Jungle Belles; Tribute to the Path Untraveled!

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“Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.” … Robert A. Heinlein.

The year 2019 has come to end & while penning down my sharing in the later part of December I always love to look back & see the days of the years by rewinding the mind tape! Though tape (video/audio) now days has been restricted to sticking tape as today’s genre doesn’t even know what it is yet my genre still understand it as it meant!  Last two years my forest trips are not frequent as they used to be (I do miss them) yet my exposure to wilderness remained a lot & thanks to the people who made it possible, I want to introduce two such women who are my friends & that makes me proud! As you might be knowing wild life conservation, which is need of time, is something not much considered as woman’s field & reasons are forests are far away from homes, as well the infrastructure there is not so comfortable (read as safe which is a myth though) & then when the holiday destinations are decided in the family a woman has last say as its always kids & the hubby & the seniors in the home (read as In-Laws) is the standard chronology in most Indian families. Obviously a lady of the home has hardly any choice of her place to visit & no wonder forests comes last on travel agenda! At the same time it’s not possible to go with unknown groups especially if men are involved, is another hurdle, even if the lady gets permission to go to forests alone. 

That is the reason if you go through social media & groups of wild life photographers posting their wonderful wild life images, 95 out of 100 such wild life images are clicked by men & most celebrity wild life names are of male gender! Though we forget wild life is not just about clicking photographs of tigers but a lot lot more than it & to understand wild life first one needs to visit the forests or else how you are going to love them & if you don't love forests how you are going to conserve them, is something I always ask to the people! And on such background if a wife, a mom, a sister, a girl-friend, a grand-mother starts visiting forests, gets enlightened about its importance, then only she can tell (read as share) about forests & what these forests needs from us to survive, to her brother, son, husband & friends & there only is some hope for forests as well thousands of species who are endangered & on verge of being extinct by some son, father, husband or a friend ( read as men)! 

And then another side is this can be best mental as well physical break for a woman when she visits some forest far away from city life as well home's daily chores, rejuvenating herself for her infinite duties! This is why Hemangi Vartak & Aarti Karve's new venture Jungle Belles is special as its women focused & making them aware about their duty not just towards forests but towards themselves! And when they both decided to start Jungle Belles, which will be a service to provide the platform to women to make them visit wilderness exclusively by themselves i.e. ladies special you can call, I myself as their friend as well as a wild lifer, was happy to be their little support via Sanjeevani i.e. my firm. As here are two women who are themselves comes from so called elite (read as upper class) part of society & who could have been just happy by visiting forests by themselves & post their outings on Insta /FB & get applauds from their friends. But they deiced to do something more as they not just love forests but they want to convert their love for forests in more better way & actually do something for the forests & what better way than making other women gets exposure of forests by their venture! And if you want to make a woman love something then first she should know that thing, a simple funda which most men never understands & that’s why may be it took these two women to come up with concept like Jungle Belles!

Well, Jungle Belles doesn’t just takes women to forests but brings forest to them at their door steps that too in city like Pune through many well known wild life celebrities, which shares their work as well passion about wild life with audience (mostly women) so that the bond between women & forests gets builds! Jungle Belles runs (an plans to continue with it) an year long activity in Pune for wild life lovers & more for non lovers (of wild life) by which a platform is being created between the people in field & people in city, to make both these fraternities gets exposed to each other. And this includes forest departments senior people who actually work for protecting forests like Mr. Nitin Kakodkar, IFS, PCCF (Wild), wild life filmmakers like Nalla Mutthu & Bedi brothers, wild life photographers like Vikram Potdar & Mohan Thomas & the list will sure soon have some female names too as there are such though a few yet; infact the Jungle Belles took off at the hands of none other than Vandana Chavan, MP of Pune who is known for her environment awarness!! And even if you get the forests to a woman’s door step yet getting that woman to her door steps is hell difficult, especially when the cause is like wild-life. Because unfortunately that’s not priority for most women & when a woman is invited for some wild life program then she comes out with every possible reason for not attending it (even it may be a holiday or week end); such as, kids have classes, its holiday & husband wants me around, I have to attend some family function, I don’t have transport arrangements, my maid hast turned up today, my in-laws are not well & the list is just un-ending! And this is why we are unable to protect forests & natural habitats as the women power has not yet joined hands in this movement!This is where the path of Jungle Belles concept wise may look golden & great, but it’s rough & tiring than any jungle path actually, as its most difficult to make women know that the key to save the forests or nature is in their hands only! Still Hemangi & Aarti (in support with Anuj Khare) dared to take this path & are on with their fight, this is what makes them special in my eyes!

