Superbug newsleak: Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to announce "Drink Up, Delhi!" Campaign

Tired of the 'negativity', Delhi Chief Minister to chart out a bold new effort to re-brand Delhi water!

Not happy!

A highly-placed source close to Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has informed the Dhaba that the chief minister plans to re-brand Delhi water in the response to an "unscientific" scientific study published recently in the Lancet. The study claims that Delhi drinking water has been contaminated by antibiotic-resistant 'superbugs.' According to our source, the CM thought the matter should have been put to rest by Wednesday's press conference, where she joined government scientists and Delhi Jal Board officials in claiming, "There is no superbug, no cause for worry."


"When that didn't work," says our source, "the CM felt she had no choice but to be more proactive--after all the reputation of the city is at stake...she decided to launch a bold PR campaign stressing the World Class aspects of Delhi tap water."


According to our source, before settlling on "Drink up, Delhi!" several slogans were considered for the campaign. Top contenders included:
Meri Delhi, meri nal ka pani!
DJB--cheap and best!
Incredible Delhi's Drinking Water!
DJB: Thirsty Kya? 
Delhi Jal Board: people you can trust!


Apparently, several members of the CM's inner circle suggested a more "pragmatic" approach, given the Lancet's reputation of as one of the world's most respected scientific journals. They suggested the following slogans:
Superbugs for a Supercity!
We've never met a cholera bug we couldn't treat!
We've got super gastro-intestinal specialists in New Delhi!
No evidence of increase in Drug resistance in Cholera!
Delhi Water: what doesn't kill you will make you stronger!
Those advisers were promptly fired, said our source. "The CM felt we needed a positive spin on the issue, regardless of what the 'science' says. What is 'science' anyway? Everyone knows a positive attitude can overcome any small thing like Typhoid! The CM has never regretted making bold statements, like when she claimed flyovers would help Delhi to become pollution-free by 2010 or when she repeatedly claimed Delhi would be ready for the CWG in plenty of time...it's perception that matters in politics, no?"

‘No evidence of increase in drug resistance in cholera''

The Drink Up, Delhi campaign will feature pictures of prominent Delhi residents drinking glasses of tap water and smiling. Expect hoardings to go up by the end of the month, with TV spots to follow.
 "We'd like to have Manmohan Singh drinking a glass of water in front of India Gate, Alka Pande sipping in front of the Habitat Centre, US Ambassador Roemer drinking straight from an American Embassy irrigation pipe--that sort of thing." When asked whether these figures had agreed to actually drink unfiltered Delhi Jal Board water, our source was non-committal: "The common man wants to know we care about his plight...what's in the glass is not important.  Besides, everyone knows how much money we spent making our city World Class for the CWG...they can't expect us to have piles of cash laying around to invest in things like 'public health' and clean water!"

Why this green supports today's Delhi Autorickshaw strike

Strike day: don't travel by auto today!

Autos are not perfectly green, but they are better than many other forms of transportation--efforts to unduly burden them are wrong-headed and unfair
Because of the Delhi autorickshaw strike today, I had to take two buses to get to work. Sure I saved some money--and my green quotient was higher, but instead of 30 minutes, my commute took an hour and twenty. You might think I'd be annoyed, but I'm not. I support the strike, and wouldn't travel by auto at any price today. Autorickshaws may not be the greenest vehicle on the road, but they are far less damaging than private cars, in part because they are smaller and more efficient, and in part because they are a necessary part of many peoples' bus and metro journeys. Efforts to unnecessarily burden autos and their drivers are wrongheaded and unfair.


Just so we're clear: of course I know Delhi auto walas can be annoying and often refuse to go by the meter--or even to go at all, depending on where you want to go. But this strike is about something else: the government's attempt to make autowala's pay to have GPS devices installed in their vehicles. The cost? Rs.15,000 per auto, per year. In addition, the government wants to raise other annual fees about Rs. 7,000. All in all, autowalas are looking at having to come up with another Rs. 22,000 a year. And if the GPS is stolen? One autowala said to me, "I'd die." 

Now the government wants you to believe that autowalas agreed to this when they got the rate hike last year, and that they "have had ample time to save for the installation of the GPS. It should not be difficult monetarily for them to deposit the fee and install the instrument." At least that's what one official told reporters last month.


