Contributing to "Save Tiger" movement, Sanjeevani way!

Any business that makes just money & nothing else is a bad business... Henry Ford.

Adhering to same we have always tried to play our role on social front & especially wild life conservation! By now whole world & not just country is speaking of "Save Tiger" but as it has been proved you can't save the individual specie but its the entire life cycle around it has too be conserved. That includes forest around the tiger & people living over there. From our various trips to such forests we keep on supporting the people working for forest by various means & there are good friends around who join the hand for the cause. In one such effort we along with few friends of same interest have arranged for nearly 150 pairs of safety shoes for labors working for forest dept & guards at Kanha Tiger Project, Madhya Pradesh. Its been well supported by Hemangi & team from Gift Gallore for co-ordinating the delivery & print work for the same. Also our team mate Ganesh who went along there with Ashwini Deshpande.

On 21st Nov. ie Monday, Ashwini Deshapnde along with rohit deshpande & Ganesh tikone, handed the same to officers of Kanha project at Kanha & they were indeed happy as its rarely any outsider understands their difficulties & try to support, was what their reaction! The labors who are most susceptible for snake bites as they have to work bare foot were thrilled & mostly all tried immediately the shoes as alternate day there is a snake bite case in Kanha forest. Because the  snake strikes mostly at ankle level, these shoes which covers nearly 6" above ankle level will be the best protection & surely will get down the numbers of snake bite. More important is the guards & labor can work more freely in forest & its that feeling in their mind which is the success of what we have been trying for ! To share the truth many a labors have wore the shoes for the first time in their life as the labors are mostly the native tribal around the forest area & their financial condition dont permit them even a slipper leave apart a shoe pair!.

Though the forest dept has their own resources yet any help is always welcome & especially Mr Jasbir Chauhan, Director Kanha park was extremely enthusiastic as well supportive for the entire event & personally along with his team distributed the shoes amongst labors as well guards. After all what is a govt dept? A bunch of few people who are supposed to take care of a particular aspect of life & that doesn't mean we as a society should not do anything on that aspect! Rather its the society's participation which make them more enthusiastic towards their job!

Friends, forest has given us immense moments of joy ,I think each of us has something to pay back to it,whatever little it may be! sharing some moments of the event with you! Plz click the link below for more..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157627904681345/

( Do share with all ur frds as somewhere somebody may contribute better for the cause by sharing such things)
--
Sanjay Deshpande

Sanjeevani Dev.

Envo-Power Committee, Credai, Pune

Please do visit my blog to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani !

http://visonoflife.blogspot.com/

Social Side of Sanjeevani !

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157627904681345/

For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below

http://www.punecorporation.org/GRS/Complaint/LaunchComplaintCitizen.aspx

Think Green, Think Life

www.sanjeevanideve.com

Cycle Tracks or Cycle Traps?

This City don't need neither Cycles nor Cycle Tracks but Walking Plazas!

Many will raise their eye-brows & say what else can be expected from a builder! But this I am saying not as a builder or professional but as a citizen who moves around the city with open eyes & from my recent experiences on city streets! When we say we need something, should it not be reflected in our acts? Acts which must be in accordance with our need for eg when a small kid sees any toy, it demands from his/her parents & if not given makes hue & cry until he gets it. And when he gets it the child refuse to part with it,even in sleep we have seen many kids holding their toy. That's the sign of ownership & a sign of act that the child wants that toy. Try to take away that toy from the child & with all its force it will oppose you to do so!

Well its about a child who knows what it needs but come to we Punekars who are grown up & see what we are doing about cycle tracks which we have got with us! Surely not a single act which shows we need it any more! Since last six months approximately because of my work I am coming via Chnadani Chowk via Paud road back to my home at evening time. Its the time when most of the pune is going back from the work & Paud road is a major life line of kothrud & its full up to its capacity with every type of vehicle occupying the space what ever available from the ongoing road works along! And from all such heavy traffic the cyclists also making their way. It made me curious as in the stretch of nearly 3 km ie from chandani chowk to anandnagar the road has got a wide foot path along with cycle track, at least in major stretches its there. Then why not a single cyclist is using the same & put his life in danger in main road traffic?

