The Day of the Tigers; Bandhavgarh Diary!

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“Never consider the luck will be on your side but on the day when you know the luck is on your side, then make most of it” ... Me.

Well, above words are by me only & this is what I felt after the day when I was going through my clicks (and there were many) post full day safari at Bandhavgarh National Park & was counting the tiger sightings we had! I have seen enough tigers in the wilds (though it’s never enough actually) & I know the die-hard wild lifers’ (read as, not the wildlife photographers but those who has understood wildlife & their number is very few actually) will say that, tiger alone is not forest & one has to see the wilderness in totality & every specie in the forest counts & all such stuff!  And I also love to be just in any forest, tiger or no tiger is also true, yet when you see those yellow black stripes walking towards you (or even away from you) in the greens of the forests the something different happens. You can feel the adrenaline rush in your blood & its not just you getting exited by the sight of a tiger but the entire forest’s atmosphere suddenly changes, sometimes its alarm calls of deer with languor & sometimes it becomes total silent, & all eyes focused on the tiger, such is the power the animal has got in it! And though I have travelled many forests, I am still human to get transfixed by the tiger effect on me & I am glad for it, let me confess! And when in one day you get to see 21 tigers including cubs (yes you have read right figure, 21 tigers) then you can say there can’t be more lucky day for a wildlife lover or any human being, such was mine in Bandhavgarh forest!

My, this sharing is about these tiger sightings & what I learnt out of them & not just about glorifying the tiger show, however elated I may have been, as we all know how difficult (as well of luck) even sighting one tiger can be & when you get to see 21 tigers in a day & if you are not going to learn anything out of it then you indeed are a fool, right? First of all, let me tell you I was on a full day safari which means you need not have to get out of the park during noon & that gives you some fourteen odd hours in the park in an open gipsy & do mind, in mid-summer of central India, it’s not a pleasant job unless you are die hard wild lifer as well it’s a costly affair (we were sharing though) as the charges which are nearly ten times more than the normal safari! But that gives you chance to move across all the zone for e.g., in Bandhavgarh there are three zones with separate entry gates i.e., Tala, Magadhi & Khatouli which all are accessible to you in a full day safari & that’s an advantage to locate the tiger sightings! But with all the added hours as well accessibility yet its nearly 800 plus sq. km area to cover in aday & there are some forty plus tigers which can be anywhere & the thing you need to have along with luck is, patience as well some logic & knowledge of the forests!

We started at 5.15 am from tala gate to enter & for the first two hours there was nothing, no movement & to add on our frustration the sky started getting full with dark clouds & weather suddenly become cold. This was a bad sign for tiger sighting as the cold makes the tigers at comfort wherever they are i.e., not feeling the need of getting in the open or to waterholes, yet when we crossed the zone & enter in Magdhi zone we could see Gipsys’ aligned around a huge grassland & that means tiger! So, were there a tigress Spotty & her three sub adult cubs, playing hide & seek with the watchers in the grass & it’s a wonderful sight! The sun was yet behind the clouds & it was nearly now four hours for us in the park when another gipsy passed by & told us about the sighting, they had of a young tigress kajari & her tiny cubs of age of three months, in the same zone but at other side of the grassland we were.