But the idea that a fellow making the income earned by most autowalas can easily come up with Rs. 22,000 is ridiculous. And the idea that last year's rate hike was too high is also silly. Inflation in all sectors is rampant, and people need more to live on. Who complained earlier this month when it was announced that corporate salaries were rising at record levels in India? The increased earnings of autowalas went to all kinds of things.  In the last year, the guy I travel with regularly had to pay for an operation for his mother, tuition for his daughter, an engine overhaul on his vehicle, registration and insurance, and food, of course, which we all know is getting more expensive all the time. His wife told him that in order to come up with the extra money demanded by the government, they'd have to set aside another Rs. 100 per day. They'd either have to make drastic cuts in their household budget, or or he'd have to drive longer each day.


It's interesting isn't it, that a neo-liberal government that regularly subsidises corporations in a variety of ways wants working class autowalas to pay for their own GPS installation--essentially, to pay to regulate themselves! Also interesting is the rumour that is going around among autowalas: if the unions can come up with enough money--say a crore or ten, then an important minister might be willing to reconsider this scheme.  I'm not saying that this is true--but the fact that it's out there says something about the lack of faith so many of us have in our leaders.


The autorickshaw union leaders are saying that Shelia Dikshit would like to make Delhi into London or Paris. I've been saying that for more than a year. In fact a year ago, I argued that Dikshit's attempt to phase out autos in Delhi was motivated in part by her desire to make this into a World Class City. Smt. Dikshit doesn't like autos. Autos are are not as green as buses or the metro, but they are not as bad as private vehicles for a variety of reasons.  We need to stop attacking these guys. Support the strike--go by bus or metro--or better still, walk!

Commonwealth Games 2010: Considering the Costs

The chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee has declared, "The games won't cost the country a penny," but that hasn't stopped the the Delhi government  from raising our taxes to pay for them.  You see, nothing in life comes without a cost--and the Commonwealth Games are no exception to that rule.  

Sometimes you have to laugh at all the things that are justified in the name of these games.  Because of the CWG, we'll soon be able to buy liquor in fancy malls, but we may be sent to jail and fined Rs. 50,000 if we are caught drinking in public.    Our street vendors--at least those visible to tourists--have been promised state-of-the-art, solar powered carts but we've all been asked to stop spitting and urinating on public roads.  Oh well, all good things require sacrifices!

On a more serious note, we have  a new metro, thousands of new buses and dozens of new flyovers, but nitrogen dioxide levels are exceeding prescribed limits, and the idea that Delhi might be "pollution free by 2010"--something we heard our leadership say as recently as 2007, seems like a bad joke.  And it's not just the air: if the Yamuna is not fully dead, it's at least dying--and 80% of what is is killing it originates in Delhi.  That's not surprising, given that about 45 percent of Delhi's population is not connected to the sewage system.  The fact that the Commonwealth Games Village  is built on the flood plain of the Yamuna is unlikely to help this situation, though we have heard endless talk about how  those facilities have been designed to conserve water. Unfortunately, the rest of Delhi is not doing so well: we currently waste about  half the clean water we get.


On the human front, the Delhi government is investing in biometric machines to help crack down on people convicted of begging, but it won't force contractors who take public money to pay the required minimum wage to their workers, and it tolerates child labor on public construction sites.  Apparently, we are unwilling to go after contractors who take public money and then steal from their own workers, but we have plenty of funds to punish poor people who annoy middle class residents and tourists by begging on street corners.  (As usual, it seems the price you pay is inversely related to the depth of your pockets.)

Yes, a lot has been done in the name of the Commonwealth Games.  We are becoming a World Class City.  But the cost has been high indeed.  Exactly how high is hard to say.  Some estimates put the budget for the games alone, excluding non-sports related infrastructure, at about 1.6 billion dollars, which would make it the most expensive CWG in history.   In a recent "Telhelka Avenues" advertisement, the Delhi government claimed to have spent over 17.5 billion dollars in games-related projects and infrastructure.  (That's where the flyovers, anti-begging biometric machines, and liquor stores come in, I suspect). Of course any city will collapse if it fails to invest in infrastructure, and it would be silly to say that all of that money was wasted--much of it was well spent.


I suspect the real cost of the games cannot be measured in dollars or rupees.  Perhaps the real price we've paid has had something to do with our willingness to publicly embrace a  perversion that has long been present in our priorities:  the CWG have served as an excuse to put off spending on things like schools, housing and clean water, and to invest instead in things the urban middle and upper classes seem to value most--transportation, unsustainable consumption, and projects that make our city look good to outsiders.