Below is something about Jungle Belles which I wrote; it’s actually for Hemangi & Aarti, more than readers…...

Indeed, Girlz, with Jungle Belles, it's the wilderness experience is what we want to make you live by! A venture by Hemangi Vartak & Arrti Karve, who themselves are Master of Management & Wild Lifers too, have come-up  exclusively for Women Wild Life Tours, Awareness & Conservation opportunity! It’s well supported by veteran wild life guy like Anuj Khare!  Jungle Belles is is Wild Life Tours only for Women & there will be a round the year Club activity also with loads of programs, dedicated to wild life knowledge sharing as well conservation. Best part is it’s by the women, for the women so fur some moments you will keep aside every responsibility you perform under different roles & explore the nature through best dimension i.e. wild life! 

Actually by me it’s not just about wild life, forests, animals, nature or even conservation, it’s actually for every that woman who keeps herself on the back foot (or say back stage) when its deciding priorities. I don’t by mistake will say to any woman that don’t care for your husband or kids or family  & then comes your house hold duties & then job front for working women & then comes career but beyond all this there is a duty towards your own self, its knowing the woman within you & make her at peace & happy & best way for that goes through nature. When you are visiting some forest even nearby to Pune or attending some visual presentation about nature or forests, that time is what you are giving (read as gifting) to your own self & that’s what I call rejuvenation! Do it women & see you are not just helping to a movement known as Save Tiger but you hold power to Save Entire Society; that’s what Jungle Belles is going to make you know about yourself!

So ladies, this 31^st Dec, while you welcome a New Year, make a resolution to be a Wild Lifer Woman & age is not a criteria here, gender is surely & it’s in your favor when you joins Jungle Belles, Happy New & Pink Wild Year Girlz!

You can get more info about Jungle Belles from aarti/hemani or anuj at..

junglebelles.pune@gmail.comas well at 09763418218/ 09923558588 / 08007976337

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Sanjay Deshpande 

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please view my sharing about real estate in Pune at U-Tube link below..

https://youtu.be/al0NZ-7Zhq0

Please do visit my blogs to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani ! (Click the links below)

http://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2018/08/pune-city-no-1.html

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.in/

Social Side of Sanjeevani ! (Click link below)

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

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

www.punecorporation.org

Take your issues to Hon PM at link below..

https://secure.mygov.in/#

Think Green, Think Life

Saswad Grass Lands; Howling in Fading!

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“Tree is a soldier, forest is an army! And let us wish that all the battles against this army are lost!”… Mehmet Murat ildan.

So many times I have used words from Mehmet & every time he surprise me with the ease of expressing wisdom in so less words & especially when the subject is nature. Its winter in our country, at least calendar months says so though the December is as warm as summer start & I was missing forests sure. I have booked for Kanha but work load is something which we may forget but it won’t allow us to forget & so got Kanha canceled but the mind was searching opportunity to get out of concrete jungle & then I realize, forests are not just project tigers but around Pune so many small habitats are there & I haven’t visited few of them for long & one such was Saswad grass lands. A place on east of Pune some 60 odd kilometers & ideal habitat for many birds, chinkaras & yes gray wolves! Unfortunately the place as usual has come in lime light for wrong reasons (sorry all the development backing people) & its new (read as proposed) domestic international air-port of Pune. Yes, it will be located here in these very grass lands around Saswad & obvious with such news the lands here has become like gold mines & humans can afford gold unfortunately not the birds, chinkaras & wolves & many other species that has made these grass lands as their home.

