MSEDCL, Joar Ka Zatka Dhirese Lage!

 

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“If you mess with electricity, expect to get burned.” … Steven Magee

Stephen Magee received his B.A. and M.A. from Texas Tech University and his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology & is author of books such as Toxic Electricity & many more. He is a world leading expert on radiation and human health. He revealed the "Multiple-Sun" effect that occurs in architecture, and found unnaturally high levels of solar radiation in human society. No wonder, with such authority on a subject as complex as electricity, Steve can warn about messing up with it in such plain yet powerful words as the above quote! And then, the biggest need of today’s life is no more just “Roti, Kapda ya Makan” i.e., Food, Clothes or Home, its Electricity, as without electricity all there of above is unachievable for our 150 plus crore of countrymen (I am just referring our country) as well don’t forget charging our cell phones without which most of us can’t even breath! And that’s why when off-late MSEB (Sorry MSEDCL I am yet finding difficult to connect) was in the news (it is always but mostly for wrong reasons) for a proposal of rate hike by nearly 35% than the present tariff I thought of using Steven’s quote about electricity as somewhere we (we all) are messing up with electricity in our own way & high time to correct ourselves.

First of all, those who yet doesn’t know, it’s no more MSEB i.e., Maharashtra State Electricity Board, now it’s been divided in three companies Generation, Distribution & Transmission, so, for us its MSEDCL i.e., Distribution which does the job MSEB was used to do. In simple words, earlier MSEB used to supply us (our homes & offices) & charge us for the same job that is now done by MSEDCL. Now, you have understood who supplies your electricity, then the news was, MSEDCL has proposed nearly 35% hike per unit you use of electricity for most of its categories of supply. If you are wondering what this category means, it’s the purpose for which electricity is being used & the same electricity is charged at different rates per unit. Means electricity user is domestic or say residential then its Rs 7 / unit but for commercial use the rate is Rs 12/ unit & the list is big enough! First of all, I always wonder why it’s so, as the same joke is with water supply also but nowhere in the world such a different tariff for essential services like water or electricity is there. Just think, if your car is for private or say domestic use & if you use it for your office or business work, then you will have to buy same petrol at higher rate & if your car is used for some industry of your own then again it will be different rate per litre, how you will feel? Now take another example, you buy milk for your home at say   Rs 50/ litre but if you are using that milk for your tea stall then you will have to buy it at Rs 70/litre, what will be your reaction? I know, experts in the electricity field will laugh at me but then I am a civil engg & not electric engg & I am putting this forward as a common electric consumer also. And on top of it your neighbour gets milk & petrol not on per litre but on package basis & that too he doesn’t pay & then govt tries to recover that deficit from your purchase of milk & petrol, now tell me your reaction!

 

Well, with due respect to my good friends in MSEDCL, it’s not just for the sake of opposing the tariff hike in per unit charges of electricity but it’s the reasons which high time now must be taken in fact! First of all, let me thank MSEDCL (Pune division) for wonderful service (in comparison to other many cities, as I can see frowning faces) on the electric supply front as the challenges are many. Even being one of the biggest revenue earning zones i.e., Pune, the maintenance money as well infrastructure funding is always short in comparison with the load demand & yet the Pune Division stands to the mammoth expectations from the consumer. All those who think I am trying to make local MSEDCL people happy please go to other urban centers & study the situation of electric supply but that doesn’t mean all is well! Despite helping Pune division to earn maximum revenue by paying the electricity bills on time yet Pune has to face tariff hike, is my point of sharing! And fault is in the system of our entire electricity system as alone Pune MSEDL’s (division) recovery of agriculture electric supply is nearly Rs. 14,000 crores & this I am not saying, it’s been published in newspapers from the sources of MSEDCL only! Imagine if this is the case of alone Pune division the what will be dues of entire State & this includes not just agriculture pumps dues, but the payment defaulter list includes many of govt organizations also, water supply schemes, co-operative sugar (and allied) industries, even municipal corporations & yes, the big bosses of politics all of them are defaulters but MSEDCL can’t do anything about this recovery for ages is a fact! Worst part is being a govt (State) undertaking for MSEDCL this is like “Tond Dabun Bukkyancha Maar”, sorry there are no alternatives to some phrases in Marathi, & this is one such which in simplest way MSEDCL is helpless (read as toothless) for recovery from above categories.  And the outcome is, every now & then increase the tariff of those consumers who are good pay masters (read as who has no Godfather to wave out their dues).

