"Independence" Day??

How ironic is it that we spend the whole year going for lunches, dinners, movies, picnics, meet friends, travel in public transport, and attend all other things, but on our very own "independence" day, this very independence disappears?

People don't move out of their houses

because of bomb scares. Parents don't allow their children to go out with friends because of the same reason. And then we talk about the spirit of celebrating "independence" day!!

Maybe the kite is symbolic of how our freedom gets strained on this very special day. It soars as high it can, just to compensate for the fact that we can't even move out of our homes without creating a scene or getting into an argument with family members. How ironic!!

Well if i was the PM of the country. I would definitely discourage this whole idea of people staying at home. Kite flying is good, but organising competitions would be a far better idea. At least that will get people out of their cocoons.

This is how I spent my day..

Cheero, our enetertainment buddy! Kite flying, a bit of jamming and a lot of fun!

Blame it on the rains?

Friday rains brought the city to a complete standstill. Whole of page 4 in Sunday Times was devoted to the consequences of the heavy rainfall the capital had witnessed two days earlier.

The tree toll, as reported by NDMC was 100, and over 119 by the MCD, although the residents claim that the figure could be much higher. The main reasons for such a high number of trees getting uprooted are stated to be lack of proper care, trees growing old, and lately concretization around trees. This caused massive traffic jams and major power disruption all over the city. The water logging on the roads that slowed down traffic to such a large extent show how unprepared our city is for rains. One shower and the city comes to a halt!! The MCD also refused to get trees cleared from residential areas because that's not a part of their job. Only public places are supposed to be cleared by them!

Power was disrupted in many areas for as long as 5 hours. Areas in east Delhi, like Mayur Vihar, waited till 10pm for power to be restored. Discoms said that they had to employ extra manpower to attend to the crisis. There were about 12 trippings of 11KV lines. as reported by the NDPL. Some areas had to wait till morning for electricity.

If this is what rains can do to our city, I'd be rather thankful that we are having irregular monsoons. Whats the point of praying for rains in a city like ours which becomes dysfunctional after every shower?

The this-and-that of measuring poverty..

http://www.ptinews.com/news/231843_Income-wrong-tool-to-measure-poverty--Sen

Poverty can be defined as whether households or individuals have enough resources or abilities today to meet their needs.

"The income approach to poverty, which considers people earning less than a certain amount annually as poor, is not an accurate measure of how well people live...precedence to one's capability or the capacity that people have of choosing and leading their lives." Amartya Sen

The above statement is something that I agree with because measuring poverty just on the basis of income undermines the quality of life of people. This also is closely associated with the fact that the amount of money spent on each member of the family may not be equal, but then the "aggregate family income" may not adequately reflect the deprivation of neglected members.

The other option that has been used to calculate poverty is on the basis of calorie intake. According to this method, the minimum calorie level intake for people in urban areas should be 2100cal and 2400cal for people in rural areas. But Abhijit Sen, member of Planning Commission, said that if this was taken into consideration, 64% of urban population and 80% of rural population would be below poverty line. (http://www.indianexpress.com/news/measure-poverty-by-income-not-calories-sen/488417/0).

These stats don't co-incide with the stats given by the rural development committee, which clearly show that there is no consensus on the quantum of populace living below the poverty line.

The Plight of Women 'Empowerment'!!

"Empowerment means moving from a position of

enforced powerlessness to one of power".

"Tall claims of women empowerment and taking health care to the remote areas sounded hollow..."

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/jaipur/Woman-delivers-baby-on-road-dies/articleshow/4872324.cms)

With a phrase like this for the first line of a news story, one will be compelled to think how empowered we, as women, really are. The news item refers to a case in the Gatla district of Jaipur. Although the article mainly focuses on how the condition of women in India is still not as good as it is expected to be after so much (mostly false claims!) has been done to improve their condition, it also throws light on gender issues. The baby being a girl resulted in the husbands' reluctance to accept the child, seen as a typical case of gender discrimination. It also questions the efficiency of the government in times like these.

Ironically on the same day, i.e. August 9, 2009, another article was published in Times of India newspaper about a woman in Delhi who delivered a girl in a n open park near Nizamuddin dargah. Even she had been abandoned by her husband but now finds some strength in the Ladli Scheme under the Janani Suraksha Yojana. The article throws light on the various programmes by the government, and many more by non-government organisations (NGOs) to improve the condition, mainly health related, of women in our country. A number of names have been mentioned which are working towards this cause. "..she is one of the very few who have managed to benefit from the government's social welfare schemes..." With so much being written, maybe one can hope for a healthy future for Fatima's daughter, Alisha.

It is hard to gauge how much of it is really the way it is mentioned though. So many schemes that exist are hollow from within as their existence is mostly namesake. To actually measure the growth that is taking place we might need to wait longer, as such a substantial growth is yet to be witnessed.

The How and Why of Commonwealth!

Page 4 of today's Times of India (http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?showST=true&Skin=TOINEW&Daily=CAP&BaseHref=CAP/2009/08/01&Enter=true&GZ=T) was dedicated completely to how medical facilities in the city are getting all pumped up to prepare the City for the upcoming Commonwealth Games (CWG). Although the main story focused on how all hospitals are upgrading their staff and infrastructure in order to ensure that all health issues can be tackled effectively during CWG, side stories focus on what problems can still be encountered even when so much is being done.

The facts and figures given along with the story make it easier for the reader to understand and give an overall positive outlook to the story. My problem with the story, however, is that although is appears to be totally unbiased and thoroughly based on facts, the way it is presented gave an idea how this country needs an external push all the time for development to occur. The whole hullabaloo over CWG had definitely proved to be a boon for the city. First the metros, the highways, flyovers, and now finally the health sector- the city is making progress in all areas. But the sad part is that all this is being done mainly for people who will be here for the CWG. When Bush visited India some years back, a whole new set of flyovers and wide roads were constructed. Why is that we need motivation from outside to plunge into hardcore development work?

Also, as I mentioned before, even though a lot has been taken care of, there are still a few problems which the government chooses not to see. There is no action plan for outbreak of any epidemic, specially dengue cases, which is expected to rise this year. Mosquito breeding peaks in October, as the weather is conducive, therefore the risk factor in this case is very high.

CWG have done a lot of good to the City in terms of development. Hopefully all this will be restored even after the Games are over.

All the best to Delhi for hosting CWG for the very first time.