I used to walk down for nearly 4 km for my own fitness purpose & so many things got unfolded in front of me about the cycle track! Well first thing I didn't understand why the cycle track is only on one side of road, what about people going in opposite direction,how they can cross the road with all along divider are there except chowks. The cycle track is on left side of the road going towards paud which must be making it inconvenient to use in morning hours when the traffic is towards city. Another aspect is if it means to carry the load of two way cyclists then is the width has been kept accordingly? which surely don't seem to be! At evening time I saw every activity right from children playing cricket,garages repairing vehicles, from cobler to fish sale, tea stalls, furniture sales!  Again at places there are PMC shades of bust ticketing by PMPML, MSEB distribution boxes,vehicles parked,people selling plants i.e. mini nurseries & sugar cane juice shades! At last there were cutouts erected in such a way that even walking person has to go by avoiding them & plenty of them. I didn't dare to snap the cutouts from front as then if they got published the angry karyakartas will surely after me for using their cutout for bad publicity! We are shameful or shameless depends on how we take , up to such stage that from paud road cycle tracks even the signage of cycle tracks have been removed! So we are free to say, who says there is cycle track here!

Now look at the scene on another probably the best road with cycle track in stretch of 2 km from mhatre bridge to rajaram bridge. Touch-wood there isn't a single encroachment or commercial establishment in this stretch of road so the cycle track is free of any obstacle but trees & people walking for their fitness. Yet the state of the track is such that no one uses it. The entries from various cross roads to the track are in bad shape with lots of undulations to the surface,so one has to get down from the cycle for entry or exit to the track which no one can do as cross roads are at regular intervals. What more there are speed breakers on this cycle track, when they are required on road ! The biggest joke is the track ends abruptly on boundary of PMC effluent treatment plant near Mhatre bridge which has strait way encroached on road! Now how & who will use this track?

In nut shell every one is having his share of place but cyclists & they are using main track of road without any hastel or complaint & that is why I conclude that we need walking plazas than cycle tracks! As all those activities which are permitted in walking plaza are happening on cycle tracks & yet no one is complaining , what it means? If we love our cycles, care for the city & have a ownership feeling for cycle tracks then like Ranbir Kappor demands in recent flick " Rockstar", why we don't gather & ask " Sadda Haque, Itthe Rakh! " for cycle tracks?

This is clear failure on part of city & the system who runs it to make people aware about their haque. There is a strong need of special task force for cycle track which will ensure the well being of cycle track regarding maintenance of all sort & run a awareness drive amongst the cyclists who don't use the cycle track. Make the survey of one route like Paud road & see how many people use the cycle track & ask to those who don't use it & why?We talk things like Metro & high take solutions for traffic problems where on other side we cant even just clean up our own mess of what we done with what we have ! Even political parties who show their awareness over green DP also keeps mum on this existing problem than focusing on something which isn't in existence! Why cant any political party conduct a cycle rally for appealing to the authorities & ask them to drive to their work place one day by using cycle tracks & then they will realize the facts!

Friends each day so many cyclists risk their lives not only by driving their cycle in heavy traffic but exposing them self to the pollution & many of them are our own kids, friends, relatives! Its high time to wake up & ask for our haque towards cycling & even walking freely in our own city as that's what makes it a good city!

See the snaps along as it's proof of what we think for our cycle tracks & do click the link below for more of them...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157628060349071/



--
Sanjay Deshpande

Sanjeevani Dev.

Envo-Power Committee, Credai, Pune

Please do visit my blog to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani !

http://visonoflife.blogspot.com/

Social Side of Sanjeevani !

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157627904681345/

For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below

http://www.punecorporation.org/GRS/Complaint/LaunchComplaintCitizen.aspx

Think Green, Think Life

www.sanjeevanideve.com

Tiger, Tourists & Forest!

A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees...William Blake.