Though fortunately MSEDCL can’t charge the electricity as per their wish & will the way builders can charge their flat’s prices (thankfully) but there is another body named MERC i.e. Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission, this body governs or say guides to all electricity companies (like TRAI for telecom cos’) & MSEDCL has to justify their rate hikes in front of MERC & then only can change the tariff! There is a but, in this also, as MERC is also a State Govt authority & no wonder whose interests this body will look after first. Unfortunate part is, when MERC conducted a hearing about the latest electricity charges hike by MSEDCL many consumer associations put forward their issues against this rate hike but no political party uttered a single word that’s the irony of our industry or say society! As all those Netas’ who are eager to post their opinion about smallest of the issues have kept mum leave apart filing a studied documented (well, whom I am fooling) stamen about the rate hike of MSEDCL. Reason is one, they care a hang of what common men & businessmen have to pay for electricity as they are anyway not going to suffer & second, no political party wants to lose the vote bank which enjoys free electricity at the cost of sincere paying citizens! I am sorry, I don’t say we do not sympathize with farmers or the real poor while fixing tariffs of electricity but at least we can rationalize it as well check who are real needy ones & who & taking disadvantage of such loss-making policies! Already we are way too high per unit charges in comparison to many States electric supply & on the background of it, the new rate hike will break the budget of many middle-class families as well as small-scale businesses! And on top of it we have categories such as Construction Meter at site where we have to pay Rs 12 plus per unit & this is sheer unjust! And that's why with due respect, MSEDCL doesn't promote alternate source of energy in the areas like Pune & Thane which are their milking cows! 

If this is about electricity charges then making infrastructure for electric supply burden is also put on the heads of businesses, as I know cases where some projects have to pay Crores of Rupees just to get proper electric supply as MSEDCL doesn’t have enough budget to make this infra, nobody speaks anything about it! And then there is the routine maintenance aspect of the existing network of cables & transformers in the city which makes the consumers face repeated load shedding (read as power cut) often! I think, high time “Mai Baap” govt to look in to this very important aspect of city’s residents as well businesses, as to avail electric supply at reasonable rate & fast, is a basic right of every citizen or else time is not far away when some Jio will enter on the scene & then we all know what will happen to our electricity companies, whatever you name them, 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/2023/01/defining-good-home-real-estate-in-2023.html

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2023/02/blog-post.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 / https://junglebelles.in/

Living as a Society!

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“Home is more about people than a place” …  Caragh M. O'Brien

Caragh M. O’Brien is the author of the Birthmarked trilogy, a series of young adult, dystopian novels. Her books take place in a world destroyed by climate change. No wonder, she can explain Home in such simple words, as a person who thinks about the impact of climate change on the world surely knows what is more important for building a strong & good home! After many days I have come across something which is about real estate & interesting as well not much has been shared about this aspect. Best part of being in real estate (there are some good things about this industry still) you come across the widest spectrum of society during your work & if you keep your senses alive (read as open) then everyday you learn something new & that’s one sure way to improve! As your client can be a teacher, an IT young couple, some NRI or even a successful business man or high position bureaucrat as all of them need a home which is a common platform. And more wonderful thing is all these people come to live in a building which hosts their homes which is built by you (read as your team) & its all such families which makes a society. Some of my best times are visiting completed societies (I never like to call them buildings, yet for understanding ease I will use the term buildings) without revealing my identity & just feel the way residents move in & out of the building & observe the way they use the services which has been provided by us, & listen to their experiences about living in the buildings we have built!

It helps me understand flaws as well plus points of our planning & execution as well where to improve in our next project.

In one such visit to our recently completed project I got to meet the Chairman of the society & he was complaining about water being flowing on the surfaces on side driveways which is the outcome of the attached terraces washing. It contained soap froth & he was worried that it would pollute the bore well water of the society! I told him that there was no need to wash the attached terraces in this way as all you have to do is wipe the floor with wet mop & then with dry cloth, is what society has to tell the residents. As well with this much volume of water the bore well won’t get polluted as this water will get percolated in the rain water drains, & then via filters it will go down in the earth & from there it may become part of bore well water & during the process it gets naturally filtered as flowing through so many layers yet if all the flat holders started allowing such water to flow on side margins, then yes, there is chance of bore well water contamination! But for that also we have kept the compartment of water storage separate is what I explained to him! On this, he said, why I (me) don't I make a book of Do’s & Don’t for the residents, which will help in a big way. I laughed at the thought but it lingered in my mind & the book may be a big thing or a long term thing but at least I must write down a few basics is what I felt & so this sharing! And just to prove the need of such writing on one of our another completed project’s residents whats-app group (well, that’s one good habit we have followed for all our completed projects) where one of the residents has posted a snap of garbage being stacked in the staircase lobby & appealing to others keeping the surrounding clean!

