are you following the cycle rally, if yes, then catch up on day 2 of the cycle rally at http://www.sipcotcuddalore.com/updates_291106c.html

also read hindu article `1000 Bhopals' in black and white at http://www.hindu.com/2006/11/30/stories/2006113014270400.htm

india's other side of industrialisation is leather factories, tanneries, dangerous chemical factories that pollute with 'devil may care' attitude, bulk pharma units that operate with scant regard for environmental rules, highly toxic ship breaking yards, etc.

sipcot cuddalore is the poster child for india's other industrilisation gone wrong.

please catch up on the cycle rally - highlighting cuddalore pollution -that started on nov 28 either at aidindia blog http://nity.aidindia.org/wordpress/ or sipcot blog http://www.sipcotcuddalore.com/updates_281106.html

some quotable quotes are,

S.Ramanathan of SACEM ended the meeting with a memorable statement “they say that if the country wants to develop the youth need to dream, in SIPCOT youth beg of a good nights sleep in order to dream.”

The representatives from the West Gonur Farmers Association spoke about the condition of agriculture in Mettur. All wells are polluted in the vicinity of Chemplast and nearly 5000 acres of land has been wasted.

We also drank tender coconut water in Thyagavalli and it tasted absolutely fantastic in complete contrast to the tender coconut in SIPCOT. The reason for this according to the locals is the absence of industries in Thyagavalli. Similar experiences have also been felt in Mettur where the groundwater has been heavily contaminated.

there was an interesting post regarding a network of activists who have come to form a river alliance.

rivers are lifeline of india. but upto 90% of india's rivers are dangerously polluted. CSE calls this pollution as CHOKING.

i was in periyar river in alwaye for several days in dec 2005. i am attaching 2 pictures out of it. periyar is dangerously polluted in eloor island.

cuddalore is a coastal town around 200 kms from chennai. one area of cuddalore called sipcot has been ravaged by pollution. the blog tracks pollution cases at a very detailed is at www.sipcotcuddalore.com.

now the govt is proposing to setup highly hazardous industries including pvc factory, dumping of effulents, highly polluting coal factory, all of which will destroy the coastal ecosystem of cuddalore in which depends lakhs and lakhs of people.

to protest against this 'developedment', the youth of cuddalore is going on cycle rally across several villages. details at
http://www.sipcotcuddalore.com/updates_261106.html

using your email please also mail the hon'ble CM of tamilnadu as follows and request him not to allow any new polluting industries in cuddalore area.

email: cmcell@tn.gov.in,collrcud@tn.nic.in,forsec@tn.gov.in
subject:please stop setting up of any further polluting units in cuddalore
body:
dear chief minister of tamilnadu dr.karunanidhi,

my name is xxx and i live in xxx.

i hereby bring reference to the latest events in cuddalore.

please refer to the cuddaloreonline blogspot link at http://cuddaloreonline.blogspot.com/ and also sipcot blog at http://www.sipcotcuddalore.com/news_cuddalore_online_101106.html

there is a wide spread false notion that entire cuddalore area is ruined already by pollution and it is okay if we setup more polluting units. in this face of this assumption several massive polluting units including a plastic factory (that is already polluting mettur cauvery area where mother cauvery enters tamilnadu - http://www.iptindia.org/pdf/Mettur.pdf ), a highly toxic and polluting coal power plant, an effulent dumping from tirupur, etc are being proposed in cuddalore area.

we hereby bring your attention to the fact that only the sipcot area of cuddalore is facing heavy pollution whereas several hundred outskirts village and cuddalore coasts are in very good condition feeding thousands of families via fishing and agriculture.

i hereby request you to take positive action to STOP setting up of any further polluting units including coal power plants, refineries, plastic factories, etc in cuddalore. if you want to setup industries please ensure non polluting industries are being setup in cuddalore so that the rural people's livelihood does not get impacted by pollution.

let not the rural poor pay a very heavy price for the enjoyment of urban excess. please say NO to further polluting units in cuddalore

regards,
xxx

the mullaperiyar issue is going from vex to vexed to vexed-est.

