COURSE IN MUMBAI ECOLOGY

For the last 10 years or so, I have really wished there was something....like an adult learners' program or a short course where I could get authoritative knowledge and training about ecology. From these thoughts, I came up with the following outline for a certificate course.

If I get a good number of applicants, I can send across a formal proposal to someone.

MUMBAI  URBAN ECOLOGY

With the expansion of cities, erstwhile rural and forest areas are getting urbanised. This phenomenon is happening in all parts of the world and in Mumbai also. Secondly, within well established urban areas in Mumbai, there are unique ecosystems with their own flora and fauna (even if limited). Examples are kingfishers in gaothans, Coucals spread all over Mumbai and numerous sightings of snakes. Inspite of being a megalopolis, in Mumbai all is not lost. In other words, we still have a lot to lose if we do not protect Mumbai’s ecology now.

In addition, there is nothing to suggest that urbanisation should necessarily lead to environment destruction. Maybe the quality of the environment will not be anywhere near when it was in a pristine state. But we can ensure some greenery and mitigate the process of destruction. This is in our own interests as environment protection helps to preserve local resources, improves local ambience and has been clearly associated with good health outcomes for communities.

 Mumbaikars need to learn about ecology and simple methods of preservation as applicable to Mumbai. This will promote environment- mindedness and enhance knowledge and agency where it already exists. We should aim to gift our coming generations the remaining jewels of nature, natural resources (water) and a pollution-free Mumbai.

To achieve this we need to do following two things-

1. Bring together like-minded Mumbaikars and Mumbai- lovers under the ‘Mumbai Urban Ecology’ group. This is already happening due to self motivated, well informed persons and by ngos and activists.  

2. Provide know- how and training to those seeking to learn and be instrumental in the study and protection of ‘Mumbai Urban Ecology’. This is required by persons who have a strong desire to participate but lack the confidence or knowledge or both.

For understanding and protecting Mumbai urban ecology, hi-fi expert knowledge like environment engineering or PhD are not needed. An accurate knowledge and orientation to the thought process are needed. This can be achieved by a short course on a part-time basis with exposure to relevant topics.

Hence, with respect to the second point, I propose to have a ‘Mumbai Urban Ecology’ course.

The course should be a distance- education or online course. I propose it should be a year long course with following curriculum:

MODULE 1- INTRODUCTION ‘MUMBAI URBAN ECOLOGY’

What is ecology? What is Urban Ecology? Methods of study and documentation. Historical perspectives. Present ecology. Distribution of dissertation topics

MODULE 2- INTERFACE

Urbanisation and environment- effect and impact. Concept of environmental impact assessment. Rules and laws. Review of Movements, campaigns and ngo work- occurred in Mumbai or with relevance to Mumbai.

MODULE 3- PROBLEMS OF URBAN ECOLOGY 1

Habitat destruction. Resource depletion. And their mitigation.  

MODULE 4- PROBLEMS OF URBAN ECOLOGY-2

Pollution and its mitigation. Include studies on ‘green’ architecture and ‘green/ sustainable’ living, green designs

MODULE 5- APPROACHES TO URBAN ECOLOGY

Study and documentation. Adverse impacts mitigation. Education. Advocacy and activism.  This module should be designed to cause reflection in the student about what should be their role, what do they want to do with the learning in the course

ASSESSMENT

1. Group discussion

2. Dissertation presentation

METHOD OF IMPLEMENTATION OF COURSE

Course can have two coordinators and we can have a first trial batch with nominal fee or sponsored by some environment- minded organisation. We will have to organise experts from relevant fields to take respective topics. Some experts will also be needed to guide the students and/ or assess the dissertations. Many field trips will have to be organised.

The expenses will arise from

1. Faculty remuneration

2. classroom and other incidentals

3. Field visits

4. Study material

5. administrative costs 

MY ECO- FRIENDLY BIRTHDAY PARTY

·         

This week we had a Birthday Party at home. I was thinking Vile Parle has a population of is approximately one and half lakh persons. About 10 percent of this being children under 6 years. So, about 15000 birthdays are celebrated every year. The cost of birthday party in a restaurant or party hall works out to be about 25000 rupees (minimum, it can go upto 75000) per birthday. That is parlekars spend about 3.75 crores on birthdays of under 6s every year.

Now if these parties are done at home, to save money, then the major environment impact is through the use of plates and cutlery. If household steel stuff is used, the water used to wash them will be phenomenal 3.7 lakh litres to wash the plates alone. (I am not going into the comparative carbon and water foot print of paper vs steel plates now, more about that in another post later.) The other option is disposables. Each party consisting of at least 25 people- it means about 30 plates, 30 spoons and 60 glasses. This means 4.5 lakh plates, 4.5 lakh spoons and 9 lakh glasses or cups. All these will be sent to landfill if the material is neither recyclable nor compostable. Another source of trash (non recyclable noncompostible material) is cheap decorations...made of plastic, shiny foil, thermocoal (HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU TORANS) and Styrofoam. All these will go to landfill.

