Destinations :: Vienna (2004)

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Hofburg Palace

My wife and I had visited Vienna for just about three days once earlier, around a couple of decades ago on a shoestring budget. We rushed around doing the sights, visited palaces and museums, went around in circles on the trams of Ring-kai-Ring, and wandered through the maze of narrow cobbled streets in the Old Quarter, flanked by quaint centuries-old baroque structures. We came away not quite satiated; always had that compelling desire to go back and experience it more fully. We did just that just a few years ago. Today, Vienna has become one of the most liveable cities of Europe and no wonder it hosts hordes of tourists.

Keen on a room with a kitchen-counter because of our

Museum of Natural History

cardio-vascular condition, my wife, surfing the net, hit on “Rothensteiner Heritage Appartments”. Offering “transfers”, (sumptuous) breakfast and a (early-bird) discounted tariff, it was a bargain that we couldn’t resist. Situated on the Neustiftgasse, just a short walk away from what is popularly called the Ring – the heart of Vienna – it was indeed a heritage outfit. A baroque structure, as most Viennese buildings are, it was erected when Vienna was forging away from its core in the 1870s.

Inevitably on the day of our arrival we headed for the Ring, or the Ringstrasse as it is formally known. A few minutes walk brought us to the Maria Theresa Platz – a garden

of immense proportions dotted with delicately carved statues erected at eyelevel. An imposing statue of Empress Maria Theresa, who ruled over Austrian Empire in the 18th Century,

Votive Church on the Ring

however, dominates the garden. On either side of her are two massive almost identical structures, the Museums of Natural History and of Fine Arts, their architecture described as “outrageously flamboyant modernist”. The Fine Arts Museum has numerous sections and has kilometres of corridors housing most of the collection – from Egyptian antiquities to works of great artists like Titian, Rembrandt, Raphael, etc. – of Imperial Hapsburgs. It is almost in the same league as Louvre of Paris but not quite as large.

Coming out of the garden we landed up on the Ring, a leafy enormously wide boulevard with streetcars shuttling back and forth on its central verge. The Ring is like a horseshoe, circling the Historic City Centre, a World Heritage Site, with the Danube at the far end with the St. Stephan's Cathedral at its centre. It was laid out when Emperor Franz Joseph I ordered in 1857 demolition of the wall around the old town to make way for a circular boulevard. Responding to the

Nacht Markt

Emperor’s call architects from all over Europe adorned it with a variety of new buildings in architectural schools of the distant past, giving birth to a style known as “Eclecticism”.

Officially opened in 1879, the Ring is four kilometres long and sixty meters wide, lined with trees and buildings. Each part of the Ring carries different names and has something imposing along its length. Some of the impressive structures are the Parliament, called the “Parlament”, the Rathaus or the City Hall, The Burg Theatre (the Court Theatre), Votivekieche or the Votive Church. Two massive parks – the Volksgarten (the Peoples’ Garden) and the Burggarten or the sovereign’s personal garden – are also along the Ring. While the two gardens are of enormous proportions, the Burggarten has a Mozart monument where every evening

In the Royal Garden near Mozart Memorial

is a musical evening. Alongside, is a worth-seeing museum of butterflies. We ended our trek of the first evening at the incredibly beautiful Opera House. It captivated us just as it did earlier; this time, however, it was more impressive, having been recently restored.

The centrepiece of the city is the St. Stephan’s Cathedral, and that is where we headed the next morning. On the way young men in period costumes buttonholed us, pushing tickets for concerts at Hofburg Palace. Having neither the money nor the inclination we begged off. Then there it was, under restoration, in all its splendour. Built during the Gothic era, St. Stephan's is one of the chief Gothic buildings in Europe. Towering majestically over the center of the city, its spire is Vienna's most identifiable landmark.

The plaza in front, Stephanplatz, is a pedestrianised area

Rothensteiner Heritage Hotel

is a cheery place with fashionable shops and numerous cafes. Nearby is Graben, one of the oldest streets of Vienna. Built on a moat of Roman times and filled up around 1200 AD, it was a flour and vegetable market until the 17^th Century, but today a street of smart shops housed in baroque-era structures. It has the Plague Monument, erected at the end of the 17^th Century to commemorate the passing off of the epidemic.