i was looking to some articles which can tell the situation as it is and i found one in ramaswamy.r.iyer's article titled "Dammed if they do" at
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/17359.html

he hits the nail with the following summary:
All that one can say is that the benefit of the doubt should be given to Kerala. The farmers of TN must remember their “rights” over Periyar waters are not natural or riparian rights; they are rights arising out of an agreement. They are receiving waters because Kerala has been good enough to give them that bounty. The attitude of TN farmers towards Kerala should be one of gratitude, and not one of anger or resentment. Secondly, Kerala government is entitled to exercise abundant caution about the safety of people, property, and wildlife in the state. Safety is paramount. TN’s efforts should be to reassure Kerala and assuage its anxiety, and not to complain about its unreasonableness or accuse it of politicising the issue.

the post i wrote and published by indian express at
http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=43017

i read about chennai's plans to build a new desalination plant at http://www.hindu.com/2006/11/22/stories/2006112202600500.htm

it is funny. funny because all of chennai rivers are dead with sewage. adayar river, otteri nullah, bukcingham canal, etc are dead with human waste.

funny because most of chennai's waterbodies are dying. ambattur lake, tambaram lake, porur lake, etc are under massive wilful encroachment.

funny because in areas like t.nagar, there is no chance of rainwater being harvested because entire area is cemented with apartments.

funny because people of chennai require an order from taminadu govt to install rainwater harvesting structures which most of them are seldom built correctly and worse used badly.

funny because several hundred temple tanks lie in disuse and each of these can dramatically increase ground water pattern in their areas.

funny because chennai needs articifical desalination plant when it has killed all natural sources of water.

the cost of desalination plant will run several hundred (or possibly several thousands crores). this is not funny. because this kind of serious tax payer money can be spent in a wise manner if and only if chennai care's about its natural water sources.

there is an interesting article in hindu business line at http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/11/22/stories/2006112203022100.htm

it says as below
However, the Draft Integrated Energy Policy by Planning Commission is quite hopeful that the country may be able to exploit by 2030-31 its hydel potential to the tune of 1,50,000 MW, nuclear power to the extent of 59,000 MW and additional power through wind source to the tune of 14,000 MW.

this is a big joke. in india, there are numerous dams. india is probably one of top 5 'dammed' countries. but no study has been done on exsiting dams on major rivers, their utility rate, their output, their performance etc.

and our officials come up with nice figure of 1.5 lakhs mw hydro potential out of nowhere.

the draft integrated policyh talks about the criticality of the coal power. why is there no mention of the fact that india's electricity losses due to t&d is nearly 30 to 40% (america loss is like 4% probably).

why is there no mention of conservation of electricity in massive scale. why is no mention of environmentally friendly apartments, buildings, etc. why is no mention of having cfl (compact flourscent lamps) that can save each year upto 5000mw. how about mandatory solar water heaters for urban areas. how about more usage of solar power like solar roofs.

as big industries moves into electricity generation, all they care is of big coal, nuclear and hydel plants because they can rake in the moolah.

india's true development can also be achieved using sustainable ways of electricity generation.

of late, tadadi project seems to be lying low(http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/jun/hrt-tadadi.htm)

i was speaking to people who are opposing the project and they told although the govt is acting as though they are lying low on this project, backend work is going on.

meanwhile if you have time, please read about how a proposed 1015mw coal power plant in udupi is facing protests. these protests are going on for past 6 years ever since the plant was proposed. the link is http://www.hindu.com/2006/11/18/stories/2006111814610300.htm

also check out the ratnagiri site where maharastra govt is proposing a 1000mw coal power plant at http://picasaweb.google.com/envirorights/Ratnagiri

this plant is in addition to the 4000mw monster being proposed in sindudurg in maharastra.

very rarely in urban areas we realise the disasters these plants are creating and oblivious to that disaster we chugh along happily in our a/c rooms, geyser water heaters, 55 inch color tv, huge fridget - all of which suck electricity.

india's gdp mongers, developedment oriented official circles, vested industrialists, etc tom-tom about china all the time.

china, no doubt, has made an impressive progress against poverty and i am no china expert in terms of the development (or developedment) it is making.

but i am sure china has a hell lot of environmental disasters going on as a result of indiscriminate policies.

