Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Saturday 26 December 2015

Is Uma Bharti helpless ?


Is Uma  Bharti  helpless  ?

She is Cabinet Minister for Water Resources / River Development / Ganga Rejuvenation
Immediately after taking over in May 2014 , she launched " Swatchh  Ganga " project
After struggling for past 19 months , Ganga continues to be as polluted as before
As it flows through the Northern States , thousands of factories continue to dump their untreated chemical effluents into it , despite laws prohibiting this
And hundreds of cities / towns , continue to discharge  their untreated sewage into it
I am sure , if she were to read following news report in Business Line ( 26 Dec 2015 ) , she would want to cry in anguish and even wonder :
"  Of course , democracy is a wonderful thing - provided
   *  MPs / MLAs server the interests of the people who elected them , whether they are in party of power or sitting in the opposition 
   *  And the government officers / police were to enforce whatever laws exist and book the offenders, without fear or favor ( no " parrot in the cage " syndrome )
   *  And the Courts hear the cases and pass orders on the same day ( no dates )
But , if none of this is likely to happen in a democracy , can I have the powers of the Chinese Ministry of Environment Protection , which :
#  Received 12,369 telephonic complaints
#  Inspected 14 lakh companies between Jan - Sept ( 5091 per day )
#  Ordered 28,600 companies to suspend their operations ( 102 per day )
#  Shut down 17,000 polluting industries  ( 61 per day )
#  Found 46,800 companies discharging pollutants
#  Discovered 63,700 companies involved in illegal constructions  "

It is time citizens of India asked themselves :
"  To 480 million BPL ( below poverty line ) people of India , what matters more ,

    *  Right to vote / select , MPs / MLAs , once in 5 years ,  or
    *  Freedom from hunger and freedom from pollution / diseases ?

For a solution , read my blog " ROMP - a panacea ? " at www.hemenparekh.in

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
hemen  parekh
26  Dec  2015




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