Republic Day 26th January 2017

Where The Mind Is Without Fear

Beautiful Saturday

A beautiful crisp winter morning this Saturday 10th Dec '16, visibility a 6.30 near zero! Nonetheless
a brisk walk with nature, pollution levels down good breathing air quality seems like a perfect way to have started the morning.

Boxy my dog, found her Golden Retriever friend Buddy, and both frolicked with each other, enjoying the freshness of the morning.

Back home now, a cup of tea, and off to the park to do gardening with my mali friends.

I thank thee Oh Lord, for this beautiful morning, and the greatness of the Universe.

Sunday Morning: Watering Green Belts

Air Quality Index (AQI) or Apathy Quantified Index (AQI); the choice is ours.

Air Quality Index (AQI)

Or

Apathy Quantified Index (AQI); the choice is ours.

With casual indifference amongst us urbanites, the very high pollution levels of PM 2.5 > 500 (severe) has come to be accepted as the new normal. Instead of the state of the art, real time monitoring system by the Ministry of Earth Sciences serving as a tool for taking enlightened decisions, it has become just another stock market ticker.

So what can you and I do to improve the air quality of our neighbourhood? Well, quite a bit really, and inversely nothing at all;

For starters, lets understand vehicular pollution is a major contributor to pollution, and living 200 to 500 meters from a major road, (Ring Road in our case) Diesel fumes is a major contributor to the Nitrous Oxides the carcinogenic substance that causes lung cancer. Residents living in the vicinity of the Ring Road are most exposed, and hence prone to Lung Cancer, which will begin to manifest itself amongst residents (unfortunately) over the next few years.

On monitoring the AQI (air quality index) at night, a sharp increase is noticed when trucks are permitted to enter and ply through the city, the Ring Road AQI peaks at approx. 3 a.m. with a toxic haze overhang in the adjacent areas.

Hence, quite obviously, vehicular pollution in our vicinity is a great risk, and despite efforts by NGT to ban 15 year old diesel vehicles, or impose an environmental tax on trucks entering the city, implementation remains tardy, and trucks continue to transit through the city. The Eastern and Western Periphery highways are yet to become a reality, so till then we will have to bear the indignity of breathing noxious diesel fumes.

Long journey’s start with the first step, as residents we can take tiny steps, as desperate times call for desperate measures. In the first instance the most attainable goal within the realm of our possibility would be to plant trees & roadside shrubs all along the periphery of the Ring Road. Again before you flick you hand and say ‘Oh that’s passé; be assured this is the single most effective step residents can take, no permissions required, no red tape and sustainable technology  for all to participate, therefore largely doable. Roadside trees and plants are the first line of defence against vehicular fumes and pollution; are carbon sinks, sequestering Carbon, and releasing Oxygen! Imagine, once these plants establish themselves in the soil, they require very little looking after, acting as sentinels, guarding us against noxious gasses, taking upon themselves the burden of pollution, and giving us Oxygen in return! Truly this is the benevolence of nature.

On the larger picture, we the residents of Defence Colony have to petition the Government of Delhi and / or the Courts for a complete ban the passage of trucks on the Ring Road, which is our constitutional right. Article 21 Right to Life guarantees us the right to clean air, right to a clean environment, and if we are being denied these rights by apathy and negligence of the State, the Courts can direct appropriate authorities for necessary implementation.

Two measures discussed above; one to be done by us residents; with our hands, and the other to coerce a recalcitrant administration.

Shall we leave our armchairs and begin?

Letter to the President DCWA

​To,

The President 

DCWA

The Gumbad,

Defence Colony

New Delhi 110024

Dear Mr. President,

Sub: Utter neglect of the colony, market and its environs​

Kindly find herewith a few photos of the amphitheater park next to Mother Dairy, within the market (the Association of which you are President) and 30 meters away from the Gumbad, the office of Defence Colony Welfare Association (DCWA) off which too, you are President. As such you have the good fortune of being President of both organisations; you Sir, thus hold a very exalted position in Defence Colony. 

There are some issues that are crying for your attention; and are located right in your backyard, so to speak; the attached photos display the utter and complete neglect of maintenance of public utilities and common spaces in the Market. Areas abutting and contiguous to the Defence Colony Market are the show windows of our colony; to the colony residents and visitors, it should be an example of upkeep and maintenance. On the contrary, it has become a cesspool of muck, green areas neglected, abandoned cars, generators on pubic land, drug addicts, sleeping guards and angry disrespectful parking attendants.

You Sir, are in the fortuitous situation as the 'Authority' to command the vast resources at your disposal 4 fold: (1) The resources of the Market as an Association, (2) The resources of the DCWA as the Colony Association (3) The Executive Committee body of the DCWA, (4) The many volunteers of the colony waiting to be harnessed, willing to step forward to assist in upkeep efforts and (4) The Civic Agencies.