please read thomas friedman article on nov 17, 2006 at http://pasadenastarnews.com/opinions/ci_4672304

from the article,
"But China can't do what the West did: Grow now, clean up later. The unprecedented pace and scale of its growth are going to make later too late. The China Daily reported this week that at least 24 million acres of cultivated land in China - one-tenth of the country's total arable land - is now polluted, posing a "grave threat" to China's food safety. More than half its rivers are also polluted, which is why less than 9 percent of "drinkable water" met government standards for bacteria in 243 rural supply stations recently tested. Many wells have excessive nitrates that can cause diabetes or kidney damage. No wonder some high-tech workers are starting to avoid China, because they don't want to live in a dirty cloud. "

that's what environmentalists of india are saying about india too. india cannot grow now and clean up later. india cannot grow now displacing tens of thousands of people from their lands and then try to feed them. india cannot grow thro urban methods in cities because it will cause (and has caused) urban disasters in its cities.

india's growth has to be sustainable and environment friendly and people inclusive. only if that happens we will see true development.

india's crucial sectors such as agriculture, land reforms, tribal welfare schemes, rural health iniativies, education for all, rural handicrafts investments, organic farming, etc should not be neglected in the name of cheap manufacturing to target and walmart and other american (and world companies) companies that compete for cheap products.

Downtoearth is india's premier magazine and a reputed forthnightly dealing with crucial
environmental issues.

in the latest issue (Nov 15, 2006), they had send me coupons for discounted subscription for my friends.

couple of days back, i sent a mail to several of their id's namely editor@downtoearth.org.in, downtoearth@downtoearth.org.in, subscribe@downtoearth.org.in

but i got no reply. shouldn't a prestigious magazine be prompt in answering the email queries. probably i have to try calling them.

2 contrasting news.

hindu businessline says that tata has finished the land acquistion. link at http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/11/17/stories/2006111705670100.htm

aidindia portal says that land acquisition has been going on by brute force. link at http://sahyadri.aidindia.org/content/view/323/

it is sad to see tata in cohorts with the communists brutalising people especially marginal farmers.

funnily, sitaram yechury, the cpi(m) honcho was blasting western countries and industries for globalisation at the same time, when his own govt was using brute police force to force the villagers in giving their land.

given wide spread opposition, couldn't tata or the communists take an alternative site either in west bengal or outside.

as a consumer, i wont buy a tata car for this precise reason wherein tata is least concerned about people but actually making a 1 lakh people car!!!

i encountered a interesting board of nri's who want to return to india. they call themselves r2i-ers (return to india-ers). the link is
http://groups.msn.com/R2IClub/general.msnw

and it is great to note that lot of nri's expressing concern on the pollution, water issue, traffic issue of india. because we in india need good environment (clean air, clean water, traffic free roads via modern public transport, rich density of trees, etc) too :)

one common question that is asked by the powers-that-be, economists, GDP mongers, our respected and highly educated prime minister and finance minister is this:

'if industry is not going to come to india, how will india develop. if we block growth, how will india grow. how can india jump from developing to developed country'.

the answers for these lies in cuddalore as put in this link at http://www.sipcotcuddalore.com/news_cuddalore_online_101106.html

a slew of industries (below list) is being planned and each of its will deal its own death-blow to the bigger coastal town of cuddalore.

a. ultra mega coal power plant being proposed in Naduthittu near cuddalore

b. effulents 'piped' hundreds of kilometers from the pollution hell of tirupur and ambur regions onto cuddalore sea

c. a pvc factory that has a bad track record in mettur cauvery area being proposed in cuddalore

d. a petro chemical refinery that will turn the air and water petro-toxic.

is this 'developedment', wherein only urban area people enjoy the benefits of these pollution oriented industries. is this 'growth', wherein only the industrialists and elite engineers make money and can have their houses safely in urban areas afar from their factories that pollute wilfully and easily.

this is pollution hell awaiting to embrace the greater town of the coastal cuddalore and choke it to death. and another name for this hell is 'developedment' . 'developedment' at the cost of local ecology on which depend tens of thousands of local people.

mr.p.v.indiresan writes frequently in the respected hindu newspaper. one such article was about PURA, a concept of chattisgarh govt.
the link is http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/11/13/stories/2006111300290800.htm

but i am surprised to see that the author has forgotten (conviently!!) about the salwa judum movement being fostered by the same chattisgarh govt. the oct 31st dte captures the shocking facts at http://www.downtoearth.org.in/section.asp?sec_id=9&foldername=20061115

chattisgarh is like 45% forested, but the govt in alliance with ruthless industries does not see the fact that forests are crucial for people survival and is hell bent on clearing the forests for its own use for mining.

i wish hindu also looks at this angle from a business perspective and see whether uprooting people violently makes sense for any businessman