 I did not want to add to this dismal statistic while I enjoyed myself. After all Birthday Party is for ‘Tum Jiyo Hazaro Saal’ and I don’t want to condemn that life as a life on a polluted planet. So I made sure that my party was eco- friendly- means both economically and environmentally. This is what I did-

1. Economics- Had birthday party at home and invited only those who meant something to the Birthday boy. No parents, none of my friends or relatives (just to earn social brownie points). SAVED on Hotel charges, travel, taxes, DJ. I was the party ‘host’ and that money was saved.

2. Menu- the aim was to have a process with least impacts and leftovers. I chose to order in- cooking in larger batches saves fuel. I ordered kid’s favourites....so they eat well. I discussed quantities with the caterer to make sure we did not order extra. I got large 2 l bottles of soft drink.....bottles will be used in gardening later.

3. Invitees- Sent personal invites and got confirmed RSVPs so that exact numbers of attendees could be determined....again to avoid wastage

4. Decorations- I used only paper decorations—that went to recycling or compost. Pure latex balloons are luckily easily available in Parle East and they will get into compost bin. Music played with closed windows at moderate volumes to avoid noise pollution. And used natural vapouriser to keep mosquitoes away

5. Cutlery- I got sugarcane and wheat fibre plates....these are easier to home compost than the areca plates which need shredding. But areca leaf spoons as edible spoons are not available in Parle now. Paper cups for juice and water. Half went to recycling and half I retained for making seed starting cups in my garden. Tissues could go into compost bin. I was thinking of labelling the glasses with the kids’ names to facilitate reuse, but I forgot about it. The cost was only about 10 pc higher than the Styrofoam cutlery...already I had saved that much. I used ordinary corelle bowls for serving.

6. Games and activities- We looked up the net and chose group games requiring no props. The kids were very sporting and joined in heartily....lots of fun.

7. Return gifts- Got plastic water bottles that can be cleaned with hot water...much more eco friendly than soap. Wrapped them in kite paper....easily compostable.

8. Gifts- I was happy to discover that invitees turned out to be as thought ful...no duplications. And all gifts were exciting, usable...no cheap china stuff. And that made them eco- friendly

9. Cleaning up- We had minimal left overs. We cleaned up immediately after party in half hour’s time. It was 10 mins job to cut up the cutlery with scissors and put them into my bokashi bin and compost pile. Food containers went into recycling, Ballons into bokashi bin.

No sign of yesterday’s party except for the Happy Faces! Money saved- 75%. Environment impact- minimal. Effort- Minimal. Enjoyment- Full.

Money saved goes into the youngster’s account and awaiting the Birthday compost to get ready!

TREES and COMPOSTING IN AIRPORT COLONY

When we tell people about home composting as part of Swacch Parle Abhiyaan, we tell them to start first with composting of floral offerings (nirmalya). 2- 3 times I was told about larger scale nirmalya composting happening at Airport Colony across the main suburb of Vile Parle East, done by one determined person. This was something! I had to find out who this person is and what is happening!
After careful questioning of a number of flower sellers and particular coconut vendors, I was told that our good Samaritan is owner of a reputed shop in the market. Somehow everytime I went to the shop, he wasn’t there- but identity was confirmed. And one day we met ‘the person’. Mr S is a simple, senior citizen with a heart of Gold and passion for the environment. For the last several years, he has been a regular for morning walks at the AIRPORT COLONY. In his soft and modest way, he told us that he has come to regard the AIRPORT COLONY with great affection and gratitude and also some amount of wonder. That in the midst of a crowded city next to the busy Western Express Highway is a place which is peaceful, pure and provides peace of mind to so many morning walkers, so many of whom are Parlekars. So he decided to show his gratitude by planting trees in the AIRPORT COLONY. He has planted more than 100 trees of different indigenous varieties there. Seeing his zeal, one local person provided him with facility to access water so that he could take proper care of the saplings there.

Soon, Mr G realised that plants also need good manure. He taught a number of flower sellers and coconut vendors from Parle to sort and keep aside their wastes in a gunny. This he would buy from them for a nominal amount and take to AIRPORT COLONY during his walks. He used this material to make compost on site for the 100 trees he planted. This way he facilitated good use of almost 10 sacks of waste per day. Seeing his work, many morning walkers joined him. Helped him in planting, providing saplings, transport of gunny sacks and taking care of plants.

