When NGT, Gadkari and Kejriwal talk of Water Spray by‘Helicopters’ it reflects administrative LUNATICS. Irrigation Sprinklers can be Mounted on High Rise Buildings – Connected to Fire Pumps – Provide Artificial Rain for 1-2 hours every day. 4 Story Homes with booster pumps can also provide Rains for 30 minutes every day.
Farm Irrigation Sprinklers is Better Option the High Cost DRIP IRRIGATION – a set of Portable Sprinklers can irrigate 10-20 Times more area than Fixed Drip Irrigation. Obviously Sprinklers can suppress DUST Particles.
Desert Cooler I use clean 100,000 M3 air every day of use for 15 hours – Home space is only 300 M3 – 300 Times. 1 million of these can Clean 30 Billion Cubic Meter of air every day; in 200 days in a year in Delhi shall clean 6 Trillion Cubic Meter of air annually.
Kerosene Stove, Desert Cooler and Sprinklers were my SIGNIFICANT Inventions in 1975-78 but Thugs in NRDC-DST didn’t support these.
Sunita Narain and Bhure Lals are extreme DULLARDS – were actually supporting BRT for example giving FAKE DATA.
Himalayan Foot Hill States Punjab to Bihar produces 50% ofFoods from 16% Land – so pollution generated by Farming activity get trapped.
Ø 16% area burns 200 million tones of Coal and around 60 million tones of petroleum
Ø 100% of Power in the BELT could come from HYDRO-POWER, 140,000 MW from J&K to Nepal. We can bakeBricks in Electric Ovens like Biscuits. Region could be so clean.
Ø Water in Storages could 50% released in Rivers to keep them Clean forever.
Ø UP alone produces 145 million tones of Sugar Cane which harvested during Winter, Compared to 6 million tones in Punjab.
Ø Stubble is not the real issue, GROSSLY INCOMPTENT Press has made it FOCUS ISSUE. Why can’t DELHI Ban registration of Motorized Vehicles? Over 10m in Delhi or 3 per household if we exclude Slum Dwellers.
Ø 50% cut in Petrol & Diesel supply to PRIVATE CARS in Winter– Ban 1500 CC Plus Diesel Vehicles in Winter – would be effective.
Ø Punjab cultivates Paddy on 6.86% area produces 11.33% Rice by Weight – 20% by Value – half of area under Basmati. BUT —
Ø Why can’t Delhi UBERISE Bus service in Delhi – in addition to shared Taxis, High Capacity Electric Rickshaws like in Thailand?
Ø Delhi Streets are Frequently Dug Up several times a year – but not Cleaned even once but for rains. Broom Cleaning couple of times in a year – creates dust cloud that settles soon after on the road itself. AT THIS TIME WATER CONSUMPTION reduces so Roads can be WASHED once a week – and Drains cleaned once a month.
Ø Corrupted ‘Almost All High Level’ Highway & Infrastructure Projects are BIGGEST Source of Earth Movement – Haven’t seen Sprinklers use at such sites – diversions through farm land throw tones of Dust.
BUT
Ø GOI has no LOCAL FOOD PRODUCTION Policy. Wheat & Rice produced by Punjab is Exported, Punjab imports Vegetable Oils for Example.
Ø CROP Diversion failed in Punjab when ADANI Procured OILSEEDS from Punjab and processed in its own oil mills in MP or Gujarat. There is actually Two Way Flow of Vegetable Oils. Most Fruits and Vegetables and Foods can be locally produced.
Ø 80% water released in Rajasthan Canal is WASTED and leaked in to ground – but not available to Punjab to EARLY Transplanting of Paddy from April End to Be Harvested in by September end.
Ø Long Transplanting & Harvesting Can completely avoid LABOR SHORTAGE – Manual Harvesting can EFFECTIVELY Solve the STUBBLE Burning.
Ø GoI may consider MNREGA Funds for Paddy Harvesting in Punjab – this second intervention and Paddy Straw can be exported to Rajasthan for Foddar or burn in Power Plants.