I have not seen of-late such young cubs of tiger & we decided to have a shot at Kajari tigress to try our luck as with such small cubs to raise the tigress is very careful & though here movements are restricted in a comparatively small area yet she prefers to keep away from any living species which is perfectly understandable! When we reached the spot, it was 10.30 am & still the sky was clouded & weather was cool & there too few vehicles were waiting to have glimpse of the tigress. One of the guides told us the tigress is in the area & has been resting in thickset along a nallah which flows parallel to road we were standing on as well there was equal chance of the cubs along somewhere near only! This news made our mood a shade better & we decided to wait at the spot & an hour passed in the wait. Good thing about waiting for the tiger is, you can see lot many things happening around during the wait, like there was an Indian Pitta (Navrang bird) pair feeding under shadow of a tendu tree & I could click some good shots of them as well the best entertainment comes from the languor (monkeys) as they are continuously doing something & plays an important role in warning about the tiger’s presence because of their sharp sight from the trees! Now its past 10.30 am & most gipsys’ departed as their timing was 11 am to get out of the park for morning safari, so now only two gipsys left, of full day safari!  The wait was on & the other gipsy also moved away to check other location (for tiger of course), yet relying on the info about presence of the tigress, we decided to wait there only. It was 12 pm now & fortunately the cloud cover has been gone & sun was at its peak & we saw a male spotted deer advancing cautiously towards the nallah for drinking water exactly where the tigress was resting in the shadows of a jamun tree. This was a boon as the deer was going to disturb the tigress & she will wakeup & give us a show is what we thought & waited, though the deer couldn’t see the tigress but it definitely has smelled her & was very nervous which we could see (and understand too). In what seems to be a slow-motion movie mode, the deer was advancing towards the water body & at some 30 ft distance from the jamun tree suddenly it saw the tigress & gave an alarm call which awakened the tigress & she came out of the bushes & the deer ran away while we were all up with our cameras! Slowly the kajri tigress came in open with her three tiny cubs running behind her which she was taking to a cave across the road where we were standing because with three cubs running behind you its impossible for the tigress to hunt or kill & it was necessary for her to put them at a safe place & such way, we got to see the best caring mom with her cubs along in the wilds!

The excitement has washed away all our frustration & fatigue of seven hours of moving in gipsy & we decided to check Khatouli zone where there were reports of sighting of a family of six tigers with female named Ra tigress & Bajarang male tiger. And to here also the family was resting in grass patch which made the sight impossible yet we decided to wait. This place was on the bank of a small river & some 100 meters on upstream there was a bridge on a state highway & from the place we were standing we could see the cars on the high way & suddenly the male tiger appeared from the grass & started drinking water & gave us a curious glance & slept with his back towards us. One hour more passed & it was now 3 pm & again our luck shined & a huge male Indian gaur came towards the direction of the tiger grazing on the green grass. Rest of the tiger family was still hidden on the bushes along the bank while the tiger was sleeping & slowly the huge gaur walked past the tiger & entered in to the area where cubs & female were sleeping & all of them came out at the approach of the gaur & one by one settled around the male tiger! The cubs started jumping around while the tiger couple preferred to slept & what a wonderful sight it was, in a way such sightings are hope for entire wildlife, is what I thought to myself! After this one mope drama happened when one of the cubs hardly of six months & the size of a big Labrador dog decided to charge on the gaur but that episode I will cover in my next sharing!

When we started to check other parts of the forest in Khatoli zone & turned away from this family on a turn suddenly our driver applied breaks & shouted, “sir, look, a tiger on road’ & to our surprise, some 100 meters ahead one sub adult male tiger was standing right in the middle of the road with deer alarm calls on! Sighting our gipsy, the cub entered in the bushes along the road & waited there panting as we could see its tired & on hunt. The guide told us that it is one of the three litters of a tigress named tara & she has left them for another male & these cubs are of two years & are on their own to survive. Looking at the empty stomach & panting face of the cub I could guess it’s hunger & exhaustion & felt pity as they the cub was not of proper age to hunt on its own yet they have no one to feed as he is tiger & that’s the curse of being a tiger, right?  

Leaving the cub on its own to hunt we headed for a water hole & saw a gipsy (the other full day one) with cameras directed towards the water hole, a clear sign of who is in the water hole! A huge male tiger with just its head out of water, was relaxing in the pool which was in a 30 feet deep valley. The guide told us there was a kill nearby by the tiger named Chota Bheem & that’s why it was cooling in the water post meal. As the tigers eat raw meat, that generates extreme heat in their body & on top of it the May heat outside, all this makes them a must to take solace in the nearest water body & in such condition they can sit in the water for hours. After clicking the shots of Chota Bheem, we realized this was our 17^th tiger of the day (including the cubs) which we have sighted & we were super thrilled as that’s not a small thing in any forest to witness.