Let's hope that once the games are over, we will hear less about flyovers, fancy liquor stores and  airports that  meet "international standards." Instead, let's talk about a city that strives to provide clean water, decent housing and "word class" schools to all. Those things will cost money--a lot of it--but they won't require excuses!

Flyovers Reduce Emissions and other Examples of Delhi Greenwash

Before we get to the greenwash, Kabir Arora from the Indian Youth Climate Network asked us to announce a summer course: "Agenda For Survival" from Anil Aggarwal Green College (Center for Science & Environment). Kabir has attended the course and gives it a strong endorsement.  For more information about the course, you can find details on the CSE website, here. 

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Our April Fool's issue was more difficult to write than I expected.  I think this was partly because when you are trying to make fun of silly (but real) policies and policy statements, satire can end up sounding ... reasonable--and reasonable is not funny!  (The exception to that was our suggestion that we replace the CWG with an international Science Olympiad....now that was reasonable and funny!)

One thing I realized in researching that post was that our leadership spends a great deal of time applying greenwash.  Just google "Sheila Dikshit" +green and you'll get over 33,000 results; try "Sheila Dixit" +green, and you'll get another 4,500.  That, my friends, is a lot of green! Of course some of it is the real thing.    But a lot of it, I found, is greenwash; and a coat of greenwash does not make something truly "green".  It's a little bit like dying an egg at Easter, or dumping a bucket of colour on a kid at Holi--it's fun, it looks nice, but it really doesn't change anything in the long run! Below are three examples of what I'm talking about.

Delhi Greenwash: 1-2-3:

1.  Shelia Dikshit's plan to phase out auto rickshaws:

“Auto-rickshaws are not a good option — they are uncomfortable and pollute environment....We are looking at the option of electric cars and even electric motorcycles.I was recently told that cycles are fitted with electric motor — this will be a good option for travelling short distances.”--Indian Express, March 18

Sorry, but this is not about the environment.  This government doesn't even enforce bicycle lane rules on the BRT where there are cycle lanes--they are over-run daily by motorized vehicles during rush hour.  How will we convince people who can afford to take an auto to ride battery powered cycles in these conditions? And as for electric cars, they are a long way from becoming cost effective when compared to CNG-powered autos.  Besides, an electric car uses a lot more steel--not to mention rare earth metals in its electric motor--than a little green and yellow Delhi auto; it's actually not clear to me which is "greener."  That's not to say that autorickshaws are completely and truly green--they are not nearly as good as buses, cycles, or even the metro.  But they are not the worst polluters on the road--not even close.  

The CM wants to ban autos, because they are "uncomfortable" and their drivers are "rude."  To make autos more comfortable, all you really need to do is reduce traffic from the millions of private cars on the roads.  Delhi's expansion of the Metro and the bus system will help here.  As for rudeness, many auto drivers are under huge amounts of stress--some of it unnecessary.  For a discussion about what kinds of pressures auto drivers face--and what we might do about it, see this piece in Kafila.  Maybe that's where the CM should start.

I suspect part of the problem with autorickshaws is that they are not the kind of transportation that fit with the current idea of what a "World Class" city should look like.  After all, do you see autos in London or Paris or  Los Angeles?  Of course the emissions in those cities are much, much higher than in Delhi, but that's another story.

2. MCD wants solar powered carts for street vendors:

From a story in last week's Asian Age:

These carts will also be fitted with solar panels for the requirements of lighting after sunset. The official said that usually the vendors use battery lanterns having CFL bulbs or even normal electric bulbs. With the solar panels fixed, not only would these carts look good but also help in curbing pollution.

This is great.  But if you really look at your carbon footprint, street carts are not the place you want to start!  A light bulb is nothing compared with the electricity used by the AC in one fancy restaurant, to say nothing of the food court in a big mall. Nothing.  So why make a priority of doing this?  The article in the Age hints at other reasons. First is the basic principle of greenwash-- looking like you're doing something is more important than doing it:

In the first phase, those vendors will be provided with the carts around the Commonwealth Games Village, main stadia and also those areas that were main attraction centres for tourists. Subsequently, the carts will be given to the vendors from other areas.

And maybe "security" has something to do with it.  The article goes on to say:

Besides, they will also be fitted with closed-circuit television cameras. "These cameras may be connected to local control rooms and will be of great help on security matters as it would help in keeping an eye on the happenings going around in a particular market or a commercial space," said an official.

Again, a few solar powered light bulbs will not make eating "greener" in Delhi. But it may make Delhi look greener to CWG tourists who don't know better...


