed CHIPKO MOVEMENT of 1974 that started against the arbitrary mass felling of trees by veteran illeterate environmentalist GAURA DEVI and her several volunteers, all women, hailing from a distant RAINY village in Chamoli Garhwal in Uttarakhand Himalaya’s, hundreds of environmentally friendly volunteers in South Delhi’s Sarojini Nagar, Nauroji Nagar, Kasturba Nagar and Netaji Nagar have gathered together to hug the trees likely to be felled by the authorities concerned in order to put an end to the arbitary felling of about 16500 trees on acount of the redevelopment of the aforesaid government colonies where multi storeyed flats are coming up but at the expense of these vast number of green trees existing in these vicinities for the last several decades, some even since the British era.

There were government colonies in all these four areas viz. Sarojini Nagar, Netaji Nagar, Kasturba Nagar and Nauroji Nagar having double stories with one, two, three and four type accomodations.

In view of the shortage of accomodation for the government servants having a long que for allotments, the previous UPA government under the then union Urban Development minister Jaipal Reddy and state minister Ajay Maken had mooted a plan to redevelop and modernised these old government colonies through the PPP model and construct multi storey buildings, hi tech bazaars, market complex, swimming pools and other kinds of recreational facilities including marriage halls and health centres etc.

The basic object of this infrastructural redevelopment was to accomodate more and more people of all grades in a limited area which can’t be extended any further in view of space contraints.

The colonies of Nauroji Nagar and Kidwai Nagar have already been demolished about three years ago and the multistory structures had already come up in these vicinities. However, the work of redevelopment is on full swing in Nauroji Nagar to be followed in Sarojini Nagar, Netaji Nagar and Kasturba Nagar.

All these colonies fall in the NDMC area under the jurisdiction of the union government and the project is being handled by the NATIONAL BUILDING CONTRUCTION COMPANY ( NBCC) the autonomous government body.

About 16500 trees are to be cut/ felled during these contruction activities. However, lakhs of trees had already been allegedly felled with the due permission of the environment ministry during the construction of the various metro rail projects.

After news of the tree felling reached the ear and eye of the Delhi government led by AAP there had been objections against these arbitrary tree fellings and number of environmental friendly organisations thereafter came into the picture. The message spread like a wild fire.

One Mr Khanna an advocate had urgently filed a writ petition in the court of law to turn down the decision. On 24th and 25th June about fifteen hundred enlightened residents of the nearby areas collected at Sarojini Nagar and furiously objected to the illegal felling of these trees threatening the authorities to first axe them, then the trees.

It’s a repetition of late Gaura Devi’s Chipko movement of the seventies when several women volunteers of RAINY GAON in CHAMOLI GARHWAL clung to the heavy trunks of the trees likely to be cut by the then timber mafia finally compelling the then government of UTTAR PRADESH and the centre to acede to their request and officialy ban cutting of trees in UTTARAKHAND HIMALAYAS.

The protesting volunteers holding Play Cards displaying ,”trees are our lungs, don’t axe them,” and shouting slogans most annoyingly, these furious women volunteers have challenged the authorities to come forward and axe them first before citting these old green trees.

Today, about two dozen volunteers, majority of them being women are stationed in Sarojini Nagar to ensure that not a single tree is cut by the authorities concerned.

They are ready to go behind bars and sacrifice themselves but woud not allow the killings of the trees, our lungs for survival say these activists.

It may be recalled that Delhi and the NCR have become the concretes of cemented infrastructural development where trees have been cut on rampant scale.

The suspended particulate matter level has also enhanced to over 500 percent resulting in excessive pollution and green house gases emissions resulting in the badly deteriotating health condition of the DELHITES.

The power demand in the capital has increased manifold and the consumption pattern has increased to more than two hundred percent with the Delhi power demand reaching at 7000 megawats which was merely 2800 megawats in 2005.

It may be recalled that ecological imbalance and increasing pollution is no more confined to and city, town or metropolises but the rural areas and forest dominated states too are now inflicted with this menace. The problem has now assumed global significance with all the countries of the world deliberating on reducing green house emissions and making the world free of ecological catastrophes in the offing due to the increasing global warming.

The capital of India, Delhi and its surroundings are rapidly converting themselves into cities of concrete with lessening trees and increasing number of skyscrapers. Except the Delhi’s Lutyen Zone and the forests of the Aravalies’ there had been incessant felling of trees under guise of infrastructural development thus resulting in excessive pollution of dust, emission of CO2 and other form of poisionous gases emnating from millions of Air conditioners and vehicles which are around 80 lakhs in numbers.

If you happen to go in the NCR in Gurgaon or Noida or Ghaziabad extentions, you’ll find lakhs of upcoming builder flats with literally no green trees but hundred of thousands of airconditioners spreading CO2 in the atmosphere including hot emissions vitiating the entire environment.

Had there been a special impetus by the environment ministries of the centre and state to plant more and more trees and to maintain them respectively, the environment of Delhi would have been full of fresh oxygen and fresh air.

But today what we experience is 40 to 47 degree celcius temperatures and dearth of drinking water compelling Delhites to lead a hell of the life in the capital. Even the Ganga and Yamuna are badly polluted giving toxic water posing a grave challenge to peoples’ lives.