That way, why the air-port, Sasawad stretch is classic example how sheer wilderness survives so near around human settlements as well gets killed ( read as poisoned) slowly with cancer like growth of humans around such habitats which we call as development! As just a decade back entire east side of Pune has this wonderful stretches of farms surrounded by small hills, gorges & miles of grass lands. It’s in these grass lands on the backdrop of hills & shrubs on these hills, Indian wolves have survived for many years. 

And the presence of these wolves or any predator itself means lots of biodiversity which is in the form of monitor lizards, heir, chinkaras, rodents, grass birds & many such. Because a predator can survive only if there is ample food & this food doesn’t come to the hunter on platter, mind it. Yet the wolves (yes &the hyenas too) survived because they could get some food till last decade as well there wasn’t any interference from the humans & the ill things which comes with them! 

Many will ask what ill things humans can get along, is it wrong to make settlements by humans, indeed nothing is wrong with settlements but problem is the way we the humans makes our settlements. Take example of Saswad & human settlements as till the time its villages & farming, it was fine for the wolves as well chinkaras & hyenas as they had their privacy to kill their prey & to hide & to breed. But now the farms has been converted in to plotted lay -outs for concrete homes as well this whole region is good for agro related business like poultry farming. These poultry farms have mushroomed all around the settlements i.e. villages which are becoming towns & the poultry waste i.e. dead (read deceased) chickens are being thrown around without any proper precaution which now becomes food for the wolves. And then wolves are not the only predators, the domestic dogs (read stray dogs, we have lots of them) also are growing way faster than wolves & they too feed on these carcasses of chickens. They drove away wolves & here wolves have two way threat from the stray dogs, one is they are kept away from the food & ten in the fight these dogs attacks even on wolves & the dog bites can be deadly for the wolves causing death by rabies. At the same time these dogs’ attacks even the chinkaras & make them run away. As well the dead meat of chicken dumped wrongly around these poultrys' also can be bad for the health of the wolves & all these means death or destruction.

And the poultrys' is just one reason as there are many other reasons too, as the wolves are private animal & the development (read as settlements) comes along with roads, vehicles, people which needs homes as well farms & means more machinery & space. Poor wolves along with their entire life supporting chain can do nothing but retreat further deeper in grass lands & hills which are getting throttled from all the sides. The hills are being excavated for stone as well base material for our roads & buildings, so that home is also being taken away from the wolves & this we do with all modern machinery for which wolves are no match. Outcome is just a decade back when packs of wolves can be seen roaming around at any hour of the day on outskirts of Saswad & neighborhood now you have to spend hours & days to sight even single wolf. Being herbivores chinkaras breed much faster than the wolves so they are still seen but their food is also getting vanished fast as grass lands are being converted in to farm land for agriculture & that means fencing & that means lesser land for the chinkaras! If this is story of bigger animals like chinkaras & wolves then even the smaller species like rodents, monitor lizards, heir are also got hit. They have one more threat no more its only the wolves & hyenas eat them but the domestic dogs & the humans also are the hunters for them as these are no protected forests (at least I didn’t saw any such signs) the hunting or call it as poaching has been on rampant & that means lesser food for the predators who are real land lords of these lands!

And yes even the birds (and many of them) are not escaped from the humans as right from prey birds like falcons & eagles which are lucky as they can fly high & fast they can’t be killed by the humans but their prey base also vanishing fast & their homes also i.e. the bigger trees. As most of the lands here are private lands & no proper Urban Planning Authority is in place, tree cutting is at will of the humans & so goes the nesting places for the birds, And again land use like farming or residential takes away the homes of smaller birds like titar or bush chat or munia or lap-wings & hundreds of such as they can’t fly long as well their food in the form of insects is no more available as we dig the land & clear homes of insects also in the process. And all this without even air-port land acquisition has been started so imagine what will happen once the actual air-port & its allied works starts here! And we call this as development & take pride in our achievement while we not just kill or drive away some animals or birds but entire settlement of nearly hundred plus species, forever!

