The Fake Baba and Chit Fund: Only the fools follow the God Men/Women...

I have kept myself away from commenting on the crazy affair that has been going on in our TV channels and newspapers in relation to a Fake Baba (Godman) called 'Sarathi Baba.' However, the obsession that is now visible in this connection for the last few days forces me to write a few lines. Sorry, it may be a longer post than usual.

How it all began? A self styled God Man was caught in CCTV of a Hyderabad hotel in an unusual attire. He was wearing a jeans, a shirt and a sun glass unlike his 'Baba avataar attire' that people (his followers) are accustomed to see him in. One particular TV channel got the images and it became a 'sensational news' running almost 24x7. The channel claimed it investigated and found out that the Baba had checked in the hotel with a girl whom he claimed his wife. The hotel bills were also obtained which showed that the Baba supposedly drank foreign brand liquors, chicken and all that he is not known for in his public life.

The news spread like communal riot from one channel to almost all just in a day. People started protesting on streets, in front of the Baba's ashsams, in social media and in all possible places. Activists were seen spitting on car of an office bearer of Baba's organisation who was in Bhubaneswar to do a press meet, facebook and whatsapp got loaded with N number of photohopped images of Baba in different positions: sometimes holding a girl on his lap, sometimes with the girl who was seen with Baba in that Hyderabad hotel and all kinds of derogatory slogans/messages written over them. The protests have taken political colours and the police action against advocates, workers of political parties and protesting common people have been inhuman and illegal.

People have come up with several theories to establish the Baba's link with the ruling BJD, the local SP's (Superintendent of Police) involvement in extracting money from the Baba to protect him against all his illicit activities, so on and so forth. Media investigations have claimed that the Baba has been involved in chit fund, in illegally holding property, having black money and all that one can attribute to such dhongi (hypocrite) people.

The Baba it seems has been arrested last night owing to public pressure. The media is still abuzz with Baba news and several important news are now hiding from the screens and papers. Of course, we are now used to this phenomenon.

Now let's try to dissect this media and public trial with some logic. At the first instance, as far as my knowledge goes, any citizen of India can go in any presentable attire and stay in a hotel by paying the charges. Baba did that. I don't know what made the girl to accompany him to stay there but am deeply saddened by the way the girl's name and photographs have been used in both mainstream and social media. It is out and out derogatory and abuses her right to life and privacy.

Some media houses are claiming to have unearthed a great evidence by showing that they have obtained flight tickets that confirms Baba in fact flew to Hyderabad with the girl. What a great Khulasha (discovery) that!!! But they forget that the Baba has every right to buy a ticket and fly in an airplane.

Now coming back to the girl. Are we raising legal issues about her being seen with the Baba or we are just behaving like moral police? Let me make it simple. At the first instance, did the girl raise a complain that she was abducted, hypnotized, forced into a sexual relationship or anything of that sort? What she says now(post this episode) in defense or to avoid being harassed by such trials is a different issue. Initially, as it is seen, she had no complaints. And she is no minor either, as we can see from media reports.

So, legally in this case, Baba has not committed any crime. At least I believe so. However, the issue is about faith. The Baba has played with sentiments of lakhs of his followers for sure. But who follows such Babas? The fools!

The agitation and obsessed media activism has made another khulasha about the Baba. He has been involved in many illegal activities including perhaps chit fund scams. But do we believe the authorities did not know about it? All such illegal dens of our God Men are well protected by the authorities (throughout the country). The chit fund scams flourished due to fool investors and because the scamsters got protection from the govt. authorities including police. But we keep silent until some such incidence happens. In fact many so called intellectuals maintain a criminal silence even as such frauds flourish in their neighborhood for years. So the media trial has a positive angle.

One good thing this episode has done is to bring the Baba's illicit doings under scanner, for the moment though. All the complaints against him, that were conveniently ignored and suppressed by the govt., may get a new lease of life post this episode of khulasha. However, will it be the end of road for such Dhongi Babas and to the foolishness called 'blind faith.' A big NO!

I only feel sorry for the way the girl has been treated...

Thanks and regards,

Ranjan Panda

Heat Wave took 2037 Indian lives in 2015: When will we change our development model?