Off Graben is the Kohlmarkt, once a coal market but now a shoppers’ paradise, that leads to the semi-circular imposing façade of the Hofburg Palace, A town within a town, the Imperial Palace, the favourite residence of the Hapsburgs, was enlarged over the centuries, its core having been built around 1220. The Palace’s Imperial Apartments, the Imperial Treasury, etc have been converted into museums displaying the riches of the dynasty. There are collections of porcelain and silver, arms and armour and antiquities and much, much more. The Spanish Riding School located in a part of the

New Secessionist architecture

Palace, again a baroque creation of architect Erlach of the 18^th Century, is where one can see the finest exposition of dressage on those beautiful white Lippenzenar horses.

Tired after a long walk we came back to Stephanplatz only to plunk ourselves on chairs in a sun-drenched café. It was an ideal place to linger over a cup of Viennese coffee, watch the roadside carnival and sooth our tired legs. An institution in Vienna, cafes have a history of their own. While retreating after a fight in the 17^th century the Turks left behind large quantities of coffee beans. The beverage became so popular that it gave its name, “café”, to the establishments that served it. Black and strong, with or without cream, coffee is served in its several variations, each delectable and of a pick-me-up sort.

Next morning as we walked to the Ring the drone of two helicopters flying in tight circles made us a little wary as we used to see such a pair circling over Kabul, and then strafe the neighbouring villages during the soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Only these, apparently, were not armed. Mystified, we walked on. The mystery soon resolved itself as we hit Heldenplatz. With a great collection of people and music blaring; the atmosphere was festive. Then we saw on

In a Viennese cafe

giant screens the progress of a marathon. While children played around the giant air-filled synthetic dolls, the adults were either busy monitoring the progress of the Vienna Mrathon or in sipping coffee or beer in cafes that had miraculously come up in shamiana-like enclosures on the neighbouring lawns.

A small fleet of cute little toy-like cars manufactured by Mercedes-Benz and Swatch had been put out for display. Named “Smart Car”, these are two-seater lightweight petrol city-coupe designed for easy manoeuvrability in congested city-centres. Their electronically managed engine prevents emission of pollutants and saves on fuel, doing a hundred kilometres in little more than four litres. At Rs.12 lakh, however, they don’t come cheap.

Opera House

On our way back we went head-on into what turned out to be an annual flea market. Temporary shops had come up on the street, vehicular traffic having been suspended. We, too, joined the swollen crowd. Household goods, from clothes, utensils, to crockery, you name it were on offer. As we were looking at some jackets I heard somebody hollering the familiar Punjabi “haan-ji”. Turning around to look for the source I saw an Austrian lad on top of a table smiling and gesturing at me saying “haan-ji, haan-ji”. Climbing down from his perch he sauntered towards me. He said his best friend at school was a Sikh from whom he had picked up the word. Later we saw several Sikhs had set up temporary eateries serving barbecued meat and chicken, along with kebabs, naans and other Indian delicacies. Fond of the stuff, the Viennese surprisingly kept them terribly busy despite their delectable (and our loved) shnitzel available all around.

The Indian culinary presence is seemingly strong with not

At Stephenplatz

only “Indische” restaurants but also with Indian spices, pickles and heat-and-eat parathas, roties, etc. Even Indian spiritual presence is noticed in numerous bookshops displaying its esoteric volumes.                                    

Known for its Baroque buildings, Vienna has two remarkable specimens of this 17^th and 18^th Centuries architectural style in Belvedere and Schonbrunn Palaces. The two Belvedere Palaces were designed by Hildebrandt for Prince Eugene of Savoy, a military strategist. Both the Palaces – the Upper and the Lower Belvedere – have been converted into museums of art. These had closed by the time we arrived but they overwhelmed us, as they would anyone with the classic, stately and imperial aura that they exude.