This made me realize at least I should pen down some very basic rules of living together & fun is we all know these rules but just the way we ignore applying seat belt or wearing helmet while driving we ignore & not just ours but entire society’s life, becomes bad! And then, with due respect to our Indian Patriotism, when it's civic sense we are really bad on that scale & there are enough proofs to support my observation but about that sometimes later. As well, how we maintain our building & not just our flat, is what defines whether we are a society or just a bunch of primates living together out of necessity, right?

So, coming to simple Do’s & Don’ts while you stay in a building (in you bungalow do whatever you want), just do mind you are sharing the space with other families & only with collective efforts you can make your own life a shade better by following some basic rules, to acknowledge this fact is the first rule of Do’s in a society as once you have understood it then things are much simple & easy! Then, categorize the things which can hamper other residents peace of mind & tag them under Don’t & these also can be further specified such as civil works in your flat. Don’t do any civil work in your flat, however small it may be, without informing your society as well neighbours. Because a small action of changing tiles on your kitchen otta or in bathroom can create waterproofing or leakage problems in your adjoining flats. As well, even fixing a nail in a wall which is common with other flats, if you use a hammer, it can form cracks on the other side of the wall which can be your neighbour’s living room! Instead use a drill & then use a hammer for just final fixing of frame or any painting for which you are using the nail. Don’t ever wash your flat by flooding (read as pouring) water on the floor as first the rooms are not water proof & second the water may seep from tile joints & as the flat dry areas (rooms) flooring is not fixed in slope this water will remain accumulated below floor & someday it will leak in the flat’s ceiling under your flat! Don’t use acid to clean your toilets or traps (drains) as it will erode jointing material & again leakage will start! Don’t ever use electric appliances without studying the load capacity of your electric meter as well as wiring as it may cause overloading & short circuit! In short, before carrying any work in your flat, take detailed information about workmanship of your flat's construction and take help from your builder for the same( I know it’s difficult but doable). Don’t ever change the windows or outer walls of your flat, as that will cause for sure seepage in your flat in monsoon as well in flat adjoining, as the breakage of outer wall will create cracks in the plaster surface all along the outer face of that wall, as it’s just like your skin! Don’t ever put your plant pots hanging away from your terrace or balcony or window as the water will drip on the walls below as well there always is danger of that planter pot falling down on top of someone in the driveway!

If the above are a few pointers for your flat then there is a list of Don’ts for common areas of the building & these are more important as well all know how careless we are for public places. Right from spitting to pushing our flat’s garbage in the common area so many Don’ts are there to follow! Most important is security Don’ts as they are directly related to your safety & valuables. Don’t compromise on two things, one is cheap security service & cheap maintenance contact providers of common services such as Lift, Generator mainly! Remember CCTV, Thumb Access all these things are good but a good watchman is the best preventor of any theft or accident around the building & most societies fail on this front just to save a few rupees. Same way for a particular service such as lifts or generators or solar or fire system, give maintenance contracts to only the authorized service company of that brand even if they are costlier (they usually are) than other companies but it's worth it in case of major failures of such systems & spare-parts replacements! As I have seen many societies proving the phrase “Penni wise pound foolish” right, once again just to save few rupees on maintenance contracts of these services. One more aspect of Don’ts while you live as a society is don’t ask security people to carry your personal or common tasks such as car washing or gardening as that will become excuse for  them (and a genuine too) in case of any theft or security breach in the building or flat! Most important, Don’t allow small kids (below 9 years age) to use lift or to their access to common terrace on the roof of the building on their own. Even within the flat also follow this rule with balconies as well attached terraces & don’t ever keep such places unlocked, when kids are around!

