Can water woes be reduced through water meter?

Cities are never planned in advance they grew and developed with growth of the city and people migrating to those cities for better career opportunity. Career is one of the deciding factors which lead to the growth and expansion of cities. Rapid growth of city lead to rapid urbanization, it can be harmful at times.

Bangalore has also grown by leaps and bounds but the city today is reeling under water shortage. Bangalore relies completely on water tankers for its water needs. Independent house, housing societies, business establishment all are depended on water tankers and the need is acute during summers when tanker guys charge exorbitant amount for supplying water.

People are forced to pay the price tanker guys ask them as they are in dire need for it. Despite such struggle no concrete measure has been taken by the people to tackle the issue of water shortage in the Bangalore. I wonder WHY? If we do something towards water conservation today, we can tackle water scarcity issue over a period of time but we are reluctant to do anything.

Looking at the way, how the city is growing, the time is not far when we might run out of water in future. Instead of taking a step then, better start with a small step today for a better tomorrow. Rain water harvesting is one the ways but again the participation of people to this program isn’t encouraging.

I think government should mandate all housing societies, apartments (big or small), commercial establishment to adopt rain water harvesting technique. These are the places where consumption of water is highest. All of them depend on tanker for their water needs, as their bore wells can’t meet their water needs. But with rain water harvesting these places can reduce their dependence on water tankers.

Another effective measure is water meter, wondering HOW? According to an article published in a leading daily it has been found that water meter has been able to reduce the intake of water tankers. Few housing societies and apartments installed water meter for their residents and water bill amount was charged according to the water intake of the residents.

From the moment water meters were installed and residents were accountable for their water intake and pay accordingly to the meter readings. So residents became cautious about their water intake which wasn’t the case earlier. Earlier irrespective of water usage resident paid fixed amount and this lead to water wastage couple of times. Now with water meter in place, water wastage has been arrested to a great extent.

Every drop of water wasted will now be added to your monthly water bill. Hence residents have been cautious and have a taken all necessary measures to save every drop of water. Now no leaking taps are left unattended rather it is fixed at the earliest. Water meters have been a boon for people who were consuming less water were still made to pay at par with others who were consuming more water.

Since the installation of water meters, housing societies and apartment’s water bills on tankers have reduced. Reason now they need fewer tankers a month. Though water meter can’t address the water problem of the city completely but it’s a small step towards cautious usage of water.

I feel water meter and rain water harvesting if initiated properly can bring some respite to water woes. But constant effort should be made towards more water conservation techniques before we head towards a grim situation.

Made in Heaven a path breaking web series

It is said that “Marriages are made in heaven but are solemnized here on earth” That’s the theme of Amazon prime latest web offering “Made in India”. It’s initial trailer seemed like the revolved around a single story but it isn’t that way. They have covered around 7 wedding stories in the entire series. Each episode covers one wedding in the series, except for the main plot, which is nerve gripping.

India diverse culture and its fascination for wedding have been well captured in the series. From the big fat Indian wedding to traditional weddings to royal wedding to church wedding to punjabi NRI wedding to the wedding of a peon’s daughter. All these different types of wedding have been covered in the most charismatic way.

 It was delight to watch all these different types of wedding in one show. Didn’t feel like was watching a web series, feel was similar to watching a blockbuster movie, that was the grandeur of the wedding celebrations. Hats off, to the creative team of “Made in Heaven”, who presented all weddings so well. That way the reason WHY all weddings were delight to watch for.

 In India, only dream that parents have for their kids, is to get them married at the right age.  Once kids are married, parents are relieved of one of the biggest and most challenging responsibilities of their life. Parents nourish this dream from the moment a child is born. That’s the reason MARRIAGES are given more importance in India. Theme of the web series was complete match to this ideology and captured these emotions in its true form.

This series was also an eye opener towards the life and functioning of wedding planners. They work tirelessly to make weddings the most amazing day in a couple’s life. Wedding planner’s primary focus is to ensure that the couple cherishes the memories of their wedding. Bride and groom is meant to enjoy the biggest day of their life for everything else, wedding planner’s are there. They are the extended family of the couple during wedding.