Named after Schoner Brunnen, a fountain discovered in

The secessionist incinirator

the 17^th Century, the Schonbrunn Palace was earlier a hunting lodge. During Maria Theresa’s reign the Palace was used as a summer residence. Situated on an elevation, it gives a fine view of Vienna. Only 45 of the 1200 rooms of the Palace are open for viewing. The crystal chandeliers, the priceless tapestries and furniture, adornments of lacquer and porcelain are worth seeing. The Guest Apartments are among the most luxurious in the Palace. The Coach Room has an interesting display of a collection of coaches from 17^th, 18^th, 19^th Centuries including those of Napoleon, his empress Maria Louise, and of Emperor Franz Joseph. Extravagant harnesses and trappings and a gilded and ornate coronation were most interesting. The Palace and the gardens area UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, once conducted by our own Zubin Mehta, held a free concert on the Schonbrunn Palace grounds as a gesture of welcome to the ten new European Union members. The extensive grounds overflowing with people had the100-odd pieces orchestra far away on the dais. We took a vantage position at the back, near the entrance. One from a group of beer-guzzling Viennese

Relaxing on the Ring

young men got talking to me. When I happened to tell him my nationality, he gave an ear-to-ear grin and said “huh, Sonia Gandhi!” She had supposedly Arenounced the top job of India only the day before.

While speaking of architecture one cannot help mentioning the rebellion against the established styles. The “Secessionist Movement” of the 19^th Century against the “eclectism” exemplified by the structures around the Ring yielded its most enduring example, the Secession Building with its golden cupola. The other prominent signs of rebellion were the building designed by an Austrian painter, Friendensreich Hundertwasser, whose colourful Incinerator erected along the Danube Canal has become a Viennese landmark. The Hundertwasserhaus, a cheap apartment block sponsored by the City of Vienna and completed in 1985, is so popular with tourists that a museum and a gourmet restaurant

Another example of new architecture

have come up around it. Fifty apartments built by him have avoided the monotony of housing estates with sloping roofs and hanging gardens.

The last sight on our itinerary was the Museum Quartier. One of the largest cultural complexes in the world, it splendidly combines Baroque walls – which once enclosed the Imperial Stables – with contemporary architectural design. Apart from museums, it has halls for cultural activities, shops selling curios and knick-knacks and several cafes.

A marvellous “Earth from Above” exhibition of massive weatherproof blow-ups was on. Mounted in the enormous open space along Museumstrasse, approximately fifty evocative photographs taken by Yann Arthus-Bertrand from helicopters from the height ranging from 30 to 3000 metres were on display showing “man’s imprint and assault” on his environment. Photographs of climate gone berserk, damaged coral reefs, polluted rivers and mindless urbanisation evocatively brought home the havoc that we have wreaked on our beautiful planet. Two photographs from India, one of an unhygienic slaughterhouse of Delhi and another of carpets being washed in UP, were depressing. Unfortunately the exhibition is not slated to come to India. Perhaps, we do not have the wherewithal to mount such an exhibition.

At the end a word on the city’s transport system would be

On Stephenplatz

in order. Vienna has an incredibly efficient, dependable, ever enlarging and integrated public transport system comprising the underground, omnibuses and trams. A single ticket for a specified duration allows virtually seamless use of all the three modes, something that we are yet to accomplish in this country. Cycling is another way of getting around; in fact, the city administration encourages it by making available bicycles on a nominal deposit. Our hotel-mate, Charles Weekes, had brought his folding bike from across the Atlantic. A superannuated like me, he would go around on his bike even outside out to the nearby wine-country.

Memories of an ordinary Indian :: 26 :: Ahmedabad

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GPO Ahmedabad

Memories of a Receding past :: 26 :: Ahmedabad (Part 1)

A little after Saharanpur training I got my first regular posting orders. It was to Ahmedabad in Gujarat in charge of postal operations of the Ahmedabd Division. But by the time I reached Ahmedabad it was changed to Ahmedabad Railway Mail Service just because otherwise I would have been entitled to a house. The man who got it manipulated was right there and he got it swung in his favour. As a fresh recruit I did not make an issue of it but I had the added inconvenience of looking for a house.

I had a rough 24 hour journey from Bhopal in blistering heat. The train coaches were of wood and yet those would heat up like blazes. By the time I reached Ahmedabad it had cooled down a bit but this bit of bad news unnerved me as I didn’t like it one bit. My orders were issued by a regular Postmaster General and these were changed by an officer who was working on ad hoc basis in a leave vacancy and had no authority to change it that was issued by a senior and regularly appointed PMG.