That way the list of Do’s is very small & the first item on its agenda is to make a list of Do’s & Don’ts & post it on all the lobbies as well society notice board & see that every resident follows the same! In the queue of Do’s, make a contract of maintenance for every service as well see that it's being renewed in time. As well on your own get the inspection of plumbing & electric lines done at least yearly (preferably half yearly) as periodic checking of these services helps to save a lot of money in the course of time! Make a whats-app group with your builder’s team as managing committee of the society for any issues related to the building’s construction as well as legal fronts. Do request (or force) the builder if he or she is not keen on such things & explain to him that formation of such a group will reduce his stresses also! Do keep updates about essential contact details related to the building, may it be a nearby police station or MSEB or PMC ward office as well service providers & display such contact numbers. Do keep proper record of all the communication in the society office along with copies of all the drawings, nocs’ from various depts, working as well sanctioned, it does help. Keep record of all periodical permissions required from the concerned govt depot such as lift noc or fire noc, at least inform from your side on record to the concerned dept for demanding so or compliance from your side has been done. As well, do have an observant eye & ear for what you see & hear while you move around your building premise, right from any suspicious person’s movement to your neighbour’s flat’s door, every small detail is important.

Last but not least, a major concern for all the completed projects off late is lack of interest of the residents regarding society’s work; so, do take lead instead taking back seat (continentally) for society works, as do mind your home is not just what your sale agreement says & the carpet area you have paid for, but it starts from the entrance gate of your building & you only are responsible for keeping it in best shape, adios with this note!

Do ask for any assistance on this front at… sales@sanjeevanideve.com / smd1568122gmail.com

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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/2023/01/defining-good-home-real-estate-in-2023.html

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2023/02/blog-post.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

Bharatpur Birding & Our Responsibility!

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“The places of quiet are going away, the Churches, the Forests, the Libraries. And it is only in silence we can hear the voice inside of us which gives us true peace.”

… James Rozoff.

Not much personal information is available about this wonderful author but the below introduction about his work in his own words speak it all, “I write escapist literature. Not the kind that helps you ignore reality, but the kind that helps you escape from the illusions and the mindsets that keep you imprisoned in a dull world, a world limited by fear and devoid of magic’! I don’t know much about quietness in churches (though as a civil engineer they fascinate me for sure) but I know or say has lived quietness in the libraries as well that of forests & that’s why when sharing is about a place named Bharatpur, I chose James Rozoff’s above words to start. Many people (wild lifers) know Bharatpur as Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary which is its official name & this name has been given from the local god in that forest yet for the masses when birding is mentioned its Bharatpur, such synonymies is the city with birds, just the way Bisleri is, with bottled water! And then, for me going to Bharatpur is not just clicking birds (I am not a serious birder) but déjà vu for me as was visiting the place more than a decade yet the chilling winter mornings & walk on the foggy trails, listening to non-stop chirping (screaming too) of many birds & quietness also, all memories came back to me even before I stepped out from home! And yes, travel from Delhi to Bharatpur (and back) is food heaven for those who love asali Dhaba food, as the route goes through States of Haryana, UP & both are eaters paradise! If Haryana Road travels means Paratha, Dal, Sabjis fresh from farms then roads in UP means sweet mart with Mathura Pedhas, Jalebi-Rabadi & many more! I am not a foodie just the way I am not a birder yet if you don’t get mesmerized by the bird show & peace of Bharatpur as well don’t admire the dishes served on road-side food outlets, then go & check yourself in some garage as in the process of being successful, you might have turned in to a machine & at least to test this, one must visit Bharatpur periodically! There were some good & some bad surprises starting from landing on Delhi airport, because if for the first time I noticed detailing on signages on airport such as “Toilet @3/4 minutes’ walk” & direction arrow, which really helps in case of urgency, (lol) then on other side traffic management outside airport was total mess & it took me 40 minutes to reach my cab to Bharatpur!