Again I am not against air-ports or poultry farms or human settlements but it’s very very high time to have a wild lifer personality (not just some forest officer as he has IFS tag) in the planning of humans. As one needs not just brain but has to have that heart which can feel the need of wolves howling, chinkaras jumping, falcons hovering & many such things as part of our development. As with such person along only we can make all the species live & grow together as well make air-ports. As usual since the announcement of the air-port there has been protests (by the humans only, of course) acquisition of the lands by the locals for the air-port & we all know what’s the motif behind such protests, it’s nothing but to get more remuneration for their lands & nothing wrong in it! And our “Mai Baap" govt also promptly responded with four times than market value, compensation for every piece of land which will be acquired  for the air-port & I appreciate govts’ concern for the land lords which are humans. I only want to ask the govt as well all the human land lords of in & around Saswad, that what package we will be offering to the wolves, chinkaras, muniyas, amour falcons, monitor lizards & hundred other species which we will be making homeless & foodless! Just as they can’t vote, they can’t have their representative or because they can’t protest in media via FB post or they can’t give interviews to press reports about being thrown away from their own home land where they are residing even before any human settlement; the govt is neither caring for their survival nor offering any package for the wolves which are actually representative of all the species which resides in these grass lands around the Saswad! And think what package these residents want, no money or any such thing they just wants some space to live which don’t need any roads or industry or jobs or reservation, all these wolves needs is some grass land, that’s all & we deny them that also, we are worst than the Duryodhan of Mahabharat! We need to make the locals around such habitats for the importance of conservation of wilderness & use it for promoting tourism & this is a job which we the so called developed city’s (smart city actually) citizens must take responsibility of! 

And then this is not story of just Saswad grass lands, thousands of such lands across our progressive State which are habitats (read as home) for thousands of species like wolves, are every day giving up under the name of development, we need to strike a balance or at least keep some land free for other species or else the dooms day is not far off for every other specie than human & we will be biggest fools on that day. Guys, in our mythology it’s said that wolves howling is a bad omen & is indication of evil times ahead but the way we are treating Saswad grass land type habitats which is home for wolves & many others, the day is not far ahead where evil time will surely come but there will be no wolves howling to warn us for such times & that will be evilest of all the times, mind it!

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Sanjay Deshpande 

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please view my sharing about real estate in Pune at U-Tube link below..

https://youtu.be/al0NZ-7Zhq0

Please do visit my blogs to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani ! (Click the links below)

http://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2018/08/pune-city-no-1.html

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.in/

Social Side of Sanjeevani ! (Click link below)

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

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

www.punecorporation.org

Take your issues to Hon PM at link below..

https://secure.mygov.in/#

Think Green, Think Life

www.sanjeevanideve.com

A Game Named "Growing-Up"!

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Frds,

Every year on my birth day I write to my younger genre, it’s like my own letter to myself & I thought what better words I can write back for your wishes for me than these, you can choose to read just highlighted part also, or can go through all the crap, your choice  J

Thanks again for every good thing which has made my life wonderful…  Sanjay
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“It take guts to tell someone on face that  “you are wrong” but ittakes far more than just guts when that someone is standing in front of you in the mirror”...

Dear rohit, rohan, nikhil, ketki, rohit-M &, shruti, tanisha, siya & jr. gang, well I only wrote this quote so refrained myself to put the name of the author & then if it's a good quote then anyone can use it by putting his or her name on it, I don’t mind as each of us has to face every day any wrong things around including the person in the mirror! I think this is what I have learnt while reaching to fifty one & this exactly is the reason why I write to you on my birthday, as I see myself in all of you, in some way!  If my parents are my link to the past then all of you not just rohit rohan, but each of you are my link to present as whenever I think life is boring & now I am done with routine I think any of you & suddenly life becomes much more livable & vibrant, that’s what age makes the difference when you grow up!

Well, indeed most of you are “millennial kids’, a latest in term (actually used as slang) used by the so called adults & technically it means those who has born post 1990 i.e. in the Internet era! Interestingly, I always wonder what should be my genre called as, who are mostly on other side of forty & around fifty, because when we were kids, there wasn’t even TV (baring those from Mumbai/ Pune), wrist-watches were HMT & only for Dad, two wheeler was luxury & four wheeler was for super riches, the only phone was black long cabeled dialing system land line types & was sign of wealth. The only travels we had were in summer holidays to some relatives place that too for marriage of some distant cousin, shoes were that of given by NCC i.e. National Cadet Core. And these are just few examples of our exposure to outer world & that’s why most of us were on same platform while we grow up. Now look at your genre as you are born in Internet Area, for liking something, for e.g. a latest Nike shoe (sorry Underarmor now) doesn’t necessarily means you need to have seen that shoe in some showroom or on some friend of yours as you can see the shoe on any online shopping portal or on Insta post or Snapchat & you know such shoe exists & you know your dad can buy you that! Well, where the question of whether you need (I am not even saying deserve) that shoe or not come in between as unfortunately today’s most things are not need driven but greed driven, is what I think , when I look back my years.