Since the hygiene standards of our colony have been deteriorating, and continues to decline sharply, I request you as the President with all executive powers of Defence Colony, delegated to you by a democratic election, to deploy the resources elucidated above to: undertake the following: (respectfully requested)

1. Clean up the muck in the Market & Colony,

2. Clear Gumbad area and Moolchand Complex of unauthorized parking by trucks, commercial vehicles, non resident parking.

As residents, we look forward to a time bound schedule emerging from your Presidential Offices (DCWA & Market) by which date you can get the above issues resolved.

Yours sincerely,

Rajeev Suri

D-68 Defence Colony

New Delhi 110024

M: 9810304580

Request to Delhi Police (Traffic) for action against parking Mafia

To,

The Deputy Commissioner Police​ (Traffic)

South Delhi

Delhi Police,

Delhi

​Dear Sir,

Sub: Re Illegal parking in Defence Colony; Mafia controlling public land.​

A few days ago I wrote to you regarding the menace of illegal parking in Defence Colony. The email is shown below, for which unfortunately, you have failed to take any action:

To,

DCP Traffic

South Delhi,

Delhi Police

Delhi

Sir,

Re: Parking Mafia and parking in service lanes

I bring to your attention the growing trend of vehicles (Tempo Traveler's, Inova's taxis, private cars of offices, such as ICICI wealth in D 58 ) being parked in the service lanes of Defence Colony, which are essentially meant for service vehicles, Fire Brigades, Sewage Cleaning vehicles, SDMC services, and other utility services. By parking vehicles in these service lanes, the colony is being deprived an essential route for emergencies and civic services.These vehicles are mostly non resident vehicles, being parked in this colony due to a lax vigilance on the part of the implementing agencies, the Welfare Association and residents. By way of this mail I'd request all groups in coordination with each other implement a strict policy of "No Parking" in the Service Lanes of Defence Colony.

By this email, I specifically request the following authorities for their active intervention:

1. Delhi Police, with DCP Traffic (South) as the competent authority with ACP Defence Colony acting as Nodal Officer. ( Please consider clamping / tow away of such vehicles). Our earlier email re commercial parking at the 'Gumbad' has met with a feeble response, and a drive to clear the areas is essential.

2. President Defence Colony Welfare Association (DCWA) to ensure no vehicles, park in back lanes, and no trucks, commercial vehicles and non resident vehicles park in the 'Gumbad' of  Defence Colony.

3. Secretary, Defence Colony Welfare Association (DCWA) to ensure implementation of the above.

Further,I request Dy Commissioner SDMC Central, to use all resources at their disposal to prevent such activity, to revisit parking contracts granted by their RP Cell parking contractors, to book them / cancel contracts for a blatant misuse of their limited jurisdiction, having now become a Parking Mafia terrorizing residents.

Yours faithfully,

Rajeev Suri

D 68 Defence Colony,

New Delhi 110024

M 9810304580

​I now attach photos of trucks, commercial vehicles non resident cars parked in areas essentially meant for residents to park their cars whilst visiting market places. However his has been taken over by the parking mafia.

We the residents of Defence Colony now raise a charter of demands on yourselves, as representatives of the Law and Order forces of this city:

1. Remove unauthorized parking from our colony

2. Prevent vehicles from parking in back lanes

3.Stop trespass of vehicles through the colony to avoid traffic signals.

Please inform us a time bound schedule of implementation of the above three point charter.

Yours Faithfully

8 Attachments

 

 

 

Parking Mafia in Defence Colony

To,

DCP Traffic

South Delhi,

Delhi Police

Delhi

Sir,

Re: Parking Mafia and parking in service lanes

I bring to your attention the growing trend of vehicles (Tempo Traveler's, Inova's taxis, private cars of offices, such as ICICI wealth in D 58 ) being parked in the service lanes of Defence Colony, which are essentially meant for service vehicles, Fire Brigades, Sewage Cleaning vehicles, SDMC services, and other utility services. By parking vehicles in these service lanes, the colony is being deprived an essential route for emergencies and civic services.These vehicles are mostly non resident vehicles, being parked in this colony due to a lax vigilance on the part of the implementing agencies, the Welfare Association and residents. By way of this mail I'd request all groups in coordination with each other implement a strict policy of "No Parking" in the Service Lanes of Defence Colony.

By this email, I specifically request the following authorities for their active intervention:

1. Delhi Police, with DCP Traffic (South) as the competent authority with ACP Defence Colony acting as Nodal Officer. ( Please consider clamping / tow away of such vehicles). Our earlier email re commercial parking at the 'Gumbad' has met with a feeble response, and a drive to clear the areas is essential.

2. President Defence Colony Welfare Association (DCWA) to ensure no vehicles, park in back lanes, and no trucks, commercial vehicles and non resident vehicles park in the 'Gumbad' of  Defence Colony.

3. Secretary, Defence Colony Welfare Association (DCWA) to ensure implementation of the above.

Further,I request Dy Commissioner SDMC Central, to use all resources at their disposal to prevent such activity, to revisit parking contracts granted by their RP Cell parking contractors, to book them / cancel contracts for a blatant misuse of their limited jurisdiction, having now become a Parking Mafia terrorizing residents.

Yours faithfully,

Rajeev Suri

D 68 Defence Colony,

New Delhi 110024

M 9810304580

4 Attachments