Once in cab, the new road network took us out of Delhi in real short time (good surprise) & I asked my driver friend Surinder to stop at first Dhaba (Sarpanch Dhaba ,lol) on road for food & the journey to Bharatpur has begun! To my surprise what I saw outside, was the way urbanization is swallowing farming as well wildlife (it’s very less anyways in Haryana) all along the road, even remote parts of UP & heaps of garbage on both side of the highway before entering in any village, town or city! Garbage spread along the roads is the scene which can be seen all over India now; (Hon.Modiji, Yogiji, Devendraji & Amit Shahaji, if by chance you come across this writeup, please look in this garbage aspect most unlikely though) & has become biggest threat for wildlife by polluting natural food as well habitats for animals & birds!  Once in Bharatpur I checked in at Birder’s Inn, a small Kothi type planned Inn & cosy as well right just five minutes’ walk from park gate & wonderful food. On the first chilled winter morning I started for the park on foot & cycle rickshaw with cameras following me, which is another interesting aspect of this place. As when you are going to click or watch birds you can’t have the luxury of moving in gypsy or any automobile for two things, with sudden movements the birds get disturbed & noise of engine is another disturbance, but cycle rickshaw is a bliss. Though for many tourists it's a cruel thing for the rickshawala to paddle in bitter cold but that's the need of the park & it helps in running their livelihood also, don’t forget this aspect also which is important in conservation of wildlife at such places. The first thing I noticed is, the way Bharatpur city has increased in size & development touching the park boundaries in the last decade, this is dangerous as there is practically no buffer for the park on three sides & this is going (has already) to be a trouble for the birds in future! The city garbage being dumped on the open lands adjoining to the park wall & scavenger birds like kite & city crow are becoming a menace for birds in the park, as for the first time I witnessed kites (domestic scavenger birds) circling in the park main area & even attacking eagles! Oh yes, one more disappointing thing, cleanliness of public toilets in the park’s Centre Point (canteen) , such was the stink that there was python basking in the sun in the open space adjoining to the toilet but nobody could stand the foul smell of the toilet so all preferred not even to have a look at the python & from every place the water was overflowing, leaking & what not, come-on guys, it’s a world heritage site & fifty percent of the tourists were foreigners, what kind of memories they will be taking back from keoladeo park like places, please think over! Here corporate companies also must contribute, Dear Adanis & Ambanis (and others too), if you also happen to be reading this sharing (again most unlikely) then please adopt public toilets in not just keoladeo park but in every forest of this country & trust me, it will be great contribution for wildlife!

I am sorry guys, if you were expecting only beauty & birding experiences about Bharatpur from my writeup but has got offended or bored with the sharing till now, then let me tell you this is reality, the place still holds some of the best birds sighting yet the threat on its very existence looming right on the top & I can’t help but to notice that threat & share with you as then there is some hope to change the course of that threat! This year’s heavy rains were another danger as keoladeo is low land & water from canals is directed here from ages to fill it up which became a birding habitat over the years. But this year the water flow was too much & seems the concerned authorities didn’t understand the rain factor & even in February because of deep water at many places the birds such as cranes & pelicans have moved outside the park in the farms for their food & breeding! There were still many resident birds like storks, darters & cormorant & ducks but migrations have been less, is what even the guides told! So has moved the deer & even prey mammals such as jackals, hyenas & on top of it some road net-work (wide roads) I saw in progress right in the park to a water body, destructing habitat of these mammals (is what the guides told me) making sightings of hyenas very rare! I don’t understand the authorities' (read as forest dept or govt) way of working especially at places such as Bharatpur, where one small mistake can change the balance of the entire life cycle of the species because it’s a small park hardly some 25 sq. km & damage spread can be fast. Just, why can’t they take in confidence the people which are a daily part of the system & their inputs can make a positive difference! But it’s always a tussle between the people in the govt that they think they only are the system while the system when its wildlife includes every entity which is some way connected to the habitat of the wildlife & even the rickshawalas here also understand the basic threat to the habitat by such infra works or wrong water management, so no harm in at least taking their opinions, which forest dept doesn’t ever! One good surprise was battery operated golf carts those who think manual rickshaws are too slow to move but I feel the best option is to walk in the park as then you can be part of that winter mist filled trails (many of them have gone sadly) of keoladeo. As you walk on those trails, you can see the silhouette of a deer looking curiously at you long ahead & the frame gets permanently engraved on the memory card of your brain & along with it is the sound of a flock of ducks taking flight! These are some things Bharatpur hasn’t lost & that made me forget the bad aspects of the system or threats to the park though we can’t ignore these things!

To my surprise, near the main water body at Centre Point fruit bats have made their colony & to click them or even to watch their nonstop action in the daylight as an amazing experience. Best part of the trip was darter fishing, means you have to sit at the edge of small lake & keep watching darters diving down & coming on the surface of water with its catch i.e., a fish & you have to click right moment of the darter gulping the fish by tossing it in air! Trust me, this looks so easy putting in words but it can take a day also to to get you one right shot, such fast & unpredictable is the entire action! First, there are five to six darters swimming at a time in the water; second thing is, darter dives at one place & comes on the surface anywhere 20 to 30 feet away from the place it has dived & third, it’s just slender neck of the bird which is above water & on the background of water’s blue-grey colour to focus it in a flash is not at all easy thing! But fun is, you get so much engrossed in this entire process that people don’t mind spending whole day here doing it!