And I don’t blame you as you don’t even understand what greed means, courtesy most of my genre who themselves have mixed needs with their greed or say has become part of rat race, confused? Ok, what is difference between need, greed & fear factor of society (read as rat race), need is something which you feel is a must do thing to survive or to perform better than what you are doing by using that thing & that’s why you want it or buy it. Means, you have a sport shoe or say chappal & you want to participate a running competition, so you need some good basic running shoes, that’s need. Greed is you already have good running shoes but you want better or costlier shoes just because you know about such shoes & you know you can have it & you buy it or you keep thinking about buying it. And social fear factor  is you are not needy neither you are greedy (rare thing) but you most or few friends have a shoe model & they make fun of you or you think they will make fun of you if you don’t buy that particular shoe, even when you can buy it & you end up buying that shoe! And this is just a shoe I am using as an example where as right from bike, jeans, car, job, home, holidays & even career, everything we are doing is either surrendering to our greed or chasing some social media created target just to prove others that you also can buy it or do it, the way others are doing! It’s like many people standing in a room covered by mirrors on all walls creating a total chaos where everyone is copying  other’s reflection in the mirror, thinking it’s his or her own!

This is what the biggest challenge for me or say my genre is I will say, as we were (and are) much gullible to the social media or Internet than you guys as we get hooked to it the way a kid gets hooked to some new toy but you are born with it & you are much more matured than most of us actually. But as usual picture is painted that most new genre is getting drowned with internet which isn’t a case. We grew where all were mostly same & suddenly when few of us went to USA or got some better things than others then unknowingly to match them we started running behind things which weren’t our need. If you see the posts on FB or Insta by the genre above forty, you will know what I am telling may be by now you must be laughing as you guys know it already! Now you must be wondering why I am telling you the things which you know already, well, I think that’s what age makes you realize that when we say someone is wrong then there is equally chance of our perception of wrong itself may be wrong, especially when judging someone! As you will say whole your childhood & even now I keep telling you about Disney & Marvel movies stories which resolves about good & bad but then there is difference between good & bad & right or wrong, this is what my gain while completing fifty one, is what I wanted to share! Definition of good & bad will never change, our understanding of good & bad which can change or say keep modifying but right or wrong, everyone has to define by his or her own! And thanks to all you younger ones who made me understand this very basic of life & this sharing is for you need not have to write about right or wrong when some day you will turn fifty one but something better than mine to your genre next.

Just know that no generation is free of challenges & like every Super Hero has got his or her own different villain, same way we all have our own challenges & fears & worries too! And with age also these villains changes their face, shape & strengths also. Actually it’s not like the virtual game where at every next level the intensity or power of the villain increases, making next lever game difficult for the player but it’s both ways in life. With age your body starts giving up but if you use your experience of playing the game properly (read as wisdom) then your mind takes over your body & still you can overpower the villain named challenges which are attacking you non-stop & more vigorously! And at the same time you can enjoy the game also, which is most important part of any game! I think this much dosage is enough, only if you have reached to this para by reading till now with patience! Thanks a lot for making me understand game of life & make me (read as keep me) able to enjoy it!

To conclude, you all ask me many a time, what you should gift me on my birth-day, well you have gifted me already the best thing & it’s Hope! A hope that someday you all will make your own definition of right & wrong as good & bad will be same always & when your right matches with good & wrong matches with bad, that day I will say our generations’ also have matched, as something never changes & I am happy for that!