Unfortunately, Mr S had to suspend his activities as some residents of the colony did not take kindly to his activities. But he is not at all bitter about it. His plants are there and they are big enough to take care of themselves. In addition, one person in Parle East has now offered the premises of his bungalow to care out his activities. Associates from SPA who visited this bungalow say the project is really going well. Nirmalya and coconut waste are deposited in pits where microbes and worms do the work. Many pits are used in circulation. Mr S is joined by Mr J in his work here. Mr J is a full time consultant engineer trained at IIT and finds time to do this work inspite of his busy schedule. He has given the concept that waste management project should also look attractive so that people are impressed and join in it. So they have made a fabulous garden around the bungalow. And in Parle itself there are plants giving large variety of flowers, fruits, birds, butterflies- and of course very cool, clean air and beauty to the bungalow.

HATS OFF TO THEM! They are determined to increase the scope of their activities. Mr S says he has decided to give as much time as required for this task- he really believes in serving nature.

Sample response to DP of MCGM

This was given to me by a like- minded friend- I have read through it and it appears ok.

To,                                                                                                                                    Date:

The Chief Engineer - Development Plan

5th Floor, Municipal Head Office, Annex Building

Mahapalika Marg, Fort, Mumbai-400 001

Subject: Suggestion /Objections and Request for Hearing for the Proposed Draft Development Plan for Mumbai 2014-34.

No. ChE/32596/DP/GEN/dtd 25.2.2015

Dear Sir,

We have taken studied the proposed Draft Development Plan and we list our Suggestions Objections as stated below.

FSI - We note with concern that FSI has been increased to a base of 2.5 with a maximum of 8.This huge leap will see further densification in already crowded areas. There is no proportionate increase in physical and social infrastructure. Most existing roads are not wide enough to carry the load of this increasedFSIand will lead to further traffic congestion

Suggestion - An increase in FSI by even 1 implies that the entire footprint of the city has been doubled. Hence there should be subsequent doubling of open spaces, health care, education, water supply and sanitation facilities etc. Higher FSI should be allowed only to the plot abutting the required road width provided all other amenities are provided for.

The increase in FSI will not necessarily mean affordable housing as majority of the city's population lives in slums or small tenements. The proposal to reduce the existing reservation of 20% of area for EWS housing to only 10% will bring no relief to this section. Further the demand for housing, apart from EWS, is for smaller apartments like 1BHK or 2BHK. This blind increase in FSI throughout the city will only lead to an increase in built up area in the higher income and luxury segment.

Suggestion - Maintain the reservation for EWS at 20%. . FSI should be based on the existing population density of each area. Further, steps should be taken to ensure that each planning sector has a percentage of housing for smaller , affordable apartments.

InfrastructureThe standard for educational and health facilities have been reduced. There was a need to increase this,not diminish the ratio. Schools which have come up in the past couple of decades do not have sufficient area for playgrounds. Whatever is available is concreted to double up as a parking space for school buses. Children spend a major part of 15 years in schools. Lack of open spaces in educational institutions affects theirhealth and growth.Affordable health facilities too are minimal. Most multi speciality hospitals are too expensive and smaller ones are crammed into apartments in housing complexes. There needs to be dedicated space for these two amenities.

 Health Amenity standards are reduced to 0.385sqm per person from 0.83 -1.28sqm per person.

Suggestion - Provision of adequate health care facilities is the duty of the local government and hence reservations specifically for municipal dispensaries/swasth chowky, municipal hospitals and municipal trauma centres should be demarcated in the proposed land use.

Education: Education Amenity standards are reduced to 1.37sqm per person from 3.58sqm per person.
Suggestion - Provision of adequate primary educational facilities is the duty of the local government and hence reservations specifically for schools should be demarcated in the proposed land use.
Ensure each school has a playground accessible to all children during the day and evenings. Covered play areas can be counted. The overall provision should be 2sqm/capita of population.

FSI for Open Spaces. There is no need to provide FSI of 3.5 for areas marked as open spaces. This will lead to possible misuse in the future. This should be reduced to an absolute minimum. Such spaces only require basic facilities like toilets or a basic office.

Open Spaces- The ratio of open spaces provided is dismal.  Traffic Islands, Intertidal areas of beaches, promenades, private layout RG (Cusrow baug) are included in public open spaces. Natural areas such as Mangroves, Mud Flats, National Parks, Creeks, Private Gymkhanas, Swimming Pools etc. are clubbed with the available Open Space to meet  standards. This is trickery with number. Large urban green inaccessible areas such as Raj Bhawan, Doongarwadi (Tower of silence), JJ Hospital, BARC, TISS, Aarey colony, Film city, KEM Hospital, Nehru Science Centre, AAI receiving station, IIT are proposed to be made accessible and counted under open spaces.The layout open space in residential development has been reduced to 10% as against DCR 23 of the DP 1991, which suggests RG of 15% to 25%.There is a further diminution of open space available to the public as the parking areas, electric substations, storage of harvested rain water, grey water harvesting plants, sewage treatment plant etc. are permitted below open spaces in residential development. (The DCR 1991 was amended to state that parking spaces and basements are not allowed under reservedOpen Space).