Go to any forest especially  popular tiger project like Kanha, Bandhavgad or Corbet, thanks to National Geo & Animal Planet channels & when you are touring through the park when any of the other tourists gypsy crosses you; there are exchange of glances amongst the tourists & dialogues but one question haunts you all over, " Dikha kya?". Obviously this is meant for the Tiger & one look at their expression, the faces tell you the story! The dropped faces, eagerness about the sighting of the tiger & the question tells you they are frantically searching for the tiger but haven't seen it yet. On the opposite side if any vehicle has had sighting of the Tiger then just see the glow on their faces, the whole gypsy is rocking & snaps are being shown to each other & tells about how big the animal was & how they were lucky & how it has made their day getting repeated & on & on! They will tip their driver & guide heartily for the sighting. But at the same time if after a day long ride in forest there isn't sighting of the great king of the forest then they will curse all the system including the forest itself!

This is wrong attitude is what a nature lover or a person who has been through the forests will say as sighting of a tiger or any carnivorous big cat is 90% luck & 10% efforts. But not all rather most of the people who visit forests are wild life or nature lover. Its job of people who are nature lover & the system to make these visitors so & some where here the system is failing to do it & that's why we see such reaction about the tiger sighting from the tourists. When ever I have visited forests I always compare them with such foreign tourists spot & there they give a complete know how of what awaits in front to the tourists, so while actually visiting the place you are aware what you will be looking for. Unfortunately at most of the forests or tiger projects there are tourists interaction center but there isn't any interaction as they are just for name sake. Many won’t like my comment but these interaction centers visit should be made mandatory to the tourists visiting forests especially the first timers!

At such centers there should be wee versed display of what forest offers other than Tiger! And this should be displayed in very friendly manner where tourist can relate himself with the surroundings e.g. not using just biological names to the plants & animals but the native ones. It should be audio visual presentation & explaining expectations of the forest from tourists too! As that's where many a parks are lacking, tourist just don't know that this isn't a routine fun outing & there is lot to do other than eating, drinking, laugh & shout! The first & most important demand of forest is let it unfold its beauty to you & for that one needs to take the forest lead role suppressing our nuisance!

Here it’s equally important to mention the way foreign tourists behave in forests! They come with proper study even at extent not to wear bright & shining color clothes which will disturb the animals to what kind of animals/birds are there in forest. And they ask lots of questions to the guides as well follow every instruction given to them. When the guide says silence as he wants to listen alarm calls around from animals like chital or langoors, these tourists maintain a pin drop silence, giving enough room for the guide to focus on locating the exact calling animal & from that the possible direction of tiger or panther for whom the call is being made. And that's why they enjoy the forest most. I always wonder if people coming from so far away can learn the etiquette's of forest then why our people can’t do it? Our people should also learn from them & ask as many questions they can, not just about the tiger but about the plants, insects, local names of the species, geography as well the people of around. As all of these is what makes a forest & it's really interesting information to know making your forest trip more fun.

Another important aspect is the guide as well the vehicle driver itself as they are the people accompanying you in the forest & these two should be part of interaction centers also their experiences should be counted vital. These are the part of system which is in direct face to face contacts with the tourists. What they have experienced in their past, things like demands & comments of the visitors has to be take in account. My another observation is these people are feeling inert day by day towards the entire show as they feel the system especially forest depth isn't taking them in to consideration neither respects their views about the forests. And this gets reflected on the tourists, either they take a back seat & surrenders to demands of tourists of chasing the tiger or just keep mum & observe what’s going on around, that's it. There is a need of training these guides & drivers about proper communication with such tendencies of tourists, tackle it & put forward the message of what should be seen in forest & how they can enjoy the forest if they listens to the guide.

We should make the visitors understand this, that the forest is most enjoyed if we know how to do it & its very simple, surrender to the forest. It don't want any thing from you rather its ready to give you all the experiences which in commercial world we wont ever that too at free of cost. May it be pack of wild dogs at hunt or a serpent eagle waiting silently on branch of a tree or monkeys & chitals in pack taking care of each others or butterflies gliding all over flaunting their bright colors or even a colorful spider waiting with his web ready! As nothing happens in forest for just the sake of it. Every thing, every act has a purpose behind & to understand that purpose is achieved by not just seeing the forest but experiencing it. And we can only do that by living those moments which will be with us for ever.