Now, the sun was on its down journey & our guide decided to check few of the unvisited spots & took us to an upward hill road turning away from the main road. I was sitting in middle seat & suddenly as our gipsy turned on a tree aligned canopy road I saw a female tigress standing right on the turn looking strait at us at the same time the driver also braked the vehicle & asked me, “sir, gadi aage lu kya so photo achha aayega” & started moving ahead & I was whispering to him (rather it was a muffled shout) abbe, aur kaha aage lega yahi ruk ( don’t take the gipsy ahead, stand where ever we are) yet is insisted to take ahead & I have to grab him by his shoulder & make him stop! And then I realized he couldn’t see the tigress standing ahead on the turning road as his view was blocked by the tree on his side but he was pointing towards two more tigers sitting along side the road on his side while the guide was pointing towards the fourth tiger! This was a family of a tigress named Darhah with three near grownup tiger cubs & all of them were equally baffled by the sudden encounter with us & were staring at us. Slowly the tigers started their advance towards the river behind us & we too started in reverse gear & in the mean time one more gipsy approached with some foreigners in it. The tourists haven’t seen the tigers behind us & thought we are reversing in general & when I waved at them & asked them to stand where they are, then they realized & to their surprise one by one when four tigers came out of the forest in open, I was more thrilled to see their faces than the tigers, as such sights, is what they will carry to their country with them! The grownup cubs posed in every possible way for us in the river while the tigress preferred to soak herself in the water at some distance!

Our watch reminded us that it was time to get out of the park & then we realized we have spent 14 hours in the forests & have seen 21 tigers in a day & that may be a record, is what our guide said! Well, it may or may not be a record as for me it was one of that day when the luck keeps riding with you & with some patience & logic you can make best of it, is what I have learnt today in the school named, forest! As the tigers are apex animal in Indian forests but more than that they are animals of habit which makes them more vulnerable too in compare to the other animals. The whole day I have been seeing tigers of different age & that has given me a far better sight or say chance to observe the way tigers move in the forests & it was an amazing memorable experience which I will cherish for ever, I think that’s my best take away from the day. With that satisfied feeling (overwhelmed would-be right word) that I left the park but for the day as next two days I saw some more tigers & wonderful sightings & more about them in next sharing!

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Sanjay Deshpande 

Sanjeevani Dev.

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

 

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Wild Animals & Open Wells; all is not Well !!

 

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“There's an exact moment for leaping into the lives of wild animals. You have to feel their lives first, how they fit the world around them. It's like the beat of music. Their eyes, the sounds they make, their head, movements, their feet and their whole body, the closeness of things around them - all this and more make up the way they perceive and adjust to their world.” …  Richard O'Barry

Richard "Ric" O'Barry is an American animal rights activist and former animal trainer who was first recognized in the 1960s for capturing and training the five dolphins that were used in the TV series Flipper. And no wonder with that kind of passion Ric has perfectly understood what the animals want from we, the humans! But unfortunately, words from Ric haven’t filtered to the common people of our country rather not even to the people which supposedly rule the common people i.e., “Mai Bapp” Govt & if you are thinking my such feelings are sarcasm, then you are wrong! What I have wrote about our understanding of animals (read as wild animals) it’s the hard, bitter fact & if you still don’t believe me then read the newspapers (not front page but 4th or 5^th page) & you might have noticed news of some leopard or a jackal or an Indian Gaur & such wild animals falling in open well or ditch & most of them dies & few lucky ones get rescued by forest authorities (dept). And many of such wild animals even if get rescued from drowning yet get crippled for life which mean death in the forests & sent to zoo as indeed every four legged wild animal (most of them) are natural swimmers yet when you fall from the height of some 20 or 30 feet height, they are not braced for the impact & get injured making them unable to swim. Another aspect is because such wells are in remote areas & nobody attains these animals cry for rescue & eventually they succumb to death in water due to exhaustion,  is the normal story of such mishaps!