Another lucky part of the trip was sighting of Saras Crain pair as imagine in 25 sq. km there was only one pair & it can fly from one place to another while you have to paddle & Saras Crain’s call can be very deceiving as its sharp shriek can be heard from long distance but it appears as its very near! And the best part was on one evening we listened to alarm calls (a peculiar sound deer raises when sensing danger) of cheetals & I was wondering what can make them feel so threatened & way back on gate there was a notice about sighting of leopard in the park! It’s a good sign for wildlifers as well bad sign for tourist’s movements & safety in the park. Though  leopard is a shy animal & is afraid of humans yet it can be a nuisance for birding as well smaller predators like jackals & hyenas which already are under threat of urbanization! At a place like Bharatpur you can get bored in a day (check yourself then) or you can just do nothing & spend all the days getting part of the surroundings in the park! I did later & forgot the negative aspects of the situation over there, got lost in the mist, cold, birds & trails & yes back at the hotel the Rajasthani food too! When in a place like Bharatpur, do ask as many questions about birds, their living which is way different than mammals & the variety you find is amazing. Unless you don’t ask questions chances are you won’t be able to distinguish one bird from another & will get bored soon thinking what’s big deal all are the birds only & that’s all! Actually, bird sighting & observation is a lot more difficult & interesting too than sighting a tiger; all one has to learn is, to understand how wonderful the entire process is & have some patience in doing so!

On the way back from the park I remembered the wall in the park on which from the year 1932, figures of duck hunting are engraved every year as this was a game (hunting) site of local Maharaj & the figures are in thousands. Today, fortunately official hunting not just of ducks but of any animal or bird is a crime yet by ignoring proper protection of such places we will be killing a lot more ducks than earlier hunters did because they just killed the birds but what we will be killing is their homes in itself, with this note in mind, I left Bharatpur, with a promise to come back soon & making people aware about our responsibility towards this wonderful natural treasure!

You can experience more birding as well park moments on the flicker link below..

https://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/albums/72177720306116852

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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/2023/01/defining-good-home-real-estate-in-2023.html

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2023/02/blog-post.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 / https://junglebelles.in/

Do We really Want to Save the Tiger? (Hon SC Committee's Report Analysis)

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“The time I spent in the jungles held unalloyed happiness for me, and that happiness I would now gladly share. My happiness, I believe, resulted from the fact that all wildlife is happy in its natural surroundings. In nature there is no sorrow, and no repining. A bird from a flock, or an animal from a herd, is taken by a hawk or carnivorous beast and those that are left rejoice that their time has not come today, and have no thought of tomorrow.” … Jim Corbett.

There are very few names which are so gelled with wilderness that their sheer mention takes your mind in to the forest & I am sure even in this country where controversy is the attitude, nobody will dare to counter-argue about Jim Corbett’s name to be topped in that list, such is the contribution of the man for wildlife of our country!   Unfortunately, the origin or say, the subject of sharing is the news which has origin in the land of Corbett only, so won’t stretch your patience and head straight away head to the subject (rare thing, lol). There was news in almost every newspaper & with a headline which made my stomach churn (potat gola aala, in Marathi) as such was its damaging impact on entire wildlife (as usual). The outcome or content of the news was a committee formed by Hon Supreme Court has submitted its report about wildlife tourism & has suggested that tourism must be banned or stopped or curtailed (whatever you call outcome is same) in the reserved forest’s core areas (some newspaper even said no safaris in buffer also), as well no Zoo type activities should be allowed even in Buffer areas of reserved forests. Reason why this committee has been formed is the request to grant by Uttarakhand Forest dept (govt) for permission to  start a Zoo in the buffer area of Corbett National Park & these were the findings of the committee. Well, first & foremost, I respect Hon SC’s decision to form a committee but  with equal due respect I defer to the findings of this committee as well as have concerns (read as doubts) about the committee members in itself! Though I don’t know who the committee members are & their credentials for the job yet the way these report pointers have been portered in the media, there seems to be serious lacunae in the findings as well overall approach of the committee towards the request or the purpose in itself. What Uttarakhand govt has asked is a permission to start a zoo in buffer area so where is the question arises to stop safaris in core or protected forests & the reasoning is given, that such tourism or activities will disturb wildlife in protected forests, rather the report goes to extremity of suggesting banning any tourism activity in the protected forests itself that too in all the forests in the country, wonderful, I salute the committee! I dare to be sarcastic even though the said committee has been formed by Hon SC but my sincere requests to Hon SC to look at the other side of this report & then only decide the course of the action!