Suggestion - Health benefits of green spaces are clearly proven, particularly for the lower income groups. The DP should have a clear strategy to increase actual, usable open spaces.There must be at least one small park (between 500 and 1,000 sq. m.) within 500m of every residence, and at least one large park (exceeding 1,000 sq. m.) within 1 km of every residence in the city. Layout open spaces in residential development should be clearly marked and existing 15%-25% should be maintained.
Aarey Milk Colony-Aarey is shown to be a Residential Commercial zone with plans to make it a major growth hub.

Suggestion - The no development zone designation of Aarey should be made further stringent and be marked as a centralprotected green area or as open space.

NDZ areas. It is alarming that nearly 17000 acres of NDZ areas are set to lose this status. These are ecologically sensitive areas and important as a defense mechanism to natural calamities and greatly contribute in ecological services. Areas like Madh island, creeks, mangroves, mudflats etc are very important assets of Mumbai

Suggestion - All NDZ areas should be protected and if opened then only be proposed as openspaces

Heritage Structures - The Draft Development Plan (DRDP) 2014- 2034 is an attempt to delete protection of nearly 1000 buildings, sites and precincts i.e. 70% of the about 1488 total listed and published heritage buildings, sites and precincts in Greater Mumbai through an act of omission.

Out of 1995 notified list, one third of the heritage structures including Grade I, II, III sites and precincts are missing from the land use plan. 116 buildings, sites and precincts have been deleted and 35 buildings, sites and precincts altered from the 1995 Notified List of 633 buildings, sites and precincts .DRDP further deletes all of 7 Textile Mill Heritage buildings, sites and precincts from the 2002 Notified Addition, 24 Agiary Sites from the 2002 Notified Addition of Parsi Fire Temples in Greater Mumbai and 7 precincts including Marine Drive precinct deleted from April 1995 published addition. Almost all of the 894 Sites are missing from the Proposed Heritage list published in July 2012.

The SDCR regulation will be applicable to only those buildings as marked on the Land Use plan according to SDCR 6.1. This would mean that if there is an error in display of heritage site on the Development Plan sheets it would automatically mean deletion of reservation under heritage structure.                                   

Suggestion - Incorporate all the listed Heritage Buildings and precincts in the Development plan and show the mandatory 100 M regulation zone near all the Heritage Sites on the PLU. The proposed new Heritage List should also be incorporated.

Grade I and Grade III and Precincts have been completely removed out of the purview of the MHCC.
Heritage precincts and sites from Grade III have been allowed redevelopment up to 30m in the Development plan without the approval of the MHCC. This would virtually destroy all the heritage precincts in the City.                                                                                                                                                       

Suggestion - All Heritage structures, be it Grade I, II, III and the precincts, should be demarcated in the PLU and the redevelopment should be only done with the permission of the MHCC. The 30m height is arbitrary and will destroy the nature of the heritage precinct.The Heritage list should be incorporated in the SDCR document. All building modification/development permissions should be referred to the Heritage Committee and the Municipal Commissioner should take due note of the recommendations.

Safety -Marginal setback as mentioned in section 18.3.1 allows set back of only 3 m for building height 70 m and above. These high-rise buildings will not allow fire engine movement around the building during disaster.

Suggestion -  Minimum set back of 9m on ground should be given on all 4 sides to ensure fire safety for high-rise buildings. This should be provided irrespective of other mandatory fire fighting equipment to be provided in high rise buildings.

We will further supplement our issue with data at the hearing. We request you to consider our Suggestions/Objections and grant us a hearing at the earliest.

Yours sincerely,

Name-

Address

Phone

Email

The Parlekar and DP

There is a lot of discussion about the DP and its implications on South Mumbai and Aarey. I want to focus on the problems that are coming for Parlekars.

Praja Foundation along with UDRI have come up with a good handbook (more like a workbook) to help citizens arrive at some conclusions about the DP. The DP, if you see, is a large complex document. Further one will have to do much secondary research to put the data, dp plans in perspective and come to some conlcusion about what can happen to a particular area. This is possible only for persons with good hold on numbers and domain knowledge about urban and town planning. So here it is- it is not possible for even an educated intelligent Parlekar to respond to the DP without spending a good few days understanding the DP. Anyway, I have tried..........