Ravinder Singh, Inventor & Consultant, INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND PROJECTS
Y-77, Hauz Khas, ND -110016, India. Ph: 091- 8826415770 [4G], 9871056471, 9718280435,
Ravinder Singh* is a WIPO awarded inventor specializing in Power, Transportation,
Smart Cities, Water, Energy Saving, Agriculture, Manufacturing, Technologies and Projects
Govts told to act fast to tackle air ‘emergency’
HC Gives Union Environment Secy 72 Hours To Draft Plan To Cut Pollution
Calling it an “emergency situation”, Delhi high court on Thursday issued orders to water roads and gave 72 hours to the Union environment secretary to chalk out a plan to improve air quality in the capital.
However, a bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Sanjeev Sachdeva questioned the decision of authorities to hike parking fee four-fold while recommending full ban on construction activity.
“If you bring odd-even for a few days we understand, but increasing parking fee, what is this? If people go for some emergency, why would they pay four times? This is forcing people to keep walking,” the bench remarked, as it gave a slew of directions to improve deteriorating air quality.
The court also asked the state government to consider the option of cloud seeding to induce rainfall artificially as an immediate step to bring down dust and particulate matter in the air, along with watering of roads.
It also directed Delhi government to seriously consider a ban on further construction in the city and implement odd-even vehicle usage scheme as a short-term measure.
“Chief secretaries of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh as well as the Union secretary shall hold a meeting immediately in the next three days and work out a joint short-term action plan to ensure that air quality lev el comes down within acceptable limits. The said officials should also consider feasibility of cloud seeding. Meeting should be chaired by the Union environment secretary,” the bench directed.
HC’s intervention came after senior advocate and amicus curiae Kailash Vasdev told the court that emergent steps were required to improve the air quality in the city and sought an urgent hearing earlier in the day.
The court then directed standing counsel Naushad Ahmed Khan to ensure there is no vehicular congestion on the roads and traffic police exercises “zero tolerance“ to violations. It also said the top brass must provide masks to personnel on duty as they are being subjected to the “deadly mixture of vehicular pollution, construction and road dust and stubble burning.”
Recalling the London smog, HC identified it as “pea soup fog. It is a killer. Stubble burning is the visible villain in it, but there are other elephants in the room.”
The court also took on record the steps proposed to be taken by Delhi Pollution Control Committee, including quadrupling of parking fees in the city, ban on entry of trucks, except those carrying essential commodities, prohibition on construction activities, increasing services of metro and DTC, cleaning of roads, banning brick kilns and stopping use of firewood and coal in hotels.
The court was hearing a PIL initiated by it to curb air pollution in the national capital. It has been issuing directions time-to-time in this regard. On Tuesday, HC had sought reports of action taken by all neighbouring states to clamp down on stubble burning. Amicus Vasudev had then called for contempt proceedings against key officials blaming them for sitting on court orders.
Stubble burning an economic issue that needs real solution, not political rhetoric
Captain Amarinder Singh
The winter season is yet to fully set in and we are already in the midst of a serious crisis resulting from the rising air pollution and smog levels in the northern states of India. It is not my intent here to undermine or negate this problem which has grave implications for all of us, including Punjab. What I do have an issue with is the manner in which Punjab is being crucified for a problem that is far more deep-rooted and complex than is being made out to be.
Amidst the loud political rhetoric, the real issue is all but getting sidelined, with a clear lack of understanding about the problem, which is more economic than political in nature. The search for political solutions to the issue is, therefore, meaningless.
Coming now to the economic aspect of the problem, let us look at the options available to the farmers. There have been suggestions that the paddy straw could be collected and transported out of the fields for collective technological management. Now that would be an excellent solution if only it were feasible. The sheer cost involved in so managing the huge amount of paddy straw left behind every season is mind-boggling and simply out of the reach of the farmers. And, unfortunately, the state government also lacks the funds needed to take on such an onerous task.
In any case, I am told by agricultural experts and scientists that there currently exist no sustainable technological solutions to collect and transport the large quantities of paddy straw, nor is there any effective biological solution to decompose the paddy straw within the 15-day window existing between harvesting of paddy and sowing of wheat. In the circumstances, burning the residue emerges as the simplest and cheapest solution to the problem.
