Plastics? No please

Plastics are bad: both for health as well as for the environment. The then HP government did this hill state a world of good by banning the use of polythene bags in the state. The ban has gone a long way in mitigating the nuisance caused by indiscriminate use of polythene bags. After use, these bags used to be thrown around everywhere fouling the hill slopes, khuds, other water bodies and roadsides...and subsequently entering into the food chain. Not that we have stopped using and throwing them at will but still some positive change is visible - aided and supplemented by the garbage disposal scheme in operation in some of the panchayats of Palampur. Thus the ghastly, horrendous sights of garbage dumps with polythene bags of all descriptions strewn in, that one used to see littering various places and even the tea gardens have declined in number and size. Certainly more effort and awareness is needed before we get rid of this serious environment polluter.

But what about the use of polythene and plastic in our homes and elsewhere? We store our water in plastic tanks. We store our  various kinds of eatables in plastic containers. We buy our pickles, chutneys and namkeens packed in plastic. Even some so-called health foods come packed in plastic containers. A very popular brand outsmarting many others by its boastful claim to naturopathy and organics, packs its chyavanprash in a plastic container. At most functions, tea is served in plastic cups. In cocktail parties we get our tandoori chickens and tikkas served in plastic plates. Why, even we get to eat hot जलेबियां and रबड़ी  as also मीठे  चावल  often times in plastic plates with plastic spoons to boot. Some people - may be out of sheer ignorance - think nothing of getting गरमागरम चावल  mixed with मधरा  and दालें  packed in polythene bags and carried for their kin back home. Even for dhams and other similar eating events, the good old green पत्तलें  are being fast elbowed out by the plastic plates because of their easy availability. And lastly, I am shocked to find the so-called highly educated amongst us, my own one-time colleagues included, ferrying milk in old, weather-beaten plastic ‘dalda’ containers. 

All this when most of us know that plastics are a serious health hazard. The AIMS has brought out in some details the danger and risk of use of plastic. I chanced upon it as a WhatsApp message sent by a good friend which I am reproducing below.
And to know more about the hazards of this vile polluter plastic, I have a video clip for you. This clip is courtesy Dr G L Bansal who shared it with me on WhatsApp. (And I presume that I have his permission to share it with you) Thanks a million Dr Bansal! 

So friends, time we said goodbye to plastics- at least when it comes to drinking, eating and storing our food stuffs. Or at least let's start phasing them out as  far as and as speedily as possible from our lives...I have! 

Happy, healthy (plastic-less) eating!

The Nagrota/Sambah encounter

Why no bullet proof helmets and vests for our brave hearts?

The loss of 7 precious lives of our gallant army-men in the Nagrota/Sambah encounter throws up  disconcerting questions. Did you see the video footage of our personnel at the encounter site? Some of them were in plain canvas (‘Hunter’ shoes), with just ‘patkas’ to wrap their heads with and  without bullet-proof helmets and vests.  While we have been encountering insurgency and terrorist strikes for decades, is it too much to expect the political masters to equip our men-in-uniform manning the sensitive borders with essential life-saving wear? Compare them with Israeli or American army persons: the difference would be at once obvious. Surely, it would go a long way in minimising avoidable deaths of our soldiers. We hope the present government would do so on a war footing.

Star(s)of the week

My vote unequivocally goes to a charming, chubby, confident-looking, beautifully named, 16-year-old girl: Kehkashan Basu. She is an Indian environment activist based in the UAE who bagged this year's prestigious International Peace Prize for her "fight for climate justice and combating environmental degradation".

And equally deserving stars of the week are YM Sengupta, Dimple Oberoi and Richa Minocha running an environmental NGO, Jan Abhiyan Sansthan. While we sit and just fume and fret about raging environmental degradation, depletion of green cover and illegal constructions being regularised by the government, these intrepid souls have actually taken pains to meet the HP Governor and impress upon him how crucial it was not to clear the TCP amendment bill. Earlier, it was Sengupta's petition that had  the NGT stop the HP government from allowing any construction in the 17 green belts of Shimla and leading to the setting up of an expert committee.

Keep it up Sengupta. We applaud your and your team's valiant efforts to prevent the impending ecological catastrophe that awaits Shimla and other hill towns. 

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Dhauladhar speak

What if right now I look grey, barren and bleak

'Tis December and rain & snow I too, direly seek

White silvery mane of snow then shall I merrily wear
For you to gaze at my peaks with love, hope and cheer

    

                                        

                            

                    

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Quotes of the week

"I call upon everyone to think of how they can contribute to the preservation of the environment...Time is not on our side- we have to act now, or we will have polar bears under palm trees."

                 - Kehkashan Basu

"If such a bill (TCP Amendment bill) was to become an Act, Shimla getting extinct would be only a matter of time."

                  - Richa Minocha, Member Secretary, Jan Abhiyan Sansthan

"Taking a stand on issues is tough."

                  - Amitabh Bachhan

"Women should speak up about marital rape."

                   - Bollywood actress Katrina 

" I love being looked upon as a sex symbol."

                   - Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh

"There would not be any democracy without an independent judiciary, the way there would not be a solar system without sun."

                    - T S Thakur, Chief Justice of India

"भगवान के वास्ते संसद चलने दें  सांसद. " - राष्ट्रपति
                                 (Amar Ujala)   

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News clips

Human-made objects on Earth amount to 30 trillion tonnes

Highly skilled women pay largest 'motherhood penalty'

1.6 million died due to air pollution caused by fossil fuel, particularly coal, in India, China in 2015:report

Human ancestor 'Lucy' could climb trees: study

Patrol-free, multi-layer smart fence along Pakistan, Bangladesh border by end of 2017: BSF (ToI)

Women, men see faces differently

Deepika Padukone beats Priyanka to become sexiest Asian woman

Universe may be starting to die:astronomers
(About when?...in the next 10 billion years)

Swiss firm aims to establish permanent human settlement on the Red Planet


Almost all bureaucrats in Kangra have new cars ranging from Innova to Honda Amaze...it is believed that the cars have been bought using temple funds (The Tribune)

Illegal structures scar the beauty of trekking site Triund (Dharamsala)- (The Tribune)

Taking aspirin daily may extend life, prevent heart attacks

Western University-developed HIV vaccine ready for human  trials

Go easy on white wine as it might increase the risk of skin cancer:new research

3 to 5 cups of coffee daily may prevent Alzheimer's risk

One in seven with HIV in Europe unaware of infection

ओरल कैंसर के घाव  भर सकता है शहद (अमर उजाला)

Cancer drugs 'prompt ovaries to produce eggs': scientists

Doing moderate and continuous exercise may improve sperm count: study

Saturated fat may be healthy for you

There is no safe level of cigarette smoking (Deccan Chronicle)

Bacteria is good for you, eat some (The New Indian Express)

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