I was put up in one of the inspection rooms in the huge GPO complex in the old town. But one had to walk only a few steps to get to Relief Road which was a massive artery through the town. On the junction of our lane with this road there was a very good restaurant named “Kwality” like the one in Regal Building of Delhi. This became my regular haunt for dinner. Later a Telecom Engineering Services probationer, T Poonen, living in another room in the Inspection Quarters also would join me. Both of us were fond of Western food. We would have a three course meal in Rs. 10 per head and occasionally walk across the road to Havmor Ice Cream Parlour. It was great going till it lasted which was not for long anyway. Ahmedabad was a prosperous and affluent town as it continues to be so even today.

My ever-helpful PS, SJ Mehta, would come every morning and take me to the office. He knew the way around pretty well and the buses that one had to take. Soon he found me a house on the banks of Sabarmati not very far from the Sabarmati Ashram of Mahatma Gandhi. The house was owned by a Burmese repatriate who had to return as Burmese were throwing out foreigners at that time. An old female relative of his agreed to work for me.

 I had no conveyance of my own and had to depend on buses or auto rickshaws. I would catch a bus from the Ashram Road and get off as it crossed Gandhi Bridge. My office was bang on Sabarmati; actually my room used to be next to the sands of the Sabarmati River. When I saw it first it had no water, it had only sand. A fairly wide river full of sand could generate a lot of heat as well as dust as wind speed gathered strength. But with the onset of monsoon it would change and in one of the years I was there it got a massive inflow, so much so that in its rush it swept away cows and buffaloes by dozens. That year the Postmaster General rang me up and said he wanted to see the River in full flow. He came and saw the waters in their rush missing the deck of the bridge by inches. Now, of course, there is not much of sand as water is always there in the River with the completion of the River Front Project.

My jurisdiction extended to North Gujarat, Kathiawar and Kutch. I had to travel a lot and for that purpose. Under the prevailing arrangements with the department, the Railways used to provide me with I Class Railways travelling pass. It was to be used only while on duty. It covered the entire state of Gujarat but I could move south of Amedabad only if ordered to do so, elsewhere within my jurisdiction I could travel whenever I liked as it had to be in compliance of nature of my duties.

I was a rank novice in so far as the office work was concerned. I didn’t even know where to sign unless a helpful mark was added. Having never worked in an office my ignorance showed up. But the head clerk and other clerks had a lot of patience. Gradually, however, with my own efforts and application I understood the system. I also conceptualized my duties which I thought were to extend maximum facilities to the members of the public and taking good care of the staff working under me regardless of their rank.

 Railway Mail Service was patterned on British Royal Mail Service. It used to function in railway buildings and railway bogies specially designed for the purpose. Those functioning in the buildings of railways or owned by others including the P&T department were known as stationary mail offices and the ones functioning in railway bogies were called travelling mail offices. Communication by letter mail, unlike current times, was most vital in those days and the P&T department provided the cheapest means for people to reach out to others including friends and relatives, governments and organizations of their choice. Our business was to ensure such arrangements that the mails reached the addressees’ hands in quickest possible time.

The scheme of sending all I Class mails by air without additional surcharge initiated by the Communication Minister, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, a unique gesture by the Government of India, added wings to the mails.  Even the Universal Postal Union, the Specialised Agency of the UN on postal matters, was highly appreciative of it as it said that no country in the world, rich or poor, had extended such facilities to the people. The result was that in those early days, more than half a century ago, a letter from Ahmedabad for Jorhat in Assam would take only 72 hours to do its journey. I recall an incident when an unknown person rang me up to say that he was told that it was I who was organizing the routing etc of mails. He wanted to congratulate me as he found letters posted in evenings at Ahmedabad for his correspondents at Cochin reached the addressee in less than 24 hours – faster than a telegram. I couldn’t but thank him for the appreciation and told him that the system was designed by my predecessors and it evolved over time with minor necessary adjustments.