On 5^th August 2015, India’s Union Minister for Science & Technology and Ministry of Earth Sciences, informed to the Parliament startling figures of death due to heat wave this summer. 

2037 people have died.  The details are in the following table.  Worrisome is the fact that all India mean temperature has risen nearly around 0.6⁰ C over the last 110 years.

Details of the Heat Wave/Sun Stroke related deaths in India: Summer 2015:

State	Number of deaths
Andhra Pradesh	1,369
Telangana	541
Odisha	67
Uttar Pradesh	22
West Bengal	13
Gujarat	10
Madhya Pradesh	10
Delhi	5

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report (2014) highlights that mean surface temperature of the globe has risen by 0.85⁰ ± 0.18⁰ C.  

  

Using daily maximum temperature data of 103 stations uniformly distributed over the country for the period 1961-2010  from Indian main land during the hot weather season (March to July), it was observed that many areas of the country (north, northwest, central and northeast Peninsula) have experienced more than eight (8) Heat Wave days  on an average per season. The recent decade 2001-2010 happens to be the warmest decade for the country as well as for the globe.

The Union Minister informed that upon prediction of the heat wave conditions by the ESSO-IMD, various State Governments have a system of giving wide publicity of Dos and Don’ts through advertisements in Print and audio-visual media and opening up of drinking water camps at identified places in rural and urban areas to mitigate the impact of heat waves. The schedule of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme workers is adjusted to avoid exposure to extreme hot weather duration periods.

What however concerns one is that our policy makers don’t learn from all these devastating experiences.  Our development models continue to be environmentally destructive.  Our love for coal fuel power plants, indiscriminate and eco-insensitive urbanization, industrialization that kills forests and water sources in faster speeds than before is dooming the country.

We may keep saying we are nothing in comparison to USA and China in comparison to per capita GHG emissions but such deaths again prove that our development models have failed to integrate climate change adaptation and mitigation in them.  In fact this figure is just what has been recorded and reported.  The real figure and vulnerability is surely to be much more.  Further, this does not take into could the thousands of livestock and wildlife that may have died and/or suffered to the intense heat and related water scarcity.

Time the government gives a serious thought to it and climate change is taken seriously.

It is very unfortunate that the Ministry of Environment is planning to dilute many environmental protection laws only to promote such ecologically destructive development projects.  May reason prevail before it is too late!  Or perhaps, it is already too late…

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Ranjan Panda

Convenor, Water Initiatives Odisha (WIO)

Convenor, Combat Climate Change Network, India (CCCNI)

Mahanadi River Waterkeeper (Member, Global Waterkeeper Alliance)

Mob: +91-94370-50103

Email: ranjanpanda@gmail.com

Tweet @ranjanpanda

Tweet @MahanadiRiver

Skype: ranjan.climatecrusader

India spells out domestic initiatives to reduce GHGs: some primary concerns!

Dear Friends/Co-sailors,

I am sharing below the latest figures shared by the Govt. of India with regard to the domestic initiatives it has been taking to reduce GHGs.

Hope you would find this piece of information useful.  To me, there are a few concerns that need to be addressed by the govt. 

1. The participatory consultation processes they have mentioned seems to be misleading.  We have not really heard of any extensive consultations in this regard.  

2.  Without a strong will to phase out coal fulled power plants, I am not hopeful of the solar mission's success.  

3.  In solar power also, the capacity addition through giant plants would not serve the purpose of greening the power sector.

4. The plan to increase capacity of small hydro power sends a note of caution. 

This is just a quick response.  Will share more reports and analyses as and when we access.

Thanks and regards,

Ranjan Panda

Convenor, Combat Climate Change Network, India (CCCNI)

Convenor, Water Initiatives Odisha (WIO)

Mahanadi River Waterkeeper (Member, Global Waterkeeper Alliance)

Mob: +91-94370-50103

Email: ranjanpanda@gmail.com

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India has taken several domestic initiatives to address climate change. Government has been implementing the National Action Plan on Climate Change to support domestic actions for adaptation and mitigation. NAPCC has eight National Missions including inter alia, the National Solar Mission, National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency and National Mission on Sustainable Habitat which focus on containing the greenhouse gas emissions in the country. Further, 27 States and 5 Union Territories have prepared State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) consistent with the objectives of NAPCC, focusing on the state specific issues relating to climate change and strategies to tackle them.