And last but not least, do think what we should be giving back to the forest in return of such wonderful moments it has given to us! As our Hindu Sanscriti 

( Culture) hasn't taught us to take any thing at free & though the forest by itself won’t ask anything ever back yet its our responsibility to do so, in what’s ever way we can! I think then only we have really earned our forest trip not for our self only but for the many visitors who will be visiting after us there. Or else like the quote said we will be ending us as a fool only, for not seeing the forest even after being there!

--
Sanjay Deshpande

Sanjeevani Dev.

Envo-Power Committee, Credai, Pune

Please do visit my blog to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani !

http://visonoflife.blogspot.com/

Social Side of Sanjeevani !

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157627904681345/

For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below

http://www.punecorporation.org/GRS/Complaint/LaunchComplaintCitizen.aspx

Think Green, Think Life

Real Estate & Respect!

If once you forfeit the confidence of your fellow-citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem…Abraham Lincoln

Recently I read sharing of a fellow colleague in Sakal & he has pointed at very vital issue about the attitude of society towards the builders or developers! That why cant the society look towards the builders with hostile view or friendly view! Sure many a people will wink their nose & say you yourself think on this, what the reputation of your profession is! And no two minds here, most of the people like the glamour or money in real estate but nobody want the dirt it carries along. No business man can with pride say yes I am a builder & even if he says the society don't pay him the level of respect which is being paid to other business or professions is a fact! Some how during past years the rapport between the society & this industry has got broke & I won’t blame society for that. Many of colleagues won’t like this sharing but by turning our face away from the facts, facts don't change!

Look at the names like Narayn Murthi, Azim Premaji, Tatas & even Mukesh Ambani, Sunil Bharti & I am not even taking names from other countries like Bill Gates & list continues! Not necessary that you should be from white collared IT industry to gain respects, Bjajaj's & Mahindars are from auto industry & so are Oberoys who are from hotel industry. Not only they have gained respect in the eyes of the society but they made their business /profession also get respected in the process of gaining them the respect which the real estate industry men are missing. Here we as real estate industry needs to asses the way these people have been able to achieve what they have achieved. Especially when the real estate industry though it’s not even got the status of an industry as yet, provides homes to millions of this country where home is not just scarce but a sacred commodity. In India home comes before any buy & indeed a dream buy it is! Watch the famous TV show " Kaun Banega Karodpati?" & for 90% contestant when Amitabh asks what’s first thing they want to do when they will win the price of some lacs, the answer come as they will buy a home for their family! No one says that he will buy a car or an I-Phone or a Lap top or will go & stay in a five star hotel with the price money! And apart for making homes the industry is probably the second largest job provider after infrastructure & supports n numbers of small scale trades like carpenter to fitters to masons & the list goes on.

So much demand for the product of this industry & so low respect level about the same of towards the people of the Industry! “Bat Kuch Hajam nahi huae!” Jokes apart it’s not about just the owners or rulers but even people associated with this industry. Ask any topper of Civil engineering branch from engineering college that where he wants to make his carrier & never you will get the reply as in construction firm! It’s always in infrastructure or consultancy or going in to computers. Ask any top class fresh architectural pass out & he dreams to design great public buildings or resort but never a housing complex for middle class by working along with a builder. Ask any real estate employee about where he is serving & you don't find the pride like people take in telling that they work for Telco or Wipro or Perssitance or Infosis! And if you feel I am exaggerating then no sir, these are my own experiences. Few years back when I had gone to represent my firm in an Environment seminar at Delhi, the reception desk girl asked for my details & when I said I am  builder, she gave me a look like she has seen Vijay Mallya in Darubandi rally( Anti-Liquor) !  Such was her  reaction that what a builder is doing in environment seminar? I am the one who is responsible for damaging the environment & why I have been called for such seminar! Agreed a lot of water has passed under the bridge by now but yet that look haunts me & that’s why when I read the write-up I realized though years are passing, the gap between the society & real estate men is increasing. And it’s high time to breech it, more by people from the industry as it’s their image at risk.