The system used to function like clock-work as the pre-independence work ethics were, by and large, still prevalent. People would be punctual and generally put in honest work for eight hours. Likewise the supervisors and the inspectors would be on their toes all the time. The inspectors were recruited from among the operatives through a very stiff departmental qualifying examination. Some of them were really brilliant as also dedicated, like the one I had as my Head Clerk – DH Dave. Supervision and monitoring of the performance of operatives was so intense that Indian P&T soon was considered to be the finest Postal System in the world. This was despite very little automation in its operations. No wonder numerous officers of the department were picked up by the Universal Postal Union to act as experts or consultants in countries in need of expertise or even man the vital positions in its office located at Berne, Switzerland.

I was recruited in the department when it was in expansion mode. People seemingly were starving for facilities. Occasional news reports would appear how people had to walk for miles in rural areas to find a letter box. More and more post offices were being opened and naturally it followed that a few more mail offices had to be opened. During my time in the division as many as four offices were opened including one at Bhuj. Bhuj would occasionally figure in the news as mails for it from Bombay would be flown on two flights that the city used to get every day. But from the airport these would be brought, quite laughably, on a donkey cart. The advantage gained by flying the mails was thus partially lost.

Talking of Bhuj reminds me the city’s wall that was thickest I had seen till then. The Chinese Wall that I later saw in Beijing was altogether in a different league. But the one in Bhuj was was perhaps the thickest one in India. It had to be as the people were rich and they and their property had to be protected. The city inside the wall was a maze of narrow streets, shops loaded with goodies and with electric and telephone wires criss-crossing overhead. These were mostly used as clothes lines messing up the distribution system.

I will remember Bhuj always for its guest house that I was put up in the first time I visited the city. It was, in fact, the residence of the British Agent and was a huge bungalow lavishly furnished. I was given a suite of rooms that contained a drawing room, the bedroom a dressing room and couple of toilets – a western style and the other had an Indian style commode. All the rooms were furnished with what looked like Burmese teak wood furniture. The beds were four poster-type with richly carved posts. The dining room was also well furnished and crockery was elegant with the Bhuj Maharaja’s insignia printed on them. The food too was of royal style and delectable and was pretty cheap to suit the pockets of bureaucrats who came and parked themselves there.

 Unfortunately I could stay there only once as when I went there next time at the end of 1964 it had been taken over by the Army on account of the trouble in Sir Creek region of Kutch. It was one of the finest government properties that I ever stayed in.

Bhuj was not the only place where a good property of the former princely state was handed over to the successor government. There were state government properties elsewhere that were converted into circuit houses. Some were well maintained and some were not. I remember the circuit houses of Rajkot and Junagadh which were really good till then. The service was also good. Food used to be served by liveried bearers in crockery that had insignia of the respective former princely states. Another place of stay I liked tremendously was in Porbandar. The town had a Chowpaty and there were three what were called villas on it, each in the midst of a well-maintained garden. Two villas would accommodate only four people and the third one was meant for the kitchen. They used to serve lovely fried fish and I would restrict my meals to them. They were so brilliantly made. Another peculiarity was the absence of fans as the sea breeze would blow in all the time keeping the villas cool.

Kathiawad used to be an interesting place and yet I did not see a few places that I should have. One was, of course, the Gir Forest and the other was Diu, the former Portuguese colony. I did not venture on bus journeys as they were primitive; I did, however, take the ferry from Navlakhi to Kandla, the port that was built specially as a substitute for Karachi that was lost to Pakistan on partition of the country and to receive the PL480 wheat from the USA. When I saw it more than 55 years ago there was hardly amy activity. Now it is a busy port with miles of containers waiting to be taken away.

In Ahmedabad I came face to face with the formidable P&T Union that was Left oriented. They tested me out during first few meetings and perhaps realized that I didn’t mean any harm. Soon, the long list of pending items shrunk to just three or four – mostly because these could not be resolved at my level. When the Union’s senior leaders came from their Central Headquarters they came to see me and complimented me for the efforts that I had put in to resolve staff problems. They were impressed by the facilities we had provided in rest house for the travelling operatives for which even the Postmaster General had complemented me and my staff for providing such upgraded facilities.

The result of our efforts was visible on the railway platform the day I was leaving Ahmedabad on transfer after two years and a half. The staff had collected in large numbers in front of the I Class compartment blocking the way for the passengers. They had festooned the outer walls of the carriage with dozens of garlands. When I entered my coupe with a heavy load of garlands my co-passenger asked me incredulously “who (the hell) are you?”, very young as I was. I do not think a Sr. Superintendent ever got such a send off for a long time before or after me.