There are many who, without really grasping the intricacies of the issue, talk of strict enforcement of the law banning stubble burning. Let me ask them, in all honesty, whether they really expect me and my government to penalize the farmers for trying to earn their livelihood and ensure the survival of their near and dear ones? Would that not be more criminal than the act for which we are condemning them?
That is not to say that we are in favour of burning paddy straw, which, admittedly, is a dangerous way of managing residue. My only submission is that instead of crucifying my government or my farmers, let us put our heads together to find an impactful and permanent solution to the problem.
At our end, we have been raising the issue at various fora and I have personally taken it up with the Prime Minister. I had requested him in July to provide Rs.100 per quintal on paddy MSP as incentive to farmers for crop residue management. I have now again written to him, underscoring the urgent need to address the problem through incentivisation of the farmers. I have also requested him to convene a meeting of all the chief ministers concerned and Union ministers of agriculture, food and environment to resolve the matter. Punjab is a sufferer and would be most happy to find a solution to the problem.
At the state level, I have held various discussions with representatives of farmer unions, who agree that the problem is serious but also, at the same time, feel that simply registering criminal cases against farmers will not solve it.
In another initiative, my government has set up a Paddy Straw Challenge Fund of $ 1 million dollars for scientists globally to come up with a technological solution. I have also met the Japanese industry to explore large-scale production of ethanol from paddy straw. The industrial methodology for it is still in a nascent stage and I have personally urged various Japanese companies to help us in the matter.
In the meantime, it is my humble request to all not to make sweeping and simplistic judgements and obfuscate the real issue. The problem needs to be understood before it can be solved. And real problems need real solutions, not political rhetoric.
(The writer is the chief minister of Punjab)
Time to team up and end gas chamber: CM
Kejri Invites States, Centre To Dialogue Table
Announcing implementation of the odd-even scheme from Monday for five days, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday appealed that keeping political differences aside, the Centre, Haryana, Punjab and Delhi governments should come together to find a permanent solution to stubble burning that leads to high pollution year after year.
Kejriwal said that the “gas chamber-like situation” will remain “till viable economic alternatives to crop burning are found by the states.” He added that banning entry of trucks, construction activity and introducing odd-even are just emergency measures and not the solution to high pollution levels.
“North India becomes a gas chamber when crop burning happens. It cannot be stopped by force. It is an economic problem for which the governments of Punjab and Haryana will have to find a viable economic solution. I have, therefore, sought time from both CMs. I don’t know what the problems of those states are, but I thought that if they are raising their voices on the issue then I want to join forces with them to find a solution,” Kejriwal said.
The CM said that two of the state chiefs are yet to give him time to discuss the matter. “I appeal again that we must rise above politics and come together to assess the situation and the economic costs involved in making way for alternatives to stubble burning,” Kejriwal added.
“Data on crop burning and its impact should be collated and studied as to how it is impacting health and the cost of treatment for the common man. Even if the economic alternatives to stubble burning are high, so are the health costs. The governments must consider taking measures to protect precious lives,” the CM said.
Asking the other states to understand the gravity of the problem, the CM said that the data on pollution is an alarm bell for all parties and all governments taking into consideration the health of every single person and child.
“Crop burning starts from October 25 and goes on till November 15. Data from September shows that PM10 level was 300 and PM2.5 was 160. Now PM10 level is 940 and PM2.5 750. The increase is clearly not due to local reasons. We cannot find a solution till we understand the problem,” Kejriwal asserted.
Delhi government, on its part, has initiated all emergency measures required for now, said Kejriwal citing the meeting with the LG on Wednesday.
Reliance Jio practice to offer 2G phones to be used with 4G browsing and features misleading immediately need stop selling in the market by telecom ministry as this leads to mal practice of spurious quality products in disguise of 4G features, cannot be accommodated in simple feature mobile in range of thousands rupees as illustrated with photo.
Image credit- healthline.com