Mapping of the KEast

GIS has been used for mapping. An age-old problem is clubbing Vile Parle and Andheri together- areas extremely diverse in culture and all dimensions. But that is another story.

Overall
WRT the DP- as it is KEast is below standard with respect to every facility such as health, education, recreation, open space, transport and waste management. The DP sets out no plan to set right these problems.

FSI
Now the flight corridor areas have a height restriction.  Almost all open spaces in Vile Parle East are encroached by one or the other organisation. The DP states no plans to acquire new open areas or develop them in a time-bound manner.

Waste management-
All our liquid

Development plan and number of objections

There are reports that the number of letters of objection received by Municipality regarding the next DP is just 15 thousand. As the population of Mumbai is in several lakhs, the MCGM says that this number of objections is miniscule and wants to go ahead with the development plan as it is. This is a case of gross mis- interpretation.

MCGM has asked for letters of opinion and not votes. Each letter represents the opinion of several persons; it is possible that each family, institution has written their objection in one letter. The letter also represent the opinion of persons who care, have understanding of the matter at hand. They also have the time and sophistication to pen their thoughts and send them to municipality. So their opinion carries weight and is not just a number.  If 15thousand have objected to the DP the true numbers should be taken as being nearer a lakh or so. This is the statistic also used in 'head of the household surveys' of population or health care matters. This is sufficient reason to have a re-think of the DP.

Basically asking for opinion on a document that is erroneous and full of vague approximations is a insult to the thinking and hard working public of Mumbai city. At least have the decency to produce a decent error- free document for re-view; then the MCGM can deliberate about citizens opinions. Do we pay the MCGM to turn in shoddy work like this? Instead of asking for opinion on this piece of rag- bag stupidity, they should fine the officials and surveyors concerned for doing such a poor job. 

PLASTIC BAGS

Plastic bags harm the environment in many ways. But practical problem is- forgetting is the reason many Parlekars have to fall back on taking a plastic bag from the shopkeepers. So Shruti and I shared an idea in our meeting: Why not remember for other Parlekars?

I collect all plastic bags that I get during shopping and clean them. Periodically I give them to my bhaji wala. He is very happy to get them and gives to the customers. Shruti also has been doing the same thing. So if any Parlekar forgets to get his/ her bag, our plastic bag can save the day. Re-using the plastic bags can reduce the environmental impact to a great extent. And the bhaji wala is happy as he gets sturdy bags of all sizes- so different customers' needs can be met.

This thing can be done by many Parlekars. Even if we use cloth bags, it is useless if we keep forgetting them and buying new ones all the while. So we can start giving plastic bags to the shop keepers, thus reducing the need for new plastic bags and reducing burden on environment.

Paryavaran mitra

We have now formed a small group of like- minded Parlekars and called it 'Parle paryavaran mitra'. It is just a group- not an organisation or institution. We meet up to discuss environment related issues- share our ideas.

We communicate through our e-group and whatsapp group. Upon discovering so many like-minded Parlekars we all are feeling very happy and as if we are in a 'wadi' with all people around us exactly understanding us without any explanation from our side.

We welcome many other Parlekars to join.......paryavaran mitra

Poop- scoop for dog- loving Parlekars

Poop- scoop

As I stood waiting with my son for his school bus, I noticed several dog walkers leading their dogs into our lane for their ablutions. As I enquired about the where these dogs lived, I was astounded to know they come to Parle from as far as Andheri, to------shit. Apparently the lanes of Parle are quiet, tree- lined and dogs feel totally relaxed here- so they shit quickly. I am really angry with this attitute and have declared my lane off- bounds to such dog- walkers.

One particular fellow, however saw my point and has now been bringing a 'poop- scoop' which he proudly showed me. With this the doggie poop can be moved to a side and covered with mud. So the nuisance is less.

I still feel this is not the solution. Parlekars have large houses- but their dogs shit outside, servants use public utilities, clothes dry in building flowerbeds and footwear and dust-bin are always outside the main door.

At least buy a poop scoop- dog owners!

Sunny Days are here again

The Sun is shining very brightly nowdays- perfect time to bring out my solar cooker. I have this ‘Tulsi’ solar cooker. I have to lug it to the terrace and set it for cooking.

my solar cooker

ready to go into the solar cooker

The first thing I did was to cook a kg of raw mangoes to make kairi panha. I find the solar cooker eminently suited for this preparation.

The slow cooking brings out delicious flavor. And it is easier to fit in my schedule, I can pick it up when I return from work. By that time, its cooked, cooled and ready for the next stage. And after straining and mixing with jaggery it will go back in cooker tomorrow for simmering. Day after tomorrow kairi panha concentrate will be ready!

Sun- made Panha is delicious.