*Photo from internet

Bhopal Notes :: 76 :: High rises where Upper Lake once was?

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The other day I came across a video clip in whatsapp containing something very alarming. If it is all true, it should set alarm bells ringing all over Bhopal.

Two days ago there was a small news item in a vernacular newspaper that the water in the Upper Lake of Bhopal, considered the lifeline of the town, is leaking into the Lower Lake through some duct created naturally or artificially.  While the water of the Lower Lake is not lifted for distribution in the town for drinking purposes, the waters of the Upper Lake is used for this purpose. And it is the level of the Upper Lake, which is already precarious and is shrinking. The Lake was reported to have waters for supply for the next three weeks after which, if the rains still elude Bhopal, one does not know what would happen. Perhaps, there will be just no water available and people may have to get away elsewhere as they have done in Panna district deserting some villages. Allowing the leak into the Lower Lake is nothing short of a criminal act.

What was alarming about the video was the statement of a spokesperson of a voluntary organization which said that all this was being done deliberately by some politicians of both Indian National Congress and Bharatiya Janta Party in active collaboration of the officials concerned of the Municipal Corporation. The idea is to arrange a set-up in which the Upper Lake loses all its waters and then the land mafias, with the help of “raj-netas”, use the exposed lake bed for real estate purposes. The intention seems to be to get rid of the water body and use the prime land in the heart of the town to mint money. It is not beyond politicians to think of such a scenario as they think big and think of making not one or two crores but multi crores regardless of the consequences of their actions on the hapless common men.

Already there are reports of encroachments inside the Lake in Khanugaon area. A wall that was raised much inside the FTL line is yet to be demolished despite the orders of former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan. But it seems, the CM was not averse to the encroachment as he never reportedly issued written orders. The wall therefore stands violating wetland norms and, looks like, the encroachers are biding their time and living for another convenient day when they could strike again.

In fact the government of Shivraj Singh Chauhan too was eying the catchment of the Upper Lake with saliva dripping from its mouth. So much of land lying unused; putting them to use would unlock crores for the party and for politicians themselves. Yet they were not able to do that. The CEPT report too suggested ‘hands off the catchments’. The government did the next best thing; it sat on the report of the CEPT and refused to make it public. It remains to be seen whether the Congress government will release it. A report had said that it would be made public soon but weeks have gone by and nothing has happened.

Unscrupulous municipal officials and politicians cannot be trusted with the wellbeing of the general public. Their own wellbeing takes precedence over those of others. Hence a strong civil society action needs to be organized like the one that forced the Shivraj Singh government to move the site of smart city from green and verdant Shivaji Nagar to elsewhere. If people of Bhopal allow the Upper Lake to be dried up by the machinations of unscrupulous officials and politicians they would do so at their own peril.

 The need of the hour is for all civil society organizations to come together to thwart the evil designs and schemes of crooked officials and politicians.

Bhopal Notes :: 75 :: Burning Bhopal

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Flamingos come to b]Bhopal only when it is
extremely hot and conditions are drought-like

The heat in Bhopal has increasingly become unbearable. It has been 45 degrees Celsius for the last few days and yesterday it touched 46 degrees. The predictions that I saw in the computer were very disheartening. The current weather pattern will continue till 19^th June when the monsoon after hitting the subcontinent around the 10^th is likely to move into the central part of the country.

 June in Bhopal was never like this; it used to be cloudy and pleasant and we would switch off the air-conditioners as these contraptions wouldn’t be needed. There would be a few pre-monsoon showers to bring the temperatures down. But now it is so different. While there are no pre-monsoon showers the sun is blazing away and one cannot really go out even in a vehicle that is air conditioned – as, thankfully, most vehicles are these days. In fact, my wife and I have been confined in the house for around 10 days or so.