India, being a Non-Annex I country party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), does not have any legally binding commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. However, government has voluntarily announced to reduce emission intensity of Gross Domestic Product by 20-25% by 2020 from the 2005 level without reckoning the emissions from agriculture sector.

In light of the decision of Conference of Parties held in Lima in 2014, whereby all Parties have to communicate their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) well in advance of the twenty-first session of the Conference of Parties, by 1st October 2015 in a manner that facilitates clarity, transparency and understanding of the intended nationally determined contributions, Government of India has undertaken an elaborate multi-stakeholder consultation process for finalizing its INDCs for submission ahead of the expected date.

As per a report on ‘India: Greenhouse Gas Inventory-2007’, the net Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from India in 2007 with Land Use Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) were 1727.71 million tons of CO2 equivalent (eq). Out of which, CO2 emissions were 1221.76 million tons, Methane (CH4) emissions were 20.56 million tons; and Nitrous Oxide (N2O) emissions were 0.24 million tons. GHG emissions from Energy sector constituted 58%, Industry sector constituted 22%, Agriculture sector constituted 17% and Waste sector constituted 3% of the net CO2 eq emissions. The Energy sector emitted 1100.06 million tons of CO2 eq of which 719.31 million tons of CO2 eq were emitted from electricity generation, 142.04 million tons of CO2 eq from the transport sector, 137.84 from Residential and 100.87 million tons of CO2 eq were emitted from other energy sources. Land use, Land use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector was a net sink. It sequestered 177.03 million tons of CO2.

The Government has proposed revision of the target of renewable energy capacity of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to 175 GW by 2022. The revised target of 175 GW comprises capacity addition of 100GW Solar, 60GW Wind, 10GW Biomass and 5 GW Small Hydro Power. Out of 2800 major industries, so far 920 industries have installed on-line continuous (24X7) monitoring devices.

Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change has suggested amendment to the relevant provisions of the Environment protection rules 1986 by proposing stringent norms and standards for compliance by various categories of industries such as Sugar Industry, Paint Industry, Pulp and Paper industry, Fertilizer industry, Cement plants with Co-processing, Brick-kiln industry and Textile industry etc. with the objective to Control pollution, bringing energy efficiency, better solid waste management, water conservation and zero liquid discharge.

This information was given by Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Prakash Javadekar in Lok Sabha on 4th August 2015)

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Good Morning Thought - 1st August 2015!

Do you know when 1 minus 99 = Zero? I am sure you have come across situations when you felt a close one forgot about all the 99 times you helped him/her just because you couldn't help on one occasion. You need not worry about it nor should stop helping people. Be what you are...

Good Morning!

Have a Great Weekend!!

Good Morning Thought - 31st July 2015!

यह बादल से ना पूछो, के वोह किस मौसम में खुश है !

जहाँ धूप ना हो, वहां उसका वजूद नहीं, और जब न बरसे तो उसकी कोई पेहेचान नहीं...

गर पूछना है तो धरती से पूछो, और पूछो उस मोर से !

बिन बादल के बरस जाये, तो सब खुश है...

सुप्रभात !

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Ranjan Panda

Convenor, Water Initiatives Odisha

Mahanadi River Waterkeeper (Member, Global Waterkeeper Alliance)

Mob: +91-94370-50103

Email: ranjanpanda@gmail.com

Speaking today on 'Water Rights and Role of Governments' to govt officers at Bhubaneswar!

Hi Friends:

Today I shall be speaking at the Gopabandhu Academy of Administration, Bhubaneswar on "Water Rights and the Role of Governments" in a special programme for Administrative, Mining and Forest Officers of the state.

Thanks!

Ranjan Panda

Convenor, Water Initiatives Odisha

Mahanadi River Waterkeeper (Member, Global Waterkeeper Alliance, New York)

Mob: +91-9437050103

Email: ranjanpanda@gmail.com

Sunday Morning Thought - 25th July 2015!

Observe the monsoons closely and you will realise how Rain and Earth are in an affaire de coeur to bring happiness and prosperity to you and me...

Good Morning!

Have a Lovely Weekend!!