Swachhatechi Gudi

21st March 2015 was Gudi Padwa- the first day of Chaitra- celebrated as the Hindu New Year. GP is one of the major Hindu festivals.

In Parle it is being celebrated by bringing out a traditional celebratory procession called 'Shobhayatra'. This consists of persons in happy mood, dressed in traditional attire with music, dance and some installations/ floats. This time 'Janaseva Samiti' had announced 'Swachhatechi MahaGudi'.

Maharashtra Times carried the information a day in advance as the link below shows:
http://maharashtratimes.indiatimes.com/maharashtra/mumbai/gudi-padwaparle/articleshow/46628356.cms

Sure enough, the Shobhayatra had a garbage truck, with brooms and this way they went around Parle that day.

But I am yet to find out more about Janaseva Samiti and what they exactly meant by this concept. I hope it means some community program for improving the Parle environment.

Ecological challenges in Vile Parle East

Vile Parle East was a lovely small village on the coast of Mumbai. Unlike other villages, it was not a fishing village. Its culture was mainly centred around the Parleshwar temple and trading in grocery items by the few Brahmin families settled around the temple. Merchants came much later.

 It still retains the character of a small village- basically it covers a small area with a distinct culture and layout. But we are now on the threshold of major changes, which will bring about large ecological challenges. These are broadly:

AIR QUALITY

1.       Pollution is covered below

2.       Breeze

Most Parlekars in old buildings were able to enjoy the cool evening breeze blowing from the sea. Now except the heavy monsoon winds, breeze is a rare experience. In some areas like open ground of Parle Tilak vidyalay or atop tall buildings, still breeze can be felt.

3.       Temperature

We still don’t experience the ‘heat- islanding’ to that extent. But market areas seem to be warmer than residential areas

4.       Light and brightness

The merchants in Parle have been sensible not to install bright hoardings. So, excessive night-time brightness which is disturbing to humans is still not such a problem.  During daytime the glare in market-place is really annoying.

WATER QUALITY

1.       Piped water supply- Vile Parle East was found to have the cleanest water in a survey done about 2-3 years ago.

2.       Well water systems

Ground water pollution by sewage is an ever- increasing problem.

3.       Lakes and ponds

There are no lakes or ponds

FLORA AND FAUNA

1.       Tree cover- Ever decreasing, the diversity is reduced and many exotic inappropriate trees are being found here. Trees are being chopped for easy visibility of hoardings- most notably the new gold shop opposite Babasaheb Gawde Hospital has chopped the tree on the corner to make its board visible. There is not a single green belt, urban forest in Parle East. The shrub trees are particularly missing- castor, calotropis, ber, etc

2.       Birds-

We still have considerable number of birds- but they are reducing.

3.       Mammals

The only mammals worth quoting are the common squirrel and bats.

4.       Snakes, lizards and other reptiles

My impression is that there could be snakes- hidden away in mounds of debris, nearer slightly cleaner gutters or un- used  spaces. Plenty of lizards, a few calotes are present.

5.       Insects, worms and other small fauna

There are lots of mosquitoes- but beehives are distinctly less in number. Frogs have reduced.

6.       Vermin

The population of dogs, cats, pigeons, rats and mosquitoes and flies is considerable.

POLLUTION – Most of these variable will need data before my putting it here, so I will start from No 4. As a doctor, and from discussion with my colleagues- pollution related respiratory, skin complaints are on the rise. Also people do complain of disturbance and headaches due to noise pollution.

1.       Chemicals in air

2.       Solid particles in air

3.       Noise

4.       Sewage- It appears all buildings discharge untreated sewage into the storm water drains from where it flows into the sea.

5.       Garbage- Garbage- mostly unsegregated is collected by municipality and dumped at Deonar or Mulund.

6.       Culture- specific pollutants- These include playing of loudspeakers, feeding cows and pigeons  at roadside, leaving left- over food on parapet walls, etc

AMBIENCE AND AESTHETICS

1.       Old and traditional houses- not all old houses provide visual pleasure- Some are covered in tarpaulin and look like hovels

2.       New buildings trends

Glass fronted buildings, multi- storeyed car parks and concretised set- backs. These trends are totally inappropriate for Vile PARLE. For one Mostly AC Cooling is not needed, glass causes glare. I wish buildings should use percolator-type paver blocks instead of concretising their compounds.

3.       New layout trends

Concrete roads and total disregard for pedestrians is a negative trend. But some commercial areas like ICICI bank building on Hanuman road have provided good set- backs, which is a positive trend

Special sights or spaces

The only structure that can be identified as truly 'Parlekar' is the Parleshwar temple. Other than that we have no claim to any special buildings, sculptures or public spaces. We need to develop something that encompasses the soul, culture, pride and 'true' feeling of what it is to be a Parlekar.