That climate has changed for the worse is now a matter of fact. People who do not believe in the phenomenon of climate change – people like Donald Trump – are lucky as they do not feel or perceive the changes. They are so luckily placed that they can describe the purveyors of climate change as having a “political agenda” and have the gall to reject their laboriously put together reports. But, apparently, it is already too late to retrace back the steps as, it looks like, we are almost next to the tipping point. An Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change has said that now the whole thing could be reversed if global emission of CO₂ is reduced by 45% from 2010 levels by 2030 and use of coal is totally stopped. Implementing these conditions is not possible as there are Donald Trumps of this world who wield enormous power and do not believe in global warming and have so far behaved like a bull in a china shop. Such men are unlikely to do a thing to save the world from the oncoming catastrophe. Scientists have warned that if no action is taken now to reverse the trend there could be significant changes detrimental to human life on this planet once the full effects of climate change kick in after 2030.

Global warming as a phenomenon has been in public discourse for more than a couple of decades. The conservation of the environment with the centrality of trees and forests in the effort has been emphasised over and over again by the scientists studying the phenomenon. The print media has been very pro-active in reporting the developments on the environment front. And yet, it is now reported that during the last two decades Bhopal lost 26% of its greenery. Experts estimate that if the felling of trees continues in the city at the same rate (which is very likely) greenery that was once 67% of the land area of the town will remain only on 3% of its area.

 Worse, in the last five years the city administrators are reported to have felled more than 250,000 trees that were more than forty years old. Obviously, all these hundreds of thousands trees were planted as the newly-designated capital of the state started digging roots in the newer and virgin areas of the town. All these trees were cut down in the name of development of the city and the government projects that should have taken care to preserve the trees instead of cutting them down. Hundreds of thousands of trees in a small area of a small city means a lot and no wonder Bhopal lost its salubrity. The average temperature shot up by 5 to 7 degrees Celsius and what we have today is the blistering heat and hot winds of Central India. The sun beats down relentlessly as there is nothing like a dense vegetative cover to temper its heat. To beat the heat people use air-conditioners, a jungle of external units of which can be seen in the business district of MP Nagar that too spew hot air out into the surroundings.  

The latest reports say while the civic bodies of the town (if I am not mistaken, there are three) went on merrily hacking down trees in the city the compensatory afforestation was carried out tens of kilometers away. That did not give any benefit to the townsfolk who are virtually withering in the heat. According to the civic bodies wherever trees were hacked down there was no space available for compensatory plantation. If such was the case the trees in question should not have been cut down. The need for development could not have been so compelling that uncalled for hardship should be inflicted on the citizens. But that is the way our civic bodies – with least amount of civic sense and least care for the comfort of the citizens. It appears to me to be a sensible matter to hold the civic bodies and their heads accountable for this neglect of micro climate of the city. Simultaneously, the head of the department of environment and the chief minister need to be asked to answer for their gross indiscretion and failure to guard the interests of the people. One wishes that somebody hauls them up in the courts for their cavalier attitude towards as vital a matter as the local climate.

The planet seems to be hurtling unchecked towards disaster and the civilization that has been built up over the millennia is under serious threat of getting extinguished by none other than the humans who claim to be the most intelligent animals in the universe. One does not really know what happens when we cross the tipping point. We the old guard are going to pass on. It is the up-and-coming generation that will get the worst of it – unless they quickly get into the act themselves to save the planet.

*Photo from internet

Our Life, Our Times :: 36 :: Neglect of Environment may Prove Deadly

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A typical summer scene

The newspapers are full of reports of human suffering that is being caused by extraordinary heat during this summer. Temperatures are soaring all over the country, whether in North or Central or South India or in its eastern parts, with mercury in Churu in Rajasthan, a traditionally hot place, topping 50 degrees Celsius. What makes the situation worse is the acute water shortage that accompanies the extreme hot weather. Reports in newspapers are frequently seen of men and women crowding around wells with long pipes in vain attempts to reach the rapidly falling subsoil water level or trudging long distances over dusty roads in the hope of finding a water source.

The prediction that global warming will take its toll is proving to be true. The hinterland of the country is the worst sufferer as are the people inhabiting it. It is the poor who suffer most not only because of the heat but also because of general unavailability of water for quenching their thirst or for cooking and ablutions. The rich and well-to-do are able to somehow manage with their money power and extra hands that they hire to service their needs. But it is the poor who get the worst of it, especially the elderly and feeble who are unable to gather their essential needs.