3. Shelia Dikshit: Flyovers will help make Delhi "pollution free by 2010"

I wouldn't have believed this, but way back in 2007, The Hindu ran an article called "Pollution Free Delhi by 2010, says Shelia."  Well, we haven't quite gotten there, but I'm sure we will any day now!  One of the things the CM says will help us in that quest are flyovers!  (I never realized all those flyovers were being built to reduce our carbon emissions.)

The Delhi Government, Ms. Dikshit said, had already constructed 63 flyovers to reduce idle time of cars and consequent carbon emissions. For the Commonwealth Games, she said, another 28 flyovers and bridges are being constructed for better connectivity and traffic management and for beautification of the Capital.

Now I have to confess something about flyovers: they may be expensive, but they do help move traffic.  And traffic, as anyone in Delhi knows, is very bad these days.  The problem with flyovers and roads in general is that there is ample research to show that the more you build, the more people drive.  So they are not likely to make us use less fossil fuels, but more.  

Interestingly, back in 2007, the CM was singing the praise of CNG powered vehicles, including autorickshaws.  In this article, she says:

“In the past six years, all old commercial vehicles have been phased out and 1 lakh vehicles involved in public transport in Delhi have been put on clean CNG fuel that has helped in substantial improvement in the ambient air quality of the city."

OK, so that's a quick lesson in greenwash, Delhi style. Have a great day!

Breaking News: Leak Reveals Chief Minister Dikshit is Planning Major Green Policy Shifts

Major Changes Planned in Transportation, Water and Commerce; Commonwealth Games in Question

An anonymous source close to Delhi Chief Minister Shelia Dikshit says the CM will announce a major shift in policy this Earth Day, April 22.

“Smt. Dikshit had an epiphany as the lights went out for Earth Hour this past weekend,” said our source in a note obtained by the Dhaba.  “At that moment, sitting in the dark, she realized that the time for empty symbolism was over—now is the time for real leadership for a new millennium.”

The note from our source was written in a simple school copy, and was found in a suitcase dropped outside the Dhaba sometime between midnight and 5 am this morning.  Also found in the suitcase was what appeared to be the draft text of Chief Minister Dikshit ’s Earth Day 2010 speech and a 2,354 page document, stamped TOP SECRET, and titled, “Green Delhi Development Plan 2010 (G2DP)”.  The plan details steps to be taken by a variety of government bodies, including the MCD, the Delhi Jal Board, the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee and other major stakeholders.`

It will obviously take some time to analyze the huge impact this initiative will have on the future of all aspects of life in Delhi.  But from the information we have here, we can piece together the broad outlines of the major policy shifts to be announced.

1. Transportation
The G2DP calls for continued funding for the metro and a further increase in new buses for the Delhi Transit Authority; a roll back in fares for all riders will be funded by a major increase in the taxes charged for the purchase of new diesel cars and SUV’s.  “Though we will finish all flyovers where construction is already underway,” our source says, “no new flyovers will be built by this administration.” Funds earlier marked for flyover construction will go toward construction of the safe cycle lanes recently demanded by cycle-rickshaw operators.  

The remainder of the "flyover savings" will go toward a pair of major green initiatives.  The first will clean up the Yamuna once and for all; the second will to insure that all Delhi residents have access to clean drinking water a toilet by 2015.  "The CM knows that no city can be called "World Class" as long as it's citizens continue to die from unsafe drinking water."

As for the CM’s recent threat to remove autorickshaws from the streets of Delhi, those are plans are apparently dead.  “The CM admits that her talk last week about replacing autos with electric cars was just that—talk. CNG powered autorickshaws are a cheap, environmentally friendly way to get people from their homes to their neighborhood metro stations or bus stop,” says our source.  “It’s the large SUV’s that are our biggest problem, and we plan to phase them out at the earliest.  Beginning June 1, carpooling will be mandatory for SUV's, which will will be required to carry at least three passengers or face stiff fines.”

The CM is clearly trying to smooth the ruffled feathers of Delhi autorickshaw drivers; according to the draft text of her Earth Day speech, she will offer them conciliatory words: “I apologize for suggesting all Delhi autowallas are rude! I meant to say, all Dilliwallas are rude—and we should be proud of it! Forget what the MCD said a few months back; in their heart, every tourist likes to haggle over prices, and to observe public urination, littering  and spitting up close.  And who doesn't get a rush from shoving in line a bit--it's all part of the Delhi experience!” 