Now, most of the people who read newspapers rarely take notice of such news & I am seriously thankful to the print media (read as newspapers) from covering such news at the cost of much more interesting stuff such as religious hatred speeches by political parties’ or allegations about corruption etc etc. Because who wants to read about wild animals falling in open well or dying due to our ignorance towards wildlife in some remote parts of the State (or country) which most doesn’t know even it exists, so once again heartfelt thanks to newspapers for sparing some of their costly print space for a poor leopard or a jackal! Ok, coming to the ignorance part of such incidents, again many people will say what they can do about it, as they pay taxes to the govt from which there is a forest dept which gets paid & it’s their job to look after welfare of the wild animals & such stuff, right?  Yes, you are right, thanks for paying the taxes to the govt & making salaries of the forest dept but if you think your job is done towards the wildlife still, I will call you ignorant & careless on the front of the wildlife! Because just the way govt has public schools (PMC, ZP Schools) & has Public Hospitals yet why do you admit your siblings to some private school for education & in a private hospital when he or she is not feeling well on the health front? Sorry for such an example, but keeping full respect for the govt schools & hospitals yet you know their limitations due to funds or any other factor & you opt for a better choice of school or hospital when it's a matter of your family, right? Where your “Deshpremi” attitude vanishes at such times & where is that inner voice which tells you that you have paid taxes to the govt & now govt should look after you son’s schooling as well health, why you try to do something on your own, first ask all such questions & then comment about your rightfulness on wildlife front, is what I will suggest!

Well, govt has forest dept & other such as revenue, PWD etc as well it has public health dept also which cares for Human’s health & hygiene, unfortunately govt (read as we) expect forest dept along to look after everything about wildlife, which includes, trees, lands, waterbodies, animals, birds, fish, reptiles & many such & their funding is not even 1/1000 in compare to what is there for the humans! I don’t blame govt as wild animals doesn’t contribute anything for the revenue of the govt (again they do a lot but we are fool not to understand it actually) so the wildlife can’t have the revenue spending also for them as equal to the humans but at least some basic provisions where wildlife’s health, safety at large is at stake must be considered by the humans, isn’t it a fair expectation? But unfortunately, when its thinking (leave apart acting) about needs or welfare of wild animals or wildlife at large all we can do or doing is, passing the buck & portraying how we are not responsible for any mishap with the wild animals, may it be falling in a well or getting electrocuted with electric fence or a road kill on the roads (many more also) & outcome is poor newspaper guys have to fill their precious print media space with news about our such ignorance towards the wildlife!

Oh, enough of pinching to wake you up about wildlife (to whom I am fooling, that’s sarcasm) , recently three news which caught my attention (I am a fool, let me admit) , one was a leopard fall down in an open well chasing his prey, another was an Indian Fox ( or wolf or a hyena or jackal, what difference it makes) fall down in an open well in search of water & an Indian Gaur (miss-named as bison) fall down in an open well for reason known to it only & yes there was a news about few women also drown in the lakes at two different locations. Obviously, the last news was on the front page of the newspapers, the deceased women’s (God bless them) families must have been by now declared from the govt some compensation which will be Rs 1 lakh per head if not soon they will get. I was thinking to whom the govt should pay compensation when a leopard or a wolf dies in such a mishap which is clearly due to human error or ignorance because wild animals can’t build a well or a road right? Let’s stick to the death of wild animals by falling in open wells or man-made ponds or small water bodies created by our earth digging as that takes maximum lives of wild animals especially during summer which was indeed harsh this year & so was the death toll of wild animals!