From many years there is a constant demand by the real estate people to give it status of industry but govt is being deaf & blind on this demand. Some where the reason is the image is not respected in the eyes of common man & that’s why the power or strength is the demand isn't enough to move government. To get the status of Industry we need icons like other industries have got & there are few but they are real few & that's why when we open up the news paper we have to read the news like “Builders are banned from Mantralay by the new CM". Are we criminals or what for being banned from a public place like Mantralay?  Mukesh Ambani goes to Mumbai Corporation it becomes news, so as if any big Industrialist visits CM or any such dignitary. That’s because they have come for development of the society & to discuss issues like that but not builders who actually develop the society. The reason is people don't believe that men from real estate industry can approach Govt for the benefit of the society but for their own! No business can survive by making profit for only one side of the table & unfortunately this feeling that builders are interested in their profit only has made people to look at the real estate by not only disgrace but with doubt. We have lost the trust of common man & even if we try to do something good with good intentions it’s been turned down. For e.g. the latest issue of Hills in Pune i.e. BDP. No builder to my knowledge has officially build building over hill even in old limit where it was hill top & hill slope & 4% FSI was allowed, rather there are thousand time more slums already existing at such spaces yet the BDP issue is related to builders wasted interests! And joke is no builder protest openly about being blamed for the same! It takes courage to stand against allegations even false they may be & courage comes from the self conduct. I think this is what need of the time, to analyze the self conduct. There are organizations like PBAP & MBVP but the segment is much unorganized & hundreds of small time operators are there who are not members of these organizations. And then issue isn't restricted for one Pune city, it’s about real estate development all over the cities in the country. You can’t differentiate one auto industry from other, though the management may be different or place where the industry is but the manner in which the industry operates & gains the respect in the eyes of the society is same all across the country.

This is what we require to achieve for real estate industry & for that from ground level working is required. There is CREDAI i.e. National level confederation of real estate people but apart from that  self improvement approach should be there in every individual developer. As any organization depends on the kind of people it has got  & they help to improve the entire industry by their behavior. Here business should not mean only making money but going beyond that & sharing the good things with entire society. It doesn't mean just lowering the prices of homes or affordable housing. But it means helping to build a strong society by reaching out the needy segments of the society with all means. May it be social front may it be issue of sports, culture or education or public health, the country has too many lacunas presently & real estate men are definitely capable to fill up many with their resources. Giving transparent deals & sticking up to the commitments we make to our customer is very basic & a must thing, what we have to do is stand tall for other aspects of the society apart from just meaning our business.

After all society is like a mirror reflecting our own deeds! If we are acting doubtfully it will look towards us with same eyes & if our actions are full of trust it will look at us with trust! If we understand this and act accordingly then I don't think the day to gain respect for real estate is away as nothing more noble is there than giving shelter to a homeless family, which is our countries main need today. A own home can boost confidence of men like any thing & that's going to reflect at all fronts the man will be working ultimately benefiting the entire nation & what more we want than that!

--
Sanjay Deshpande

Sanjeevani Dev.

Envo-Power Committee, Credai, Pune

Please do visit my blog to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani !

http://visonoflife.blogspot.com/

Social Side of Sanjeevani !

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157627904681345/

For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below

http://www.punecorporation.org/GRS/Complaint/LaunchComplaintCitizen.aspx

Think Green, Think Life

www.sanjeevanideve.com

FSI & City Grwoth!

Always design a thing by considering it in its next larger context - a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, an environment in a city plan.... Eliel Saarinen

Pune is famous for the cutouts & uncalled birthday hoardings yet few of the cut outs are there for public awareness too & one such caught my attention on FC road. It’s a questioner by an association related to developers/engineers & few questions were asked to the passer by about whether it’s right to increase FSI of the buildings in city & is it wise to let the city grow further more when already the infrastructure is weak & insufficient for the existing population. And is it practical to allow the population grows further & to entertain the new industries as well development which meant the new buildings!