On a related note, our source says that all talk about banning beggers from Delhi streets was "just a big misunderstanding."  He suggests that a low-level official--probably from the South--mistakenly translated the slogan, "Garibi Hatau"  as "Banish Poor People."  "The CM regrets not having caught the error sooner and and has assured the cabinet she will sack the responsible party."

2. Shopping and Commerce
According to the suitcase full of documents we have obtained, the Delhi government is aiming to revamp to way we do business in the NCR.  The CM apparently realizes she was off the mark when she recently suggested we need to make street vendors more "green" through state-of-the-art solar powered carts.  "What was I thinking?" says the draft Earth Day speech. "Street vendors are some of the most sustainable, eco friendly businesses we have in Delhi...it's the huge shopping malls that sell expensive imported stuff that we don't need that are the problem!" 

Without going into too much detail here, beginning April 1, 2011, Delhi will require all malls to switch from AC's to water coolers through the month of June or the onset of the monsoon, whichever comes first. "The CM knows it's not enough, but we have to start somewhere," says our source.  "We'll also be instituting a 'carbon tax' on imported goods and food stuffs. And we'll be asking everyone to show their pride in our city by joining the 'Buy Local Only' campaign."

3. Commonwealth Games
In the final, and undoubtedly the most controversial, section of G2DP 2010, the CM is suggesting Delhi replace the Commonwealth Games with The Commonwealth Science Olympiad.  

The Delhi state government has no direct authority to implement this part of the plan, but our source says that having seen India’s performance in the 2008 Olympic Games, many members of the UPA cabinet have secretly been looking for an excuse to back out of the Commonwealth Games, though they would never admit it publicly.  According to our source, “replacing the CWG with an international Science Olympiad gives us a chance to highlight something we are actually good at—and we all know that GreenTech is part of the solution to our environmental problems!  I'm convinced Sonia Gandhi will get behind this idea 100 percent.”

Under the G2DP, CWG stadiums will be retrofitted to serve as a green technology park; the Games Village will provide homes to some of the many people made homeless by slum demolitions that have occurred in recent years. “It’s a little late in the game to be changing plans like this,” concedes our source, “but we think that once we explain how serious our social and environmental challenges are, the other members of the Commonwealth will understand. And really, what choice do they have?  Delhi is a great city because of the people who live and work right here--any fool can see that!"

Have a great day!

Saturday Special: Lost Cities, Sarai, The Onion and more

Sarai celebrated it's tenth year in Delhi last week with a wide range of activities and performances.  I've got it from reliable sources that Ashis Nandy made some interesting remarks about the many kinds of cities out there in the world: cities that define themselves in relationship to the village; cities that define themselves in relationship to other cities; ancient cities, lost cities, etc.  Delhi, of course, is many cities at once.  Regardless of what the organizers of the Commonwealth Games want us to think, the village remains important in the way this city understands itself, because most of the lakhs of people who come to Delhi do not come from Paris or London. 

Today, I'm taking the metro to Old Delhi and that's got to say something about what kind of city we live in. But it's Saturday, and I don't have the energy to write a serious essay about how we imagine the cities we live in.  Instead, I'm going to make an entirely different kind of contribution to this discussion. Here are the people at The Onion discussing another kind of lost civilization.

Will Facebook, Blogger, Twitter be next?

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P. Sainath on the ABC's of Indian Media: Advertising, Bollywood, Corporate power

A story worth watching: Shyam Saran resigns his post.

Will solar powered gadgets save the world?  (I doubt it.)

Interview: Environmentalist Photographer Ravi Agarwal

Ravi Agarwal  is an environmentalist, photographer, and writer who lives and works in New Delhi.  Agarwal's photos and writing have appeared widely, both here and abroad, but like many in Delhi, I first saw his work in First City, where his  photo column is a regular feature. That column, "< ALT > View",   typically consists of one photo and minimal  text;  more like a photo-poem than photo-essay.  Agarwal raises all kinds of interesting questions about the city we live in.  Today, we are lucky enough to get his perspective on some of those questions.

Before you became a photographer, you were an engineer.  How were those kinds of work alike?  How were they different?
Actually I was a photographer before everything, since I was 13 years old. Engineering was analysis, fourier transforms, physics, mathematics - all about understanding and designing to make things work and happen. Photography was walking on the streets, smelling the monsoon, talking to rickhshawallas, exploring bylanes and being free. They were both different. One I had to work hard for, the other came naturally!
 