There are few aspects about the committee itself, such as, who were the members of this committee & the conclusion they have made of banning or saying stopping safaris (we will take the zoo aspect separate) is on what basis! It’s been said that tourism affects wildlife & this is a very general statement, which tourism the committee has studied & how it affects in the wrong or disturbing way to the respective wildlife, will the committee throw light on it! Just posting or attaching some tourist gypsy vehicles on roads where a tiger is walking or sitting doesn’t mean it affects the tiger or wildlife at large. I have images of tigresses like Maya & tara from Tadoba which are comfortable in walking through twenty vehicles without even looking at them & these tigresses have done their duty as a mother & given more than twenty cubs in total which is their duty also towards nature & yet we say tourism affect in wrong way to the wildlife, how? As in the process of giving birth to the cubs Tara & Maya have been helped in saving thousands of families also which live in & around Tadoba forest & are solely depending on wildlife tourism for earning or say their survival. And had the Tara & Maya been not allowed to be seen (read as ban on wildlife tourism in core) for the tourists then these thousands of families would have been jobless & had become enemy of the tigers & we all know in the war of man & tiger who won in the end, right? And it’s not just Maya & tara, there are Sonam, Sharmili, Choti Madhu, Sonam as well there is Rudra, Taru, Chota Mataka & many more (all these are nicknames of the tigers in & around Tadoba) who are attraction of the forests around Tadoba & tourists delight as well are major link to connect humans with wilderness at large! Agreed one tiger doesn’t make entire forest but you need an icon ore brand ambassador for any product & unless we won’t recognize forests as a product, we won’t be able to save it, is a bitter fact which this committee has failed to understand or say digest & I am sorry Hon SC but I am not dishonoring you, only trying to show your facts about wildlife conservation!

The committee says (as per media) uncontrolled wildlife tourism is damaging wildlife which needs to be; left alone, & yes wildlife needs its privacy but that doesn’t mean cutting it off, from the humans as then who will protect it from humans? Confused, if you are then there are two types of humans, one which are good or say neutral humans for the wildlife & another are bad humans for the wildlife. All these rules, entry tickets, permission, and spending for wildlife tourism is done by the good humans which in this case is tourists which visit forests to see or experience the wildlife or even the tiger. While on the other side bad humans i.e., those who don’t have any respect or love for wildlife & doesn’t need (or asks) any permissions to enter in the protected forests enters in the forests & these are the ones to whom we should control & not the real, nature loving tourists or common people! As well there are two more categories of tourists, one is VIP tourists & another is so called wildlife photographers & these categories need to be controlled! Frankly we Indians love this VIP tag thing & right from our temples to the forests everywhere these VIP things intrude our system which must be stopped! VIP vehicles have special permits to move even in protected forests & they can go on roads closed for normal tourist as well there are no one ways for these vehicles & all the VIP’s only motto to visit the forests is, to see a tiger, that to free of cost & this creates major nuisance of which the normal tourists as well those who are depending on wildlife tourism are paying penalty, this is what the said committee has failed to see or take notice of as surely they too must be visited the forests in some VIP vehicle only! And another nuisance creating category is wildlife photographers & nothing wrong in clicking wildlife, problem is in getting desperate some special shot & focusing only on this aspect of wildlife & in the quest disturbing the flow of nature in the forests. What I meant is to get a special moment or frame of an animal by blocking its way or making the animal force to change its course of action which it is supposed to do naturally!  The committee should focus on such attitude or activities & rather presence of normal tourists around is like having watchdogs as if some wildlife photographer is doing something wrong then the other tourists can make it stop as well mention this on social media rather this is why the forest dept is afraid of use of mobiles in forests, it’s because of the wrong deeds of the VIPs & celebrity photographers comes in lime light which is a failure of forest dept or say system! But the said committee failed to take importance of the aspect that it’s the common tourist’s presence in the protected forest all such tendencies are restricted which is in the betterment of wildlife & not disturbance!