There have been some efforts by individual forest officers (such as By Mr. Pravin, CCF, Pune during his Chandrapur tenure) & there may be such others, which I don’t know, regarding covering unsafe water wells or making arrangements by which wild animals moving near such waterbodies for any reason won’t fall in it, barring such individual efforts, no mass level program has been undertaken by any govt dept is a fact. And in every news, it's mentioned that forest dept officers showed their helplessness about protecting the sides of open wells due to lack of the funding. My question to the entire society is why we ever doesn't raise our voice about this aspect as if there were such open wells in the centre of some residential settlement where humans move around, would we have waited for some dept’s funding to cover such a well or build a safety parapet wall for such a well? We all know the answer, then who has stopped us from protecting every such open well which is unsafe for the wild animals, can somebody answer this simple question? And why the govt which is so keen to help the victims of a mishap even when such people are living in illegal settlements (e.g., fire in a slum or an illegal building collapse), just because they are humans (and voters) & why the very same govt can’t make provisions for funds to protect the dangerous open wells near wildlife habitats, so no wild animal should fall in it & lost its life? Unfortunately, such questions are neither asked nor answered as we are mute & deaf when it comes to actually doing something for the species other than the humans is a bitter fact!

By the way can’t blame even govt as the country where over a million of human dies in road accidents how we can expect the govt to protect lives of some wild animals & why road accidents, in the smart cities also people get seriously injured while walking on the footpaths by falling in the open (unguarded) drainage chambers, so who cares if some leopard or a fox fall in an open well, right? And then, it’s not just the open wells which are reason of hundreds of wild animals’ deaths but we have many other ways to do so, one of them is polluting the existing water bodies which are drinking water source for wildlife & then there is garbage dumping which the wild animals eat & succumbs to death or disease! On the top of it, thanks to our deforestation (i.e., tree cutting) this 2022 summer was hottest in last some 100 years in the central India, making many natural water sources go dry & outcome is the wild animals has to move around in search of the water which they too need for their survival. So, the govt & we the society must think of covering the existing open water wells as well as making as many ponds or such shallow water bodies around all known habitats & fill it with water from available sources so as the wild animals won’t have to fall in the deeps for their thirst. And to cover an open well we can think of many options, right from the wastage steel bars at construction work to nylon roles, many things can be used which we throw away or sell at peanuts! Just to mention, we at Sanjeevani Dev. in association with Jungle Belles are working on a cheaper, durable & effective solution to protect the open wells from wild animals falling in!  On these lines the govt (read as sr. officers) can make an appeal to all the so-called well settled humans & big corporations to come ahead for this job & join hands in funding for protection as wells & making water bodies as small contributions can save many lives! To conclude, I will say, “guys, we pay taxes to the govt for our better life but there is a govt above every govt which is called “nature” & its our duty to pay our taxes to that govt also or else one day when this govt will claims its dues, we will be left with nothing, mind it”!

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Sanjay Deshpande 

Sanjeevani Dev.

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

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4xX7eopH5o&t=5s

 

Please do visit my blog links below to read about real estate & home buying! 

https://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2021/09/choosing-right-home.html

 

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2021/09/blog-post_21.html

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A School Named, Accident!

 

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“Oogway:  There are no accidents.
Shifu: [sighs] Yes, I know. You've already said that twice.
Oogway: That was no accident either.
Shifu: Thrice.”
… Kung Fu Panda

If you don’t know above names, then Kung Fu Panda is animated movie & Oogway & Shifu are characters from it, for now that’s sufficient as or else that will be separate subject of sharing & if you have seen the movie then there is no need to explain further more about the references of these names! Indeed, the term accident itself send jitters in the minds of most people & that’s natural because accident mean damage, loss of life as well property & if the accident is related to some business place like ongoing construction of a project, then one more factor gets involved that is law & which often means more ugliness which goes beyond loss of life & property i.e., loss of image or reputation & the list is unending! That way a lot has been written about the accidents as well construction safety & fact is, nobody wants any accident to happen at his (or her) site, yet when an accident happens then we have to analyse it as that’s the best (and only way) to prevent (read as delay) or to avoid the next accident! In the outset let me be clear, this sharing is regarding my role as a member in a recent accident analysis (fact finding) committee & the case is used as symbolic only. My sharing isn’t to blame somebody or make some agency look guilty but to have a take away for the entire fraternity of which govt agencies along with investigation agencies are too part of when any accident happens!