You describe yourself as an environmentalist photographer.  What does that term mean to you?
This is just a description of my two current engagements in life. At another level, I define my relationship with the world as a 'personal ecology' and my photographic work as well as now video and installation work resonates with that idea - so in a sense they come together as well.

Why photography? What subjects, what ideas, interest you most in your work?
Photography follows my life and engagements. My subjects have ranged from the street, to labor, 'work,' river, urban scapes and also self performance. It is a companion to me.

Talk about the tension you see in Delhi between nature and what is usually called development or growth.
Delhi has been losing its relationship with the natural world for over a 100 years. This is most accelerated now. The idea of a city itself is a industrial age idea, where water is transported in, waste is transported out, energy is streamed in and land is divided for habitation. It is itself an idea which confronts technology and nature as a separation. In cities as well as in Delhi,nature becomes a 'necessity' an 'aesthetic,' a place of leisure and recreation. Hence nature is only defined in relationship to the city. This is very much our own existence as well.

Physically, we have lost over 150,000 trees for the new Commonwealth Games, a 10 day phenomenon. We have sacrificed the river flood plain to temples and housing. We have built metros and roads and malls on the Ridge. Most of all we have isolated nature, since Delhi is now surrounded by urbanisation all around. So nature is something we have to fight to keep, on its own it is shrinking and will disappear one day. If this is development, then we need to question it in a basic way. Does 'development' take us away from our 'roots?'

We've been hearing about the Commonwealth Games for years now.  They have been used to justify all kinds of things--from the metro to new flyovers and sports venues.  What is your sense of this? Has it all been worth it?
If we have the Commonwealth Games at all! We will have something, held in patched up stadiums and with the poor people 'hidden' from view. It is all bizzare, all this frenzy in the name of the games, while actually it is about ambition, money and false pride. We treat our sports people so badly, so how can we talk of the Games as a sport? It is everything else couched as 'sport.'

What holds Delhi back its quest to become "World Class?"
A world class city can only be built through a society which is just, fair and respectful to each other. The city is not an architectural project, it is a human one. Architecture has to suit that. We have placed the idea of spectacular and scale before the human. Else why would we destroy trees, displace people, throw out beggars, take away parks etc.? Any world class city is a very livable city, where people can work, create, interract ect. Can we say that about Delhi? I do not think so. We could earlier, now we can less and less.

Can you tell us something that is working well in Delhi?  Something environmentalists (and photographers) from other cities and countries can learn from this city?
I think the city has great human potential. it has great energy on its street, and great entrepreneurship. It has thinkers, writers, artists, politicians, activists... all. This is the new capacity in the city. It has intensity.  We can learn that any place needs 'engagement' for it to grow. A city cannot become anything without such involvement. At another level, the metro is a great success, even though it cannot address the needs of all people. The metro stands out, overall.  

Anything else you'd like to add?
Only something  I feel....
Life is short, and uncertain. we should try to live it with that sense of urgency and engagement. No matter what we do, we should do it, and do it well.

To find out more about Ravi Agarwal and his work, check out his website here.

What Homeless Night Shelters and the Commonwealth Games Teach Us About Our World Class City

The courts have ruled that it is not OK to close night shelters for homeless people in the capital to make way for the Commonwealth Games. According to this article on the Commonwealth Games blog , Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw said, ‘We do not expect any modern civilised society to allow its people to die, whether it is Commonwealth Games or any other thing. This trend cannot be allowed.’

It is nice to see the courts making so much sense.  People do die from the cold in North India.  In fact, The Hindu (January 14) reports that 10 days after the MCD closed the night shelter that sparked this case, a 35 year old balloon vendor who had staying there died of extreme cold. According to this excellent piece in Frontline, during the winter of 2002, police found over 3000 corpses--400 during one cold wave alone.

Something like one percent of Delhi residents are homeless.  That adds up to about 150,000 people--not counting the four million or so people who live in slums. 

For these 150,000 homeless people, Delhi has 43 night shelters.  Is that what a World Class city does? Taking care of our environment cannot just be about banning unsightly plastic bags or covering nallahs.  A liveable environment is one where all people can live without freezing to death and preferably with some level of dignity.  

In their recent ruling, the court said there should be one homeless night shelter in each area with 100,000 people.  That's a start, but it's not enough.  Once we finish spending all that money on the questionable Commonwealth games, maybe we should focus on things other than fun and games. Why not launch a massive drive to regularize, expand and improve the inadequate housing we have for poor people in this city?  If we can build flyovers and metros, we can build cheap housing!