 Through the series is all about wedding but there is also a parallel story running in the main plot the series. Especially, story revolving around the male protagonist of the series, makers have presented it in a most dignified manner.

Actor Arjun Mathur played his part, with much ease and elegance. It was a challenging task for any male actor to take but not only did he accept the challenge but also did complete justice to the role, Kudos to him for that. This part can’t be explained in words but it has to be watched to understand the message it wants to convey to the people.

Usually web series have an open ended ending for season 1 but that wasn’t the case with Made in Heaven. I felt finale episode was complete in itself, it wasn’t like other web series where you are left to anxiously wait for the next season. About which no one has any idea about. That’s one of the reasons WHY I hate web series at times. Still end up watching them for the concept and story line.

Those of you, who haven’t watched it Made in Heaven, so watch it. It’s worth watching.

Is kerala flood relief fund actually reaching the needy?

Kerala popularly known as Gods own Country experienced the worst natural disaster of the times it has seen so far in the form of flood and landscapes, which not only jeopardized the life of millions of people but also the state at large.

Kerala flood caught national as well as international attention, credit goes to social media and news agencies. And to rebuild the state, chief minister of kerala requested people across globe to donate generously to the fund created exclusively for this purpose. People have contributed to the fund whole heartedly, looking at the plight of state and the suffering of flood victims.

I was in kerala during the flood and has seen the disaster myself. Many people have been rendered homeless, they have no idea where to go and settle down after leaving the relief camp, in totality they have to start from scratch. Those with their houses intact will have to buy in new appliances to bring life back normalcy to their houses, as all appliances including gas stoves were submerged in water. Shopkeepers were the worst effect as they had ordered goods well in advance for Onam (biggest festival in kerala), were all damaged in rain, when water entered their shops. In all these floods has not let anyone unaffected, everyone has been effected, intensity may vary on situational basis.

But there are few thoughts which still haunt the minds of the people. ie will the flood relief funds be used adequately for the rehabilitation purpose or not? WONERING what made me to think so? Immediately after flood, when I went out. People were happy on one hand that Kerala received support globally in the hour of need but they were doubtful that will the funds actually reach the real beneficiaries or not?

There fear came true in few days, when govt officials appointed at relief camps were indulged in act of robbery and were caught red handed by the people at relief camps. This is ridiculous, how can someone think of doing such demenial act even in the midst of a huge crisis like this. This was just the beginning of such incidents, soon many such stories started cropping up from other relief camps too.

With witness to all these incidents, I feel the fear of the masses is justified about the usage of funds which has been send exclusively for the rehabilitation of flood and flood victims. Government of kerala should take steps to ensure that every single penny send towards rehabilitation work should be used for it exclusively. Any lacuna in it should be dealt sternly. Because, if Kerala government is not able remove the extreme fear about misappropriation of fund from the minds of people, then they may not come forward to support the kerala in any crisis which may crop up in future.

People from all walks of life have donated their money for flood victims assuming that it will reach the needy and government will ensure it. As the demand for fund was done by the government so they have the responsibility to ensure its proper usage among the needy. People trusted the government while transferring funds so now it’s time to retain their trust.

I think government of kerala should form a committee of people and make them directly responsible for any lacuna arising about funds misappropriation, support not reaching the needy, plan of action for rehabilitation etc. Last but not the least, an honest report on the funds received and its expenditure at periodical intervals. People have the right to know about it. It’s the duty of the government to make these details available to the masses to ensure crystal clear view of the operations.

The slogan during the floods was “we are together” and now towards the path of rebuilding kerala, slogan has to be “together we will’

Many of you would be thinking what’s the purpose of this write up, coin has two sides, we have seen one side during the flood(disaster) now it’s time to see the other side too (flourishment). Most importantly to retain the faith of people in saying that “lending helping hands during crisis” is a good gesture.

Can plastics bags be REALLY banned?

Plastics are a menace to environment and mankind in the long run but it’s one thing that we can’t image our life without it. By plastic am not talking only about carry bags but all items made from plastics like chairs, water bottles etc. But plastics bags are the major contributor towards polluting our surroundings. As a result of which many states have imposed BAN on the usage of plastics in their state. Well appreciated but very few have been successful. Reason though the initiative was good but was not well researched before putting into action.