Recently an accident happened on a construction site in Pune & some eight workers lost their lives & I know many people (apart from builders) will say, what’s big deal, it’s a routine for construction sites, & nothing will happen only it’s the poor labours which has lost the lives & culprits will be free etc! I don’t blame these people as that’s how even the media thinks & trust me it’s a nightmare for the builder 9and his entire team including consultants) when an accident happens at site with fatality involved i.e. loss of human life. Right from police to law to local governing bodies to media, all are there to take enforcement action thinking only the builder is guilty & must have been ignorant that’s why the accident happened & the project work is shut down. In addition to all these losses, the biggest loss is negative publicity & damage to reputation which is directly related to booking i.e., revenue of the project & every builder (and his team) knows this & yet accidents happen! First blow or outcome of the site accident is arrest from police dept, of which every builder (read as anybody) is afraid of & here is where this accident case is different & subject of my sharing. Govt in new UDCR (Unified Development Control Rules) has made of provision of forming a committee of technically qualified personals in the case of site accident & Hon Collector is supposed to be chairman of this committee & the committee will analyse the accident & submit the facts to chairman & then only necessary actions will be taken by the concerned authorities. Thus I was invited as a member of Credai (Association of developers) as well as an engineer & there were others technically qualified members from different depts as well engg college too & sr police officer. We have been given a period of neary 15 days for making a preliminary report & 60 days for a detailed report of the accident & during which we were to conduct site inspections as well introgate ( mild word is interview) all or any concerned person with the respective site’s work.

 

This whole episode was an eye opener for me even after spending 30  plus years in the construction industry & being a civil engg by myself. First I came across many fronts which I realized I too was not aware of in construction & second many more aspects which I was taking care of at my end & being hailed as over cautious, which proved right in analysing this accident! And big names were involved as well, who have experience of handling big projects too & the owner was non-technical (just the way many builders are) which makes the analysis more important from the perspective of the developers! So, what I will do is, will cover the case from each role’s view point (major stakeholder, I mean).

First entity to start with is obviously, the owner or the developer (in most cases) of the project. Mainly, when you are technically qualified by yourself then many things you learn & adopt faster related to construction (or supposed to) but if you yourself have never been at site as a work team then how you can know what can or will go wrong yet you are responsible as principal employer by law. So, first & foremost thing is be very clear in allotting the responsibilities to all the agencies related to the work, especially safety & quality & workmanship related activities. Make a detailed document for all important work aspects & get it done via professional lawyer which many developers don’t do. Reason is one, they think they know it all & second is to save money but do mind when any mishap happens, the most important aspect is who was responsible for what & this can be safeguarded only by a lawful document which we can call a work contract or work order. May it be the appointment of a construction management firm or principal contractor or licenced architect or structural designer or any such agency, what has been agreed in between you & that agency must be very clearly drafted & documented & observed with periodical record! As an owner-developer, keeping perfect record of everything is a must for you, however small or big the project size is, because an accident doesn’t happen depending upon the size of your project neither the law differentiates on such scale!

Second entity is the Construction Management Firm. Here, if you are running one such firm, then see that your duties are clearly defined & definitions of the terminologies such as safety & quality are covered not in general terms but in pointers & do’s as well don’ts' related to site. As well there has to be a clear mention of the way you will be supervising the day to day work at site & keeping a record of the same. Because when an accident happens then whether it's an accident or a mishap caused by ignorance (read as negligence) of the concerned can only be verified by going through the site supervision reports if they are recorded properly. Also, as a construction management agency you are dealing with all other agencies such as contractors or consultants as well with govt agencies (in some cases) as an owner on behalf of him, so you have to be very particular in defining what is your role & what responsibility you have given or transferred to another agency. Because as per the owner you are solely responsible for everything good or bad associated with the project, so recording & documentation of all these responsibilities is your main responsibility from the accident angle.