While we are at it, let's make it earthquake safe. Inexpensive earthquake safe housing is not impossible.  In fact, it is a necessity.  Need I say more?

Farmers, Buses, Bookaroo: Three things that make Delhi a World Class City

OK, yesterday, was bad news Thursday--and I hope you all fired off letters to the CM like I did!   At the end of yesterday's post, I promised to give you one reason why I think Delhi is a World Class City.  And do you know what? I'm going to give you three!  How's that for a bargain?


1.  Farmers.  Last night as the auto I was in shot by Jantar Mantar, I saw the tail end of a huge mobilization of farmers who came to Delhi for the opening day of Parliament.  They were protesting sugar cane pricing, among other things.  It was a moving site. We don't see many farmers in Delhi, and sometimes it is easy to forget that there is nothing we depend on more than the millions of men and women who grow the food we eat every day.  Without them, there would be no city, World Class or no!

2.  Buses.  Last night, I caught one of the DTC's new AC buses home from CP at rush hour.  The trip took a little longer than a three wheeler would have taken, but even with the recent rate hike, it cost less than a third as much. Hey, I know there are plenty of problems with Delhi buses. (If you doubt that, just google "killer buses".  I did, and 8 of the fist 10 terms that came up were talking about our fair city.)   In addition to being dangerous, our buses are often over-crowded and uncomfortable, especially for women passengers.  But this presentation makes it clear that we need more, not fewer buses.  Bus ridership is actually declining in Delhi, but buses still carry more than 40 percent of our traffic, and they take up almost no room on the road compared to cars and two wheelers.   Imagine what the roads would be without them. Buses are part of what make Delhi a great city; more buses will make us even better.

3.  Bookaroo.   I've written at length about the weaknesses in our schools and argued that one of our problems is that our children are not asked to read enough. Reading is part of how children learn how to think, and today's children will need to do some very creative thinking to solve the problems we are leaving them.  Well, if you agree with that, and if you have a child, you really should not miss Delhi's one and only Children's Literary Festival, Bookaroo, November 28-29 at Sanskriti Anand Gram.  Like many things in Delhi, it's completely free.

Last year's festival was absolutely fantastic; I'm sure it will be this year, as well.  There are amazing authors coming, like Subhadra Sen Gupta, who we reviewed briefly at the end of this post.  Others include Anushka Ravi Shankar (Moin and the Monster), Andrew Cope (Spy Dog) and Sampurna Chatterji (The Fried Frog and Other Funny, Freaky, Feisty Poems).  Don't miss it. 

Most of the sessions do not require registration; just show up.  There are a few that do require registration; you can do that via email.  I was going to list a few "green picks."  But the two sessions I was going to recommend are two of the only ones where registration is already closed.  Too bad, but there is still great stuff going on. For more information, go here.

So there you have it folks: farmers, buses, and Bookaroo!  Three things that make Delhi a World Class City!

Trouble on the Yamuna: the hidden costs of unauthorized construction

Some days it's easy to throw up your hands in frustration!   This week, The Hindu reported that widespread unauthorized construction is underway on the banks of theYamuna in Jaitpur.  The area in question is supposed to be a "green zone".  Moreover, the Delhi High Court has banned construction up to 300 meters of the Yamuna, and a Sub-Divisional Magistrate has already issued several restraining orders this year on construction in Jaitpur village. But authorities are not paying attention.

How do developers get away with such blatant flouting of the law?  According to a source quoted by The Hindu, it's as simple as this:

1.  Buy land cheap from a farmer.
2.  Pay Rs. 5 lakh to the police.
3.  Build a five story building.
4.  Sell the building for a pretty penny.

Sometimes we forget that, as common as it is in Delhi these days, paying money to a police officer or government official over and above his or her salary is nearly always called something other than a tip!

Of course, building on the Yamuna is bad for a number of reasons other than the corruption that makes it possible.  First, there is the fact that we are cutting into farmland, which we need for food production. And let's not forget that unauthorized construction on and near the river bed invariably means that more untreated sewage and waste will end up in what is already a very sick river.

Then there is safety: the Yamuna flood plain is called a flood plain because it is a plain where floods happen; it is also less stable when it comes to earthquakes.  Of course there is also the fairness issue: development in this area apparently got under way right around the time that the government was clearing jhuggi clusters from the banks of the Yamuna;  why is it that big developers are allowed to build while poor people are forcibly removed?

