Odds in odd even policy

Indian TV channels are completely occupied by the cloud burst announcement of Kejriwal led Delhi government on combating pollution. A dictat is issued, the citizen can take their cars only on the government approved dates. The dictat is baptized as the "Odd-Even" Delhi driving policy by the media. The publicity hungry Chief Minister is delighted with the kind of media coverage he is getting. Arvind Kejriwal himself and his party men are hopping TV studios claiming the thought leadership that they have offered in solving the health concerns of Delhites because of pollution. For the media, it is a gift by  Kejriwal  as they were struggling to glue the sensation seeking viewers after the dismal failure of the Intollerance news bite.  The permanent panel members, most of them pretend to be experts in everything under the sky are also busy peeling the beans.

The question which in the public mind and not debated is the root cause for Pollution in Delhi and who is perpetuating it. Is cars, which will be the subject of the odd-even dictat the problem? Is trucks coming to Delhi the problem? Is auto rickshaws that run with petrol adulterated with kerosene the problem? Is burning of waste the problem? Is the thermal power plants emitting smoke the problem? No, none of these are the root cause for Delhi's pollution. Most middle class car owners do not drive their vehicles to office everyday. They either take public or chartered buses or train. Then what is the real root cause for Delhi's pollution?

The first real problem for Delhi's pollution is population. Delhi population is growing uncontrollably. Delhi's environment balance is abused by the growing population beyond repair. Why is the population in Delhi growing beyond the normal limit? Here comes the second real problem, faulty government policy. The over centralization of power with the central government post independence and the need to lobby with government machinery to get anything done forced people and business to locate in and around Delhi. Most businesses established their offices in Delhi. Politicians once elected to parliament never returned to their constituency after their term. Income of people in Delhi increased which generated job for skilled and unskilled labor. This labor came from far off places and established temporary settlements. Construction activity increased and more concrete structures replaced the green belt. Real estate boomed. Black money thrived. Purchasing power increased which added more automobiles on the roads. Sale of automobile was promoted without even considering parking places, not to speak of good roads. All these happened under the watch of the same politicians.

In the given circumstances, will restricting vehicles on the road any solution? No, the policy announced by Kejriwal government is fundamentally flawed. People are going to feel this as an infringement on their movement and will find ways to circumvent it. New agencies will mushroom who will facilitate violation of the restrictions with immunity like any other license raj. So what can help any city, Delhi in particular, from challenges like growing populations and resulting issues like pollution? The politicians and policy planners must be visionary and think ahead. Here are some suggestions:

1. Decentralize the government. Keep only skeletal staff of  critical ministries in Delhi. Move others to smaller cities across the country. This will generate employment across the country and less incentive for job seekers coming to Delhi and big cities. This will also automatically reduce incentive for businesses to locate in Delhi. Moving to smaller cities will be less expensive and save lot of money.
2. Ensure politicians who are not current members of parliament return to their constituencies and encourage them to be with the people they represent.
3. Make owing personal vehicles more expensive by mandating private parking space for every vehicle owned.
4. Make vehicle owners to pay for parking. Introduce metered parking spots on road side.
5. Remove subsidy on kerosine to avoid adulteration of petrol
6. Remove subsidy on diesel.
7. Improve public transportation

Mohan

Hot White Sand

Born in a farmers family in a remote village, land and nature was our sole means of livelihood. The farmers in the village relied mostly on paddy farming. The main source of irrigation was wells and the beautiful river Nila, also known as 'Bharatha puza'. To me Nila is much more memorable because as a teen I crossed this river by walk at least once every month on my routine visit to my mother's home. The distance between my father's home village and mother's home village is approximately six kilometers. It is a good walk from under the foothills of the small mountains in Kodumunda(my father's village) through the relatively less mountaneous Mezhathur(my mother's village). In between the two village flows the beautiful river Nila. Nila is beautiful because of the lush green little mountains all through its course. Nila is beautiful because of the crystal clean water that flow all the way to the Arabian Sea.  Nila was beautiful because of the fertile paddy fields on its both banks. The paddy fields in Akkara had the benefit of canal water and some farmers grew three crops in a year. The golden colored paddy, almost ready to harvest, is a scenery that never fades from my memory. Nila was beautiful because of its white sand. Nila attains unique beauty by the time it reaches our village. It gets wider than any of its course in east or west of us. I would think it is almost a mile wider. During monsoon, it's like an ocean, one can hardly see the other bank(called akkara in local dialect). During summer, the flow will be reduced to a thin stream, mostly in the middle. However, there were years, the river shifts side. The rest on both sides will be full of white sand. I have never seen such a wide and clean sandy river beach anywhere else. 

The nearest bridge used to be six kilometers away and distance to my maternal village by bus is 13 kilometers.  Also there wasn't enough bus service in this route in those days. Therefore, most often villagers crossed the river by foot or boat.  During summer the water level will be low and one can cross the river by walk. All other times, we crossed the river by boat. The place where we board the boat is called Kadavu, a local name for the boat jetty. There was only one country snake boat at service and one boatman in all the seasons. The boatman used to be very friendly to the passengers and very honest. I don't remember his name, I only know that he was a Muslim from a nearby village. Getting seated on the edges of the boat is a boon as one can play with the river water. Looking back, I wonder how unsafe were those boat rides when the river used to be full and strong in current. However, I have never heard of a boat mishap in our village. The boat only operates between sunrise and sunset. The fare used to be ten paise and return on the same day was free. I vaguely remember the fare going up double during monsoon, genuinely because of the effort for the boatman is much more. I remember so many trips we rushed back on same day to get the free return boat ride.

Journey during summer used to be more thrilling for children. The bare foot walk in the mile long stretch of sand and the opportunity to play with sand was a lot of fun. Swimming in the clean water with light current and watching the small fishes used to be a bonus attraction. Summer walk, however, posed another challenge. One has to plan the trip either early in the morning or late evenings otherwise the sand gets very hot in the sun. You can't use slippers, sandle or shoes on dry sand. If for any reason you get late, it will be a nightmare reaching the other side. 

I left my home village 39 years ago but returned at least once almost every year. A visit to Nila, Bharatha puzha is how it is known mostly, and a bath in it used to be one item in our itinerary even in the shortest of trips. It reminded me of the daily bath before sunrise and at sunset during the Mandalam (Sabarimala pilgrimage) season, the trip to my Dad's Guru's Ashram, the bathe to clean the mud on us and our Bulls after ploughing the wet paddy fields in the sowing season, the summer trips to bathe our cattle when the nearby village ponds dry down, watching the elephant taking the bathe and the memorable trips to my maternal home. 

The Nila I discussed is not there anymore. There are no more sand in the river bed. White sand is replaced by slit and wild grass. The grass and bushes are infested by snakes and makes it unsafe to walk.  The golden paddy fields are replaced by big concrete mansions.  No one crosses the river any more.  The boat and the boatman is gone.  There are more roads and public transport which made the commute easy and faster. There is development and urbanization. The overflowing beauty of Nila is shrunk and now lives in the memories of a few.