In India global warming has already started hitting the poor where it hurts them most. And yet hardly anything is done to mitigate their almost regular annual travail to get over the heaps of trouble that they have to deal with. Almost all political parties swear by the poor but they have done nothing to prepare for mitigation of hardships of the poor that were anticipated with the onset of global warming. While there has been failure in the past there seems to be failure in the offing in the future as well.

The new Modi government has allocated only half a minister for dealing with crucial matters relating to environment. Prakash Jawadekar is the minister – half for environment and another half for Information & Broadcasting. Is environment in the current times of global warming and consequential climate change so unimportant as to deserve only half a minister? This is strange as when cabinet formation was in the process in late May the impact of general warming had already made its presence felt in some parts of the country.

In his earlier avatar as Minister of Environment and that too for half a tenure (the other half was shared by Dr. Harshwardhan) Jawadekar was known among environmentalists to have diluted the environmental laws. His efforts were seen only as that of a facilitator for forest clearances instead of a conservationist that a minister for environment needs to be. And hence, hundreds of square kilometers of forests were allowed to be cleared for polluting industries. He was, after all, feeding his government’s chase for development and higher and higher rate of growth in the country’s GDP. Somehow, he and the government overlooked the fact that high rate of GDP growth does not necessarily make people, especially the poor, happy. What happens, as has been seen in the past five years, it is Mukesh Ambani and his ilk who prosper in a regime of high rate of GDP growth whereas the poor suffer from shrinkage of their resources.

Five years of Modi government has not been good for conservation of the environment which include purity of the air we breathe, easy availability of water for everybody’s needs, especially for the poor and so on. If the government is keen only on “vikas” (development) and an overriding wish to become a super power all these fetters like those of environment have to be shaken off. What impact does it have on people in course of time remains to be seen. There is no gainsaying the fact that the hardships for the people will surely be enhanced.

I do not know why governments are so indifferent to the problems created for the people by adverse impacts of environment. Of course, all that we find adverse today are because of thoughtless tinkering by us with nature. Many actions that are taken by governments are mostly in the name of development coupled with the wellbeing of people but most of them end up harming the natural surroundings putting people in dire straits. Our people have to fight relentless battles against the adversities inflicted on them spending most of their resources and energy.

From the indications one gets today it seems that the people in this country are going to face severe privations because of environmental degradation. Trees that are the protectors of environment are facing threats from human activities. One wonders how many of those who are ready with an axe to cut down trees know that trees contribute to their environment by providing oxygen, improving air quality, climate amelioration, conserving water, preserving soil and supporting wild life. Trees control the climate by moderating the effects of sun, rain and wind. Both above and below the ground trees are essential for the ecosystems they reside in. Roots reaching far below underground hold the soil together preventing erosion. Besides, trees store and absorb rainwater that reduces runoffs. When we consider forests which, in fact, are a great assemblage of trees of various species, bushes, etc., their benign effect on the natural world increase manifold. Many of them are beneficial for humans and animals and many others are good for the natural features. When we clear the forests we are deprived of all those benefits, putting humans and animals to a life of acute stress.

India has set a target for itself of a forest area of 33% of its land area but its total area under forests is only 21.74% - a deficit of around 12%. This figure includes only forested areas and excludes areas that are supposedly under tree cover. While a marginal increase of around 1% has been registered in forest cover there is hardly any concerted effort to maintain forests and enhance their area keeping in view the target of 33% of land area.

As the temperatures are already vaulting, lokks like, there is little that we can do now.. Already we are late and it seems it is going to be very difficult to undo the damage to the environment that has already been done. Nonetheless a beginning has to be made and action has to be taken on war footing to restore our physical environment as best as we possibly can and as fast as possible.

At the same time, our people have to prepare themselves for dealing with intense heat on account of global warming and the loss of tempering effects because of reduced vegetative cover. Over the oncoming years heat is likely to become more and more intense making life difficult for humans and animals. Already, predictions have been made that if business of conservation of the environment continues as usual the temperatures could hit 50 degrees Celsius in large parts of the country by mid 21^st Century turning most of it into hostile and inhospitable for life on this planet as we have known it.