We can’t BAN plastic bags completely in India, its practically impossible reason we are addicted towards the usage of plastic bags. It’s convenient, user friendly and readily available. And nothing much has been done to identify a substitute for plastic bags. Though paper and cloth bags are available but it is practically impossible to carry them every time we move out. Suppose I am out just for a walk and I see fresh vegetable or fruits, WHAT option do I have? I can’t go back to my house to get a bag neither will the vegetable vendor wait for me. So I will be FORCED to rely on plastic bags, which will be readily available with the vendor. As they can’t AFFORD to keep cloth bag due to its cost. We can’t blame them for that.

Does that mean we should continue using plastic bags? No, REASON, substitute for plastic bags are available in other countries we just need to bring then to India. Some countries have been successful in making plastic like bag from TAPIOCA plant as it is more durable than plastic bags and is environment friendly too. The looks, feel and usage of these bags are similar to plastic bags. Best part is FEW southern states of India are into TAPIOCA cultivation.  

So we have the raw material readily available, we just need to identify the technology through which these plants can be converted in to user friendly carry bags, at low cost, so that people are encouraged to promote its usage among themselves and others, especially among shop keepers.  Once these bags are a huge success among shop keepers masses will slowly get used to them. We get plastic bags primarily from shops than anywhere else.

Next time any state want to impose BAN on the usage of plastic bag in their state, they should first try to come out with a substitute for these bags then impose the BAN, if they really want the ban to be success in the long run. Now people don’t have an alternative for plastic bags, so they are forced to revolt against the BAN but when options of ecofriendly, low cost bags are made available to them, masses will support to the cause whole heartedly, unlike the partial support rendered by people now.

Getting rid of plastics bag is a slow and gradual process which needs to be done meticulously over a period of time instead of using forceful means to get people abide by the DIKTAT on not using plastic bags. It’s not that people aren’t aware about the ill effect of plastic bags but they don’t have a choice other than using them in the hours of need.

Apart from plastic carry bags, something significant needs to be done with plastic pouches as well, we get milk, salt, pulses etc in plastic pouches, we need to figure out a way to get rid of them as well.

Getting RID of plastic bags is difficult but not difficult if we jointly put effort towards it. Simultaneously ways needs to be identified to use these waste plastic bags in some constructive work, like building road, brick manufacturing etc.

Why people throw garbage on Roads?

We criticize people who throw garbage on roads or on footpaths, ideally we should, as they are making the place dirty, which can have harmful impact on people’s health. But have we thought about the reasons WHY some people throw garbage on roads? I am sure most of us haven’t given a thought to it. Am one among you, but then one day when I saw person throwing garbage on road, decided to figure out the causes which force them to do it.

People staying in apartments have dedicated areas where they can dump segregated garbage, they abide it but for those aren’t staying in apartments have to wait for the BBMP vehicle, which comes once a day to collect garbage from individual households. It usually comes in morning at a stipulated time to collect garbage. They blow whistle to waken people from their deep sleep, it is also a reminder for people to place the garbage in the vehicle. Whistle is their signal

People have to be alert about the timings of the vehicle, else they will miss the chance for the day and they have to wait for another day. Timings vary from locality to locality, as the area covered is big and number of operational vehicle is less.

Early morning people are too busy getting ready to go for work, that they may not be able to focus their attention towards the whistle. Or when the vehicle is coming they will in the midst of some other work, which they couldn’t leave midway. There are people who have worked at night shift and have reached home to catch some sleep, HOW will they get up and dump garbage then? This forces people to look out for options to throw garbage to discharge waste and they dump it in open grounds.