Third & most important entity (though may not be by law) is the contractor or, say principal contractor. Here in many construction companies there is one main contractor which is responsible for the base structure i.e. foundation, rcc (slab/beam /columns), masonry & plaster. And it's these activities, where more manpower is required & accident chances are also more due to the nature of the work. And that is why the selection of such contractors should be done not just on the basis of cost saving but quality & of which safety is an inherent part. At the same time it’s the contractor who is handling major labour force at site  & duties of the contractor regarding safety aspect must be documented very clearly & a system has to be there to follow the same as most civil contractors themselves are not technically qualified & follows what's been  practice without understanding the quality (read as safety ) aspect of the workmanship! Some rupees saved in negotiating cost of construction per sft with the contractor can prove distster if the saving is done at the cost of the quality, just do mind this fact, is all I will say. Even the contractor also should be careful while working & employ skilled workers for jobs of high risk such as shuttering workers or steel fitters. A periodical safety training is a must as well as surprise checks & mock drills to test the workers response at the time of accident. At the same time keep record of all such training & drills, if possible, keep video recording as nobody expects the contractor to be at site full time but that is why training is important & your efforts for the same, right? If you try to save on these small things then you end up paying a lot more, do mind, is all I can say to the contractor fraternity. You are a contractor & you have accepted a certain contract to make some money & not to lose whatever you have got, don’t forget it! Oh yes, compliance with all legal things such as insurance, registration with the labour office etc, don’t neglect these smallest things which matters most after an accident as a contractor!

Fourth entity is, consultants which includes structural designer, architect as well various services such as electricity, air-conditioning, fire, landscaping etc. All these are technically qualified (supposedly) and if you guys fail to make a system of keeping the right track of workmanship then nobody but you yourself are at blame at the time of accident, mind it! Because at the time of the most accidents it’s the drawings as well working procedures which either are not followed properly or not conveyed to the actual work team, is the main cause & respected consultant or agency becomes directly responsible for the same! Also, periodical as well surprise site visits are a must with proper record of your observations at such visits to the concerned site staff or agency as this can avoid lots of trouble ahead in case of mishap, which was the case in the respective site accident also. And please do mind, don’t keep records to pass on the buck or to blame others but records whatever genuine observations are done at site related to workmanship & safety! At the same time don’t overlook minor details such as change of staff looking at a certain project, notify all the concerned agencies (even govt agencies) about such change so all of them will take necessary action from their side.

In the end the most neglected entity in case of an accident & which is ignorant about its own roles is, the site engineer… Guys I myself have been a site engineer for more than decade & equal years and was responsible for everything related to sites of which safety is an inherent part & I have understood the importance of systematic work & I was lucky also a bit, which may not be the case with you all! A site engineer is responsible or say prime responsible for safety at site & that makes him or her most vulnerable in the case of an accident! If you are under pressure of not following proper work systems such as having cctv cameras in place or lack of safety equipments’ or safety training at site from your employer (builder, contractor or consultant) then keep it on record or refuse to accept any order which compromises safety of workers which are like your team! As a site engineer, keep knowledge of good practices about quality & safety & don’t wait for someone else to do it or arrange it for you because in case of an accident, no one else will go behind the bars for you, mind it!

The system (read as govt agencies) also must learn that it's only after some accident if you take action then its skin saving, instead like formation of fact-finding committee, have a safety audit committee also in place which will certainly help to save many future accidents! I am personally thankful for the role played by present Hon Collector Mr.Rajesh Deshmukh, IAS & Sr police officers like DCP Rohidas Pawar, as well PMC officers Mr.Sudhir Kadam & Mr Gavane for their balanced approach & freehand they gave us to work impartially!

Lastly this is what I will share as my conclusion from the fact-finding committee working experience for the real estate fraternity, there is a difference between accident & a mishap. Every accident is a mishap which happens even after taking all due care at work but not all mishaps’ can be tagged as accident, as some are outcome of negligent, ignorant, overconfident attitude of the entire team towards the site work which makes all of the team pays very dearly for such attitude, mind it! 

 

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Sanjay Deshpande 

Sanjeevani Dev.

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

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4xX7eopH5o&t=5s

 

Please do visit my blog links below to read about real estate & home buying! 

https://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2021/09/choosing-right-home.html

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2021/09/blog-post_21.html

Creating Togetherness; team Sanjeevani Way (Click link below) 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/albums/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