The increased population is not actually an ecological challenge. Vile Parle has enough ground water resources. If organized intelligently the waste management also can be trouble- free. In fact due to high population density we should be able to implement many public transport solutions even locally.  There are very few slum pockets in Vile Parle East and they are undergoing re-development. The only challenge related to population is the tendency to desire several large cars and drive them around for small tasks like vegetable shopping.  This creates all kinds of pollution, obstruction of roads due to parking and traffic congestion. 

Regards to Inspector Dhoble

A couple of years ago Inspector Vasant Dhoble was made in-charge of Vile Parle East. He did his job very deligently and we were able to actually walk around Vile Parle East ON FOOTPATHS cleared of encroachments. As it is bound to happen in case of anybody who works fast and by the book, Insp Dhoble was shifted out. Parlekars, in association with some local persons and BJP persons did a signature campaign to petition the Government to post him back here. Nothing came out of it.

Now we are back to walking on the roads dodging vehicles- both shopkeepers and hawkers have encroached on the walkways completely. And car owners are back to parking on footpaths- another reason for walking on the road.

Meanwhile, I read about the wonderful work Insp Dhoble is doing in tracing missing persons. A record number of boys, girls and adults- some as young as 2 years old have been rescued and reunited with their families. The credit belongs to the whole team, but I must say Insp Dhoble is an exemplary worker- always doing his best wherever he goes.

Now BJP is in power and I used to often think that they can submit all those signatures and get Insp Dhoble back here. After I read in the papers that he is doing so well in his current assignment, I felt the 'need of someone else in greater than Vile Parle's'. There is no doubt that tracing missing persons and breaking the backbone of human trafficking is more important than enforcing municipal anti-encroachment laws. I think now a good worker like Insp Dhoble should continue to do this work. I will not sign on any petition asking to post him back to Vile Parle, as long as he is in the 'missing persons- finding department.

I would however like it if his successor emulates him. Insp Dhoble can always guide him. And it is proven that Parlekars will give whole-hearted support.

Friends of MCGM

Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai or MCGM (BMC- earlier) is tasked with maintenance and repair of public properties and provision of civic services in Mumbai. My impression is: it has a huge, complicated and dirty responsibility- and manages reasonably well. There is scope for improvement on every front, but altogether they keep the city in working condition most of the times.

Most people in Vile Parle East who have interacted with the local ward office people in Gundavli have found the response within tolerable limits. Vile Parle East has a very significant number of 'active' citizens who visit the MCGM just to improve their surroundings- parks, open spaces, roads, healthcare, etc I should call them all 'Friends of MCGM'. F-MCGM are united by their positive attitude, perseverance and ability to 'get things done'. One such group helped to improve Sathe Udyan on Park Road about 6-7 years ago.

I think F-MCGM is a role many Parlekars can take up. A simple thing is to use the 'complaint system' more frequently. Through this we can be the 'eyes and ears' of MCGM. It works like this: as you go about your tasks daily, you may notice a pothole/ broken footpath/ overhanging dangerous tree branch...anything that needs attention. Log into http://www.mcgm.gov.in/; go to complaints section and inform MCGM about what you have seen. Save the complaint number and track its status. My experience is that mostly the MCGM takes cognizance and deals with the issue. Of course, they do it at sarkari speed only- and sometimes you will have to put the same complaint several times to get it addressed. But the time and effort required is so miniscule and the results so gratifying that it is worth doing.

One feature of the complaint system is that the complainant has to put in detail their name, address, phone and email. Now, for some mysterious reason, Parlekars are intimidated by the prospect of doing this. They would rather prefer to make anonymous complaints. I cannot understand this Psychology- but can reassure that no problem results from giving the details. Just sometimes the repairman may phone you to get the exact location of the problem. It just helps the MCGM do their task better. So this need not put anyone off making the complaints.

I just wish the MCGM adds an optional feature of posting photo of the problem. It will help the workmen to better visualise and even locate the problem. I hope they do it. And I hope the numbers of F-MCGM increases. 

What's your level?

I have sat through medical conferences where each specialist tries to convince the audience that diseases of his/ her speciality are very important, are being neglected and need more and urgent attention. Thus health problems and their importance becomes a function of who is talking at the moment.

But environment concerns are different. It is not about one's point of view. Environment affects all of us. Worse still; one person's actions can harm someone else, even several kilometers or countries away. Environment is for everyone- and the concerns belong to all of us. But each one of us will have to find a 'level' depending on one's knowledge, personality style and time that can be set aside.

Purposeful Environment damager- In my estimation this must be a very hypothetical person- a person who willfuly and knowingly damages environment.