Garbage collection vehicles don’t follow a stipulated timing, their timings vary from location to location. Some places garbage vehicle may come by 6am while at others it may come by 9am. 6 am is still a manageable time but 9am is the time, when people are usually expected to at their desk. THEN how can they place garbage in the vehicle? No office will give any employee the liberty to report for work after disposing the garbage of the day, Will they? I doubt. What’s the next best option available to such people? Dump garbage in open. Can we expect people to get up at 6am on weekend just to place garbage in the garbage vehicle? I don’t think so, hence they too join the brigade to dump garbage in open as they want to catch up with some sleep

If someone has to go out of town all of a sudden in the evening, WILL they wait till morning or hand over garbage to someone to throw it the next day in garbage vehicle? NO, they won’t, they will dump garbage in open and head for their destination as they are running short of options to tackle the situation in hand.

Above mentioned are few very basic circumstances which forces people to use open space to dump garbage. In all the cases people are left with very less options to discard their household garbage, hence they use the open places. Then public accuse people who dump garbage in open, I am not telling that we shouldn’t stop people from dumping garbage in open but should also understand their problems and come with some corrective measure.

Accusation is not the solution to a problem but remedy is. So if we focus our attention towards finding some solutions to the problem of throwing garbage in open, we can reduce the menace to some extent, if not completely.

I have a small suggestion, if BBMP places dustbin one for DRY and other for WET, with specification of items to be put in each bin and place it at each lane. These bins have to be enough to take the garbage of the people living in the lanes. These bins will be at designated places for people to throw garbage, then they can’t give lame excuses of office timings, trips or any such thing.  In some posh areas we can see this system in practice and the surroundings of these places are neat in comparison to other parts of the city.

If Waste Bins are placed at places within people’s reach, then who will take the pain of identifying an isolated ground to dump garbage in open. Today people are doing it as they don’t have any other option. We can never see people staying in apartments dumping garbage in open reason they have garbage dumping facility open to them 365 within their reach, then WHY should they take the risk of going out and dumping garbage in open?

I know this is a small step but it will make our surroundings a better place to live.

First hand experience of McAfee antivirus

If anything happens to our laptop or mobile, we feel a portion of our life has gone for toss, such is our reliability on these electronic gadgets. They are our lifeline today. Recently one of my lifeline went for a toss, my laptop L It was then that I realized, its importance in my life.

It was a virus attack that hampered the performance of my laptop. Existing antivirus detected and removed it but it had corrupted my drives by then. Hence I had to format my system completely. And then my friend suggested me to try McAfee antivirus and I decided to give it a try, must say I took the right decision and am happy about it.

Installing McAfee was not easy so I had to take help from McAfee technical team, my case was referred to Mr. Sanjay. He tried to install it but due to some driver issues, the installation process was getting stalled every now and then. Even my system was taken remotely to fix the issue but couldn’t be resolved initially.

Then I was allotted the time slot of 10am time next day to fix the issue. I was surprised when am phone rang exactly at 10. Bingo, people still respect others time. Once again Mr.Sanjay took my system and made sure I was close by, to help him do few things from my end. After spending all most an hour, when we were close to completing the installation process but my internet speed forced us to abort the process midway. Internet speed of my Wifi connections had gone down drastically. One of them boast about their connectivity across India like anything.

I had given up on the process but Sanjay said, it’s a challenge for him and he will ensure that the problem is resolved by all means. He checked with me, if am available late in evening to get the issue resolved. I said fine and 10.30pm was the new time slot allotted to me, this time it was not Sanjay but Mr. Shiva from his team who took over the reins.

Since Sanjay had briefed Shiva about the issue, he clearly knew what he had to do. It took us sometime because of some update were pending in my system and without that installation wasn’t possible. I couldn’t do that now, so he had to figure out some other way to fix the issue. Finally after sometime McAfee antivirus was finally installed in my laptop and it was all the effort worth taking as am very happy with its expertise. Mr. Shiva extended the validity of my antivirus by a month, goodwill gesture.

More than the product am happy with the timely support which I received from McAfee technical team. They had spent good amount of time in helping me install the antivirus, it could have been done earlier but the delay was from my end, firstly due to internet speed and then due to my reluctance to update a software as it was creating trouble for my system. So they had to find another way to fix the issue. Challenges were there but McAfee’s technical team was willing to overcome them.