Being an engineer as well developer by profession, the hoarding caught my attention & so as the thought process! After all why & how a city grows? And if yes then can we control growth of any city by just not giving additional FSI? More to add then do we really want our city to stop growing? I think the third question can be the key to earlier two questions! Why we want this city to stop growing? Is it the infamous Train effect? Like in train which is running full, at each station the new comers are not welcomed by the insiders type! Have we got the right to stop the new comers when at some stage we too were new comers in this train? Agreed after a certain capacity it wont be possible for any bogie to accommodate the new comers & the result is disaster for all the occupants but in train there are other bogies or even next train in case. Have we got that kind of alternative for this very Pune city? The migration towards the cities is not new now as it’s not the cities which are lacking in infrastructure it’s the towns & villages which are not even having basics of them. As to lack you need to have something in basic to be existed which isn’t & that’s why more & more people are opting to shift to the cities making them metros! Nobody leaves his native place in will or by choice, it’s the forced decision in most cases as in present times considering the inflation rate, a city life is much costlier than the village life is a fact. Then why a person opts for moving out of his town or village & comes to city is a question to be studied.

Now after accepting that people are migrating to the cities lets come to the issue that how we are going to check this up at city end? Think about the kind of system we have developed here & what it takes to keep this system in operation? We have development plans for the city & it’s said to be accommodative for coming 20 years. If this is true then why we are worried about city getting over populated! As that must have been considered while making the plan which includes infrastructure for this population too! Thing is we are too slow on making the development plan & then slower ate executing the same. For e.g. take the DP of extended PMC limit, still it’s in process of approval since last 7-8 years & with every segment crying over it! Yet as a city we are failure to get something sanctioned which we only have planned & we are talking about curtailing the new growth by not giving additional FSI.

Here it’s important to understand the concept of FSI, its Floor Space Index which means a factor which decided how much constructed area you can have on a particular piece of land. Usually in Pune city its 1, means we can built as much area of the plot only. In gaothan i.e. old city it’s 2 & in some case where number of existing residents are more its 2.375. Yet it’s less for redeveloping such old tenements which we call wadas. Also above this TDR is allowed which is 0.60 times the FSI permitted on the plot. But presently due to procedural delays TDR is getting one of the scarcest commodities in real estate. Some where this does lead to increase in costing of the homes.

The city has already grown up as a metro of future & so as our demands of life style from the same. And to fulfill these demands we need man power which in end needs residences. Any city which makes new job opportunities available becomes hot destination for real estate is a fact. And Pune has got IT industry, Production/Auto industry, Education Industry & fast growing service industry. All these industries are need of the city as they provide jobs to thousands in this city & in turn these thousands need homes is a fact. And that too in a reasonable costing along with basic infrastructure like water, drainage, power & transportation. Here we are not even thinking about cultural as well social infra like entertainment, education & medical! It’s this front we are neglecting & that’s why people have reached to the conclusion of curtailing the growth of the city itself! As what’s point in expanding if we are not able to cope up with existing demands. Though it will be suicidal attempt is what my personal opinion. Because for development works we need money & its going to come from the revenue coming from various forms because of new development only. We are not doing anything about increasing taxation of old establishments then from where we are going to raise the money if we ban or curtail new industries, it parks or constructions? Today the development charges as well octroy on various items makes the most of PMC inflow in budget. What will happen to that, have we worked out any alternate source of income? Sadly the answer to my knowledge is a big no!

Let the city prosper & for that we can take examples of similar cities around, how they have coped up with the growing population. Problem is there are enough examples around right from Nagpur to Ahemadabad but are we ready to really adopt such things? FSI may seem to be the issue behind population growth but it’s not the real culprit. For e.g. Hyderabad don’t have the concept like FSI, you can build as much as you can by paying premiums to the local body & following the norms like side margins & parking & yet they don’t have infrastructural problems. Rather as the home prices are in control so more & more companies are choosing that city as option. Similar liberal policies about the FSI have been adopted by many cities & they are not having any problems which we are having even with FSI controls are here.

I think need of the time is to plan properly & plan fast and then execute what you have planned. As the quote says we needs to understand the planning concept before we decide on rules/policies which will stop or curtail our growth or else we will be ending up like the infamous “Shekhchily, who cut down the very branch on which he was sitting”!

--
Sanjay Deshpande

Sanjeevani Dev.

Envo-Power Committee, Credai, Pune

Please do visit my blog to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani !

http://visonoflife.blogspot.com/

Social Side of Sanjeevani !

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157627981139310/

For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below

http://www.punecorporation.org/GRS/Complaint/LaunchComplaintCitizen.aspx

Think Green, Think Life

www.sanjeevanideve.com