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Sanjay Deshpande 

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please view my sharing about real estate in Pune at U-Tube link below..

https://youtu.be/al0NZ-7Zhq0

Please do visit my blogs to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani ! (Click the links below)

http://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2018/08/pune-city-no-1.html

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.in/

Social Side of Sanjeevani ! (Click link below)

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

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

www.punecorporation.org

Take your issues to Hon PM at link below..

https://secure.mygov.in/#

Think Green, Think Life

www.sanjeevanideve.com

Infrastructure, Development, Real Estate & Media!

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“Prayers don't build good infrastructures. They don't develop countries. They don't improve the poor healthcare system or the education system. God has placed man in charge of ALL.”… Oyekunle Bamigboy.

“Passionate about technology and how it makes life easier for all; I'd love to see Nigerian startups grow rapidly and become worldwide phenomenon. I coach and write on Growth Hacking, Social Media, Search Engine, E-commerce, Analytics and User Experience”, is what Mr. Oyekunle says about himself on his FB post & I was pleasantly surprised to read his thoughts about the word which is like “Sim Sim” to our dear country at present, is “Infrastructure”; because Oyekunle comes from a country like Nigeria, where Infrastructure is food & water, is all people knows about it! And reason I remember his words about infra because I was honored by Sakal papers by inviting me for a panel discussion in their yearly meet of editors of various publications as well many senior reports coming all over from the progressive State of ours i.e. Maharashtra! I am not an authority on the subject though I am civil engineer a branch which deals with most aspects of infrastructure (I will use Infra as short form of Infrastructure) yet whatever little I have understood about Infra in last many years working as a civil engineer, environmentalist, traveler, wild lifer & more that that a common man, I think high time for understanding the word itself! And what better opportunity there could have been than to jump in brain storming of media people itself who are directly connected with society (read as common man) for whom we build Infra in first place! Thus I accepted the invite & next day I was on the table amidst some twenty odd reporters & editors along with some very senior names in news media, asking me equally deadly questions about whatever little I know about infra. And these people were from entire cross section of State i.e. rural belt of Pune, Pune city then northern part of State i.e. Nagar District as well from dry zones of Vidarbha & Martahwada & so were their questions.

The very first question was how I correlate infra with current financial situation in business as general? Well, this one question itself can take entire day for discussion but I knew this was just first & then what followed was rapid fire, how I rate infra in our State, what are hurdles, why there is migration towards Pune, how this is affecting real estate (well, I am builder too), when the recession will end (sic) & lastly what role media (read Sakal) can play on this aspect? Well, this is just what I recall but enough to cover the subject I what I feel.

I took my stance like Sunil Gavsakar i.e. taking enough time to sink in all the questions & asked them, “What you think is Infrastructure or how you define Infra?” Obvious answers were; roads, dams, bridges, public transport, canals, Metro etc etc all this means Infra. I said right but just 2 marks for 4 marks question, as to list out Infra, first you have to understand meaning of Infra & then you can explain its impact on not just business but entire aspect of life on every citizen! For e.g. for a person in a small town of Vidarbha, Infra means drinking water, while a farmer in Marathwada may say Infra means water for his farm as well food for his cattle, an industrialist from Nashik will say electric supply at reduced rates for his manufacturing unit, a family from Pune will say Infra means public transport to save their commuting time to work or clean public toilets, a fisherman from Konkan coast will say Infra means proper docking arrangement as well cold storage & transportation in place for their fresh catch from the ocean to reach to the best markets while a Mumbaikar will say Infra means availability of affordable home & finally ask any young graduate (no gender bar) across the State what he or she means Infrastructure & they will answer a Job is what Infrastructure means for them!