The Himalayan glaciers are expeditiously melting and the hisorical river like Ganga, Yamuna and its tributaries turning into huge drains of heavily polluted contents of factories, tanneries, plastics, rubbish and toxic chemical wastes.

In such a critical situation planting excessive trees and safeguarding the present trees including conserving rain water on massive scale is the only solution to this impending menace. What’s your take friends? Meanwhile, there is a good news that the Delhi high court has issued directives to the union government to stop the arbitrary felling of about 16500 trees in South Delhi.

In a press release issue by the Delhi Citizen lnitiative to SaveTrees the organisation welcomed the decision of Hon’ble HC to stay any further felling of trees in Central Govt’s VIP housing project at Delhi. It was a day light mass murder to fell 16500 trees.

The media cordinator Chavi Mehta thanked the citizens of Delhi for standing up along with them and turning out in large numbers to save the trees.

While welcoming the decision the organisation appealed to the government to roll back this decision to cut 16500 trees.

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What’s fishy, behind the interest of UK govt to push sale of liquor in the land of abode of Gods? Question people



Uttarakhand is called the state of abode of Gods with all the ancient historical relidgious places magnifying its prestige and strengthening the states’ economy being the main contributing factor despite all odds as billions of people visit here as eco religious tourists annually from the various parts of the country as well as abroad and contribute immensely to the states economy.

But despite being a state with internationally known religious sanctuaries and temples illicit and Indian made Foreign Liquor trade is considered to be the backbone of the state’s economy running into the staggering fiscal deficit of more than 44000 crores.

The Uttarakhand liquor, whether its local or of IMFL quality, is not only highly expensive but allegedly spurious as well say sources and is spoiling the health of hundreds of thousands of consumers since long. The dealers of liquor charge extre rate in every bottle purchased than the prescribed price on their labels and not only this but if anybody objects to this arbitrary sale is dealt with severely with blows, by the liquor mafias and their gangs.

There have been historical movements in the Uttarakhand hills demanding ban on sale of illicit, spurious and other kinds of quality liquors since long as the household women are its direct victims. The excessive liquor consumption in Uttarakhand Hills have not only spoiled the socio economic fabric of thousands of families but has also resulted in umpteen deaths through the substandard liquor sales n subsequent consumptions.

The liquor mafia in Uttarakhand had minted crores in the past when the liquor sale was in private hands which also led to enhanced criminalism in the peaceful valleys of this Himalayan state.

During the eighties one of the leading journalists’ of daily Amar Ujala who opposed the illegal sale and smuggling of liquor in Garhwal was brutally killed leading to a widespread journalistic movement finally bringing the murderors to justice.

After the achievement of separate statehood in 2000 several movements erupted against the privatisation of liquor sales and the government was constrained to take over this shoddy business in its own hands.

But even after that the role of the liquor mafia has not ended and those at the helm in the government allegedly help them clandestinely. During the last two years or even more after the current government came into power there had been umpteen movements in various parts of the state by the women and youths in the interior villages and local towns dissuading the excise department to restrict them opening the liquor shops, as excessive sale of highly expensive low quality liquor in the name of IMFL brands, has not only spoiled families but has also resulted in several deaths due to liver related deseases.

But despite so much of resistence and eruption of social movements the government is least concerned or deterred to pay heed to the demands of the affected women and youths of the state and has devised other alternative means to ensure seamless and uninterrupted liquor supplies in entire Uttarakhand.

The government considers the liquor sale as the major source of income generation to run the state’s economy and also to cover the enhanced fiscal deficit. Today liquor is being sold at the decentralised level in various districts n blocks through mobile vans where the peoples’ protests led to closure of liquor shops.

The government has also opened liquor sales in grocery shops who posess the annual sales turnover of fifty lacs. Now, the situation has come to such a pass that even police officers and Sub Divisional Magistrates are coming to the rescue of the excise department to forcibly repress and beat the anti liquor movement activists in order to ensure forcible opening of the liquor shops using abusive and filthy languages against women and putting protestors behind bars.

The point is, after all what’s the reason that despite so much of opposition from the local populace the minister concerned is so much interested in the arbitrary sale of liquor in the valleys of Uttarakhand.

Is there something terribly fishy behind this move or the income from liquor sale is really helping to bridge the state’s staggering fiscal deficit which has crossed the 44000 crores limit.

A vedio of a SDM of YAMKESHWAR AND LANSEDOWNE is becoming highly viral in facebook these days showing the SDM Kamlesh Mehta allegedly abusing people and threatening them with dire consequences in order to pressurise them to allow opening of a liquor shop in YAMKESHWAR, GARHWAL the constituency represented by Ritika Khanduri, daughter of the former Uttarakhand chief minister and current MP from Pauri Garhwal.

One can conveniently hear the PCS, SDM gruelling and threatening protestors by challending them with bringing excessive police force to teach them a befitting lesson.

The people of the hill say it’s really disheartening to note that instead of sending mobile dispensaries, food stuffs for the poor or ambulances for the ill patients the government is busy opening liquor shops and sending mobile liquor vends in the interiors of Uttarakhand. Now people have started questioning as to WHAT’S FISHY BEHIND SO MUCH OF INTEREST OF THE UTTARAKHAND GOVERNMENT TO FORCIBLY PUSH LIQUOR SALES IN THE STATE DESPITE PEOPLES’ PROTESTS. What’s your take friends?

pic Tehelka, Dehradun

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