Environment Indifferent- These people do not really know the concepts neither care for the environment or nature. Their idea of a lovely day out could be driving to the mall round the corner in their AC SUV, eating out of disposables over there, having a few ice creams on the way back- the left overs discharged on the road and come back home to sleep under 3 blankets in AC comfort at 14C when ambient temperature is around 20C. Another example is of people who visit Byculla Zoo and sneak in plastic bottles and chips 'for the kids'- they harass the animals by throwing stones and promptly throw the bottles into the crocodile pond (of course- when no one is looking).

Environment neutral- These people know a bit about the environment. They will usually respond to being fined for carrying plastic into National Park. They want to avoid trouble- to themselves and by chance to the environment. They may not consciously think about environment or could be confused about things like 'whether to use plastic cups or paper cups?', but will not persevere to find the answer. Rules and enforcement will work here.

Environment conscious- These people are usually well informed. They will make sure to throw stuff only in dust-bin, talk softly in forest areas and call the fire department if a crow in stuck in manja. But they cannot do without disposables, SUVs and ACs in winter.

Environment friendly- These people will take the trouble of thawing the milk before boiling it to save energy (or better still- not to boil- as pasteurised milk does not need boiling). Items like solar cookers, solar lamps, home compost kits, bicycles, battery powered cars, etc may be found with them. They are quite conversant with terms like STP, Birding, bio diversity and may have even done some or other course related to environment and its management

Environment activism- These people tell others, teach others- particularly they like to engage with 'authorities and establishment'. They write letters, take out marches, petitions and even file PILs to save environment.

Environmental terrorist- The most extreme form of environmentalism. Indicated by acts like sabotaging websites, causing physical harm, etc to obstruct anti- environment activities.

So who are you? At what level is your environmentalism?

What's environment?

Environment has a very close relationship to health. By writing this blog, I am trying trying to say 'Clean, green leads to healthy'.

Lot of people do not realise that cleanliness does not mean merely cleanliness of their homes. For example, persons in Parle have now developed the habit of throwing garbage on footpaths, to keep their houses clean. I even had a conversation with a lady living in a neighbouring building- I discovered that she has as much right as me to throw garbage in the lane and she had to exercise that right.

Garbage stinks and stink can enter any house- even that which is far away. Dogs, cats, rats and flies attracted by garbage also can enter any house. There is currently a dengue epidemic raging in Vile Parle East. The filthy habits of Parlekars have caused this. While Parlekars have met even the Governor regarding cell phone tower threats, there is hardly any acknowledgment of the immediate danger due to garbage lying around.

Every few days we are treated to loud noises. Sometimes it is Ganpati, then Navratri. Soon it will be 'Majestic Gappa'. The songs and topics may be of interest to a minority of Parlekars; but the noise pollution is foisted on all. Since one person did it at one time, another reserves the right to do the same at some other time. In this 'an eye for an eye culture making the world blind', noise pollution has become a continuous feature of our suburb. Whereas majority of Parlekars are peace-loving and neither ever use loud speakers nor frequent programes where loudspeakers are used, they have to suffer noise pollution. A few persons, turn by turn harass the majority in the name of preserving culture and providing entertainment.

Pollution is insidious and is entering the average Parlekar's life slowly but surely. As a doctor, I can state with authority that every kind of mental and physical illness can increase due to environment factors. Individual efforts to keep our homes clean is not going to protect us from these effects. Would you like to continue suffering for the follies of your neighbours? Make a choice....

From 'Mentalist' to 'Environ mentalist'

I have been a Psychiatrist for more than 10 years now and a doctor for 15 years.  In medical college, we were taught a lot of things- the theme being understanding the working of the human body, the process of disease and recovery (with or without intervention). But just how much medicine can a doctor prescribe? I have realised that human beings need to treasure health and invest in health- thats the only wealth they can really own fully and take with them. And health is intimately related to the environment- natural environment, living environment and social environment.

 Vast amount of scientific literature have proved:
1. Health is related to cleanliness
2. Health is related to being near nature
3. Environment stress leads to excess of physical and mental disorders
4. Environment degradation invariably results in health problems
5. Environment degradation invited natural disasters which cause terrible mental and physical disorders

When we think of the legacy we will leave behind- I think buildings and bridges alone will not suffice. We need to leave behind a planet that remains safe and comfortable for habitation. We also need to leave behind the wonders of nature that thrill us so much.  We got this from our ancestors and we cannot deprive future generations of this legacy.

This thinking has made me turn to understand environment and related issues with a greater seriousness. I will still remain the Psychiatrist, and homemaker- so I have decided to focus on the environment in Vile Parle East- where I live. In the coming weeks and months I will try to document environmental issues and how they are related to Vile Parle East.