I am mesmerized by the dedication, devotion and determination of McAfee team. They have an undying attitude towards the task undertaken by them. It is clearly evident in their work too, this can’t be possible unless McAfee has strong policies adhering to the concerns of its esteemed customers. Irrespective of the intensity of the concern, McAfee treats all its customers at equal power. Kudoos to McAfee and its team.

My meditational journey

Meditation has been termed by people in different ways depending upon their experience. Some state it as a practice to calm one’s mind while other state it as an exercise of brain. I didn’t have any such notion about meditation, till I started practicing it sometime back. It’s been 9 months that I have been meditating and now it has become a part of my life. If I skip exercise a day, feel guilty about it, same is the case with mediation now. Even today when I speak to my friends about meditation and its impact in one’s life, they disagree with my thoughts.  So I thought to write about my journey for them.

I used to exercise regularly at home till 2016, focusing mainly on lower abdomen, crushes were a part of and I loved doing it. I wanted flat stomach, if I get any packs in the process that would be like “icing on the cake”. But in 2016 I started getting shoulder pain, doctors diagnosed it, as an issue with disc, due to prolonged usage of laptop accompanied by inadequate sitting posture. I was advised not to do any exercise for some time and crunches were completely ruled out.

I had sleep issues too, due to pain especially during night time. Had to be on bed rest for good amount of time initially, then my cousin suggested me to attend yoga classes, I might feel better. It was another gateway for me other than physiotherapy sessions. I enquired about yoga classes near my place and apprised them about my disc issue. They assured me, my comfort will be taken care of during the sessions, then enrolled for it.

On day one we were asked to closed our eyes and be in that state for some time. I was pretty difficult to remain in that state even for one minute. But our tutor asked us to continue in that state for at least 5 minutes. Nobody in that class was able to reach 5 mins, we all opened our eyes before the stipulated time. We were anxious when we opened our eyes, then our tutor asked us to relax and said these things happen initially but if we are able to overcome our anxiousness then we can prolong our meditation time. This will not happen overnight, we have to work on it. Basic reason why people don’t like to meditate is that they aren’t able overcome the “eye closure task”. If we overcome this then, rest is cakewalk because during meditation we are expected to close our eyes.

After my first session when I reached home, was feeling too tired and slept for some time. That night I had peaceful sleep and got up full fresh and energetic in morning. On 4^th day, tutor asked us a question “are you able to find any change in your life?”. We all looked at each other, then one person responded, she is sleeping a lot these days. Then we all joined her in chorus that our experience is the same. He laughed and said this happens.  Reason meditation enhances blood supply to brain.

I could notice one more thing, my pain had subsided completely now. And my frequency to lie down on bed has been reduced considerably. All thanks to meditation, now I was able to meditate for 10-15 mins at a stretch and every time I open my eyes after the session, would feel refreshed and energetic. Despite such enriching experience, I quit meditation immediately after classes got over.

For few days I was doing good, then as I resumed my routine schedule, pain started to relapse, quality of sleep declined. All this while I was doing customized exercise as per my condition still I felt something was missing, that was the calmness of mind. Never did it strike to me that by meditation, again I can regain my mental peace and energy.

9 months back I decided to start meditation again, after the first session itself I could feel some difference. Since the gap was long, I had to start from scratch again but it was worth taking the effort. Again there was difficulty in closing the eyes and the time taken was long. But slowly and steadily now, I have mastered the art a bit, by meditating daily for about 15-20 mins. The days I miss it, try to listen to the music for about 5 mins with eyes closed in sparsely lit room. That’s it

I have noticed one more change in me, my introspection towards individuals and situations has changed drastically now. Now I am able to analysis situation with calmness and ease, which wasn’t the situation before. Few of my friends have noticed this change in me and have pointed it to me. My will power has also increased substantially and now am not frightened of adverse situation rather am ready to face any situation with courage. Credit goes to meditation for bringing about this change in me.

So all my friends who come with time, as an excuse for not being able to meditate, I hope your concern has been answered now. For meditation one need a quiet place with minimal lighting, physical presence and music (you can do without it also). If you are not able to do it during day or evening time, you can do it before going to bed for 5 mins. Common anyone can spare 5 mins a day from their busy schedule. Do something for yourself daily by investing 5 mins of your time in meditating.