And then comes the aspect of earning from wildlife tourism which always has been on radar of so-called nature protectors (self-proclaimed) & keeping due respect for the sentiments of all such people which includes NGOs, Wildlife researchers (very few) & the Great Media also & which are always hail bend on proving how wildlife safaris or tourism is harmful as that’s meant only to make money! I want to ask one single question to all these elements, it’s easy to shout all your save wildlife slogans & writing captions by sitting in your comfortable homes or workplaces in cities like Pune or Delhi or Jabalpur, has any of you have ever thought of taking career of going & stay at any of protected forest & see what options you have got for earning your daily wages than depending on the money the tourists spend at such places? And if these tourists seek to have one glimpse of a tiger, then no harm in that as tiger sighting is rare. That's why everybody wants to have it, that's the law of nature that the human mind always run behind what is not easily accessible to it! Indeed, the tourism should not be tiger-centric & there are so many good things to see in the forest other than the tiger but who will explain this to the tourist if proper infrastructure in the form of guides to stay arrangements where such awareness campaigns can be run are not kept in place! And if we ban tourism in protected forests then how will the tourists know what’s there to see in the forests other than tigers?

Coming back to the tiger sightings, I wonder how many (barring a few) media persons actually visit a tiger sanctuary & see how difficult it is to see a tiger even in the core area, which the committee is focusing for no tourism & how little these reports know about wildlife than printing downloaded images of tiger being chased by tourist’s vehicles! Also, every tiger or tigress has its own territory so a core or buffer or even outside of the reserved forests there can be tigers as two tigers can’t survive in the same area is a fact. This means core & buffer all such things we have created for safety of habitat & not tiger by the limitation of forest depts’ manpower & machinery, rather all the forests must be declared as core & make open for balanced (not just controlled) tourism, if we really want to make survive the tigers along with other wildlife species, is basic fact which we (read as media) are neglecting conveniently; what’s committee’s say about this aspect of wildlife, I will like to know! Media (news media) was & is always biased against wildlife tourism is my straight accusation because it never prints (or likes to print) facts about wildlife tourism but only the negative aspect of it. Instead, every news media must send their respective reporter to the forests, ask them to live there, get the facts & figures about wildlife, speak with locals, understand their livelihood & then print your opinions about wildlife tourism is what today I will appeal to the entire media industry!

And then request for the permission of setting a Zoo in a buffer area, well I am not a wildlife expert like many others around but a simple logic is indeed it will make one more avenue of earning available for the locals! But another aspect is, imagine a wounded tiger or a deer in Kanha Forest, will it not be easy to have it treated nearby Kanha Forest & released again in the same forest than taking it away to some city which is hundreds of miles away? As well, if some animal is permanently injured then is it not a more natural way to keep that animal nearby or its habitat than to take it to some urban jungle where it will choke with all means of pollution? I am sure we all remember the recent Covid wave & Doctors advising major patients will low symptoms for quarantine in the home itself than taking to hospitals, so as they patient will feel mentally better to deal with the illness, isn’t it same logic applicable to the animals who will be taking shelter in such Zoo near the forests & if some people earn some money out of this which again are part of the same forest, what wrong in it!

I don’t say disturbing wildlife by tourism, no wildlife lover will say that but don’t consider tourism as enemy of wildlife is my simple plea. I myself am an urban living person that too a civil engg & builder(for earning), so I have no interest in promoting wildlife tourism if you think (especially media guys) that I am going to get benefitted by advocating wildlife tourism. Yet I am a wildlife lover too & I have not only travelled across many forests of our country but has been witnessed life of the people (including forest dept) who for 365 days are depending on these forests for their survival & only if these people we can make comfortable & survive then we will be able to make survive the wildlife of this 150 crore population (humans) country. Has this aspect of wildlife been taken in consideration by the said Hon. SC Committee as well by the entire media, is what I want to ask all of them! To conclude I will say only one thing, wildlife was around some thousand years or more than that with fifty thousand tigers just a hundred years back but our population was twenty crores (humans). Then there was no wildlife tourism, no protected forests , no core or buffer areas & what has happened is, today we are one fifty crore plus & tigers are just few thousands, right? So, lets workout a way which will make every human being know why the tiger is so important to make it survive as then only those one fifty crore humans can act to save the tiger along with its habitat & for that the tigers & its home (forests) must be accessible to every common citizen of this country! So, do whatever it takes to make it happen but if we decide blindly to deny easy access to the common humans to our forests, then we are sealing the fate of the wildlife of this nature rich country & in any language we use, that fate will be same & that is, Extinct i.e., Gone For Ever; please think over Hon Supreme Court Sir & decide!

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Sanjay Deshpande 

Sanjeevani Dev.

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