Well, now you will know Infra is not a thing or a structure or some development, Infra is need & needs changes as per people, geography & yes as per time also. For e.g. few decades back Pune’s need for Infra was good educational facilities as well jobs & now today with both needs fulfilled (mostly) our today’s needs are public transport & affordable housing. And then there are more such as garbage treatment (nobody cares how garbage is generated in first place that’s another issue) as well safety & security which are byproducts of prosperity & Infra for that is good policing. Then the way we are growing, our next needs will be pollution free atmosphere as well good public health facilities, this is simplest example of how needs changes as the city or town or any human settlements grows with time. So Infra is something which we need at all the times to make our life comfortable & this is how it affects not just business but entire life style of a society. Because take example of rural Maharashtra or say Marathwada & Vidarbha regions which are underdeveloped. Today if we build dams, roads, homes, industries, hospitals, malls, schools, all such things here, does that assures these areas will grow & prosper the way Pune, Nashik & Thane belt has prospered? Answer is a big No as all these are physical things & we need people to use them in first place. Right now the scene in district places or towns of Marathwada & Vidarbha (including western part of State & Konkan too) is, even the smallest of establishments like a grocery shop or a small fabrication unit or a bakery are running in loss as there are no buyers & I am not exaggerating, you can visit these places or call any of your relatives or friends at these places & confirm. Indeed few units will be doing good as whatever population’s basic needs are there bound to convert in some trade but that’s all, no money spenders lives in most of district places or towns, I mean in volumes. Reason is all those who has a degree in any branch of education, has nothing to do for earning  there & then those who has a job or a business at these places, are not happy for the life style these places offers to its citizens. So, both ways the flow is on from every district of rest of Maharashtra towards Pune & now again you will understand Infra is beyond bridges, water lines or public transport etc etc & that is, social life which the city offers to the citizens. As first you need money (read as job or means of earning) & the Infra is which will create such opportunities to earn money & when the money is in, then the Infra is opportunity to use that money for comfort or leisure which we call as happiness.

And it’s all such aspects of Infra which makes some city become better for residence while others less preferred which we are witnessing today with Pune & outcome is only in Pune (in our State ) real estate is surviving, I won’t dare to say doing great! Because comparing to all other towns & cities Pune scores best on Infra scale & if this is success we are thinking as Punekar then as State this is big failure as rest all State is non-livable i.e. having poor Infra that’s why Pune is doing good & that’s definitely not a sign of healthy growth or development! And then with Pune also it’s only the unbalanced Infra which has caused rates of houses varying significantly depending upon Infra provide to the respective suburbs which again is bad sign of development. Because it make homes in certain localities costlier (read in demand) in compare with other locations, as Infra is not even all along the city.

Coming to role of media on this aspect of life, indeed media can generate (read create) pressure on the system i.e. Govt which in most cases is responsible for providing all above mentioned Infra & who actually generates this so called pressure, none other than the citizens only! But for that first the media must understand the concept of Infra & to achieve that the media (read as reporters) must speak to the masses & classes of the society, know their needs as well limitations. Because Infra needs money, to build as well to make it sustainable to run for longer period. Right now most of the Public Bodies in State (Nagar Parishad or Mahanagar Palikas) are either bank-corrupt or on the verge & sole reason again is no sustainable i.e. revenue generating planning of Infra. Indeed the scene can’t change within few months or even years but we need to find out ways to generation of revenue & find avenues like tourism for the same. Tadoba Tiger Park is best example, generating nearly some Rs 9 crores per year via tourism & this money is being used for the locals making their life better means no requiring them to leave their villages around Tadoba forest. Media can meet the ends making people understand their respective roles in building Infra & not just naming govt for lack of the Infra. Its media which must take lead & make citizens understand their needs & finding ways to achieve those needs with their active participation. Public toilets or garbage treatment units are the best examples where the end users must come forward to maintain such things in their locality as govt can’t do everything rather should not do everything. At the same time issues like property tax must be sensibly dealt as if we need good Infra then we need to shell out some money from our pocket & then only we can ask Govt to provide it as well run it properly. Its media which instead just printing head lines of farmer’s suicides, can try to reach them, unite them & work out solution which can be solved at their level, is what I personally feel!

I think this is the key aspect in building Infrastructure where media can (read as must) take lead & make every single person understand his or her responsibility towards Infrastructure. Because everyone need something or other for comfortable living but knowing what we deserve to have what we need, is what decides one’s fate & who better than news-papers can  make us realize this fact about our fate!

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Sanjay Deshpande 

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please view my sharing about real estate in Pune at U-Tube link below..

https://youtu.be/al0NZ-7Zhq0

Please do visit my blogs to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani ! (Click the links below)

http://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2018/08/pune-city-no-1.html

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.in/

Social Side of Sanjeevani ! (Click link below)

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

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