 

For what it's worth, I fired off a letter to Chief Minister Dikshit.  It wasn't easy, as her publicly listed email was incorrect; it had an extra full stop in it.  After a lot of trial and error, I prevailed--I think!   Why don't you send a letter too?  You have permission to copy as much of mine as you like; I doubt they actually read them, but somebody has got to be keeping some kind of tally. In any case, sometimes a few letters can go a long way toward solving a "small" issue like this.  And if you are not from Delhi--that will really get Smt. Dikshit's attention!  Corruption, pollution, disregard for environmental laws--is this what makes Delhi a World Class City?

Here's the email address: cmdelhi@nic.in  And here's what I wrote:

Honorable Smt. Dikshit:

I was reading The Hindu last night and saw it reported that the Delhi police are taking money from developers in return for permission to build unauthorized constructions on the bank of the Yamuna in and around Jaitpur! This construction is continuing in spite of restraining orders from the Sub-Divisional Magistrate.  This is unsafe, as you know, as the Yamuna is prone to flood.  It is also bad for our environment.  For more information, you can read the article on-line yourself here: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/11/17/stories/2009111761150500.htm

How can Delhi be seen as a World Class City if we allow this kind of thing to occur?  I also find it ironic and sadly telling that these constructions began, according to The Hindu, right around the time that your government was clearing jhuggi clusters from the banks of the Yamuna.  Why is it that big developers are allowed to build while poor people are forcibly removed?

I trust you will address this at the earliest.

Yours humbly,

Hari Batti

Delhi

 *********

I promise something more cheerful tomorrow. In fact, tomorrow, I will report on one of the many reasons why Delhi is, in my most humble opinion, a World Class City!  Now go fire off that letter to the CM!

Questioning the Commonwealth Games: Are we missing something in our rush to make Delhi a "World Class City?"

President Patil received the Queen's Baton at Buckingham Palace last week, setting off the official countdown to the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

For years, the good people of Delhi been hearing about these Games and how they are making ours a World Class City. Certainly, they come with a World Class Price Tag: these will be the most expensive Commonwealth Games ever; the total cost, including infrastructure related to the games, will come to 1.6 billion US dollars! The Games have been so expensive because they have been used to justify any number of projects: airport modernization; slum demolition; flyover and metro construction; new sporting venues; and much, much more.

The Games have met with loads of criticism at every step, for all sorts of reasons; this is Delhi after all, what do you expect? I'm not going to give you hyperlinks for all that, but if there is a doubt in your mind, try googling Commonwealth Games 2010 criticism; I did, and I got more than 24,000 links. Maybe it sounds worse than it is. A lot of these are stories about officials saying the games are fine in spite what everyone is saying! Which is reassuring, right?

Who really knows? Not us. The Games could be grand, they could be a mess. I, for one, am not hoping for failure. And I completely support the politeness classes being given to over 5,000 autowallas. Now if they could just improve the manners of the other four million drivers on Delhi's roads, it might really be worth $1.6 billion--and then some!

But sometimes late at night, I find myself thinking thoughts that are not so...positive. I find myself wondering: if we could do it all over again, would we really want to host these Games?

I love Delhi, and I think it is a World Class City, I really do. (I promise I'll explain why some other time!) But I don't think Delhi is a WCC because of it has modern airports, crowded flyovers, or even because I once heard a man from England actually say our Metro is better than the London Underground!
These things are impressive, and every city needs infrastructure that works. But there are other types of infrastructure that are getting less attention than they might otherwise get if we weren't so focused on fun and games. Let's look for one minute at two things many people would say are at least as important as stadiums, airports, flyovers, and metros: water and schools.

Did you know that something like 45 percent of the Delhi's population is not connected to the sewage system? Just look at the Yamuna after it passes out of Delhi. That doesn't just affect wild life, of course; most cases of diarrehea are caused by drinking water contamination. Is it any wonder that diarrhea causes over twelve hundred deaths a day in India? (And we worry about H1N1!) Before we agree to another mega sports event, why not provide every Indian with clean drinking water and a sanitary toilet.

Or look at education. In spite of what I said earlier this week about our schools, India's made real improvements over the years when it comes to literacy. But we've got a long ways to go. Until we bring Bihar a lot closer to Kerala on this graph, then maybe we need to think twice about spending $1.6 billion on what are, when all is said and done, just games. You know what they say: studies before play!

I know there are a host of arguments about why the Games are good. Some of them even makes sense; I'd love to hear what you think.