Ban those Billboards outside the city limits.

Scenic #Nevada is doing a great job trying to preserve nature and banning billboards. I had a chance to meet these people at Washoe Valley in Nevada and I admired their conviction and the work they had already done. I remember that on my road trip from Leh while crossing over Barlachala from the Lahol Spiti end and entering Rohtang near Manali I witnessed the annoying change in the landscape. Damn every mountain alongside the road was painted with advertisement. Including the rocks in the flowing streams. Commercialism had overtaken the nature. It was heartbreaking. 

What Scenic Nevada is trying to do in Nevada would seriously make sense anywhere in the world. Of course in India too... God has created a beautiful world around us. Billboards kill the joy of beauty of nature. Billboards stick out like sore reminders of man's hunger and greed and selfishness. Billboards are an annoying mind pollution and are driving away the birds and animals away. Do we really need them? Frankly it is an encroachment on nature's territory. I think it should be dealt with seriously.

http://www.scenicnevada.org/wp/reno-to-discuss-billboard-ban/

@writingdoll #writingdoll is with #ScenicNevada and for #Eco preservation.

DhongiBaba.com

Mumbai locals...our life line..our tried tested way to get anywhere on time..almost a second home to millions who spend at least 4 hours on these trains everyday. In the coaches marked with posters.. fresh, torn, scratched, removed. Have you spared a moment to ask..What is this? Why is this? Who is doing it? Do you like it? Does it mean anything to you? Take a quick look at the following pictures and answer some questions. It has been bothering me for many years. Now that Modi ji has started #swacchh Bharat Abhyaan...these questions may seem relevant to many of us. Together we may find a solution and get things corrected.

Unorganized Advertising.. Is it Free?

This is how Mumbai Locals look inside..

Most trains have these advertisements pasted with glue. At places these are scratched out leaving dirty glue marks.  Most of these advertisements are placed randomly and just about anywhere. So perhaps these are unorganized ads pasted by the night operators during the rest hours at night. I can not fathom Railways getting paid for littering the trains. This is a public property and even Railway authorities have no right to spoil it. The trains appear ugly inside and railway authorities are accountable.

Dirtiest and sickest advertisements in Mumbai locals

I asked some people in the trains that do they read these advertisements. College students and working girls said "NO".. They said they have seen it but they ignore these. Do they like it? "No"  But no one seems to bother about it. Why these are there in the first place?

If Railways are getting revenue from these regressive, sick ads.. do they also get compensation for spoiling the seating with glue (possibly a rotten quality, that leaves ugly repulsive marks on seats)

                                            Sabhi samasyaon ka hal ya  sab se badi samasya..??

 

Sabhi jagah se nirash mata-bahne ek bar avashya phone karein...

What the heck?

In the following poster and in many others I have noticed that women are specifically the targets in these posters.  That is why these posters are on seats, sides, ceiling, backrests ...just about everywhere in the ladies compartments of local trains. Do women in particular pay heed to this? One elderly lady said that yes she had once called these numbers but no one picked up the phone. So, these ads are directed at gullible women. If one notices carefully, these ads are probably of one and the same baba or a gang of babas. Now the questions which arise are..

1. How are these permitted?  These are regressive, sexist ads directed at gullible people.
2. Can't railways provide the same space.. (so much of it) to regular advertisers and revenue generated could be used for the betterment of the commuters?
3. Is it so difficult to nab these people and punish them? Their addresses and phone numbers can be used to locate them and fine could be collected per poster for damaging the public property and for displaying illegal ads.
4. If these are paid ads then railway authorities should be asked.. is it how they are ruining the public transport? Couldn't there be a better way and better advertisements?

Think about it. Share it... Broadcast it. Take it from here and lets get to travel in some decent looking trains and not some filthy coaches with stupid posters of these Dhongi tantrik babas.. We owe it to the society. If anyone can tell me the way to go.. we will take it to the concerned authorities.

Water, Water oops Bottles, Bottles everywhere..

I mostly carry a water bottle filled at home and very rarely I buy a #MineralWater bottle. If I do, I feel very guilty about it. Specially about disposing it. I don't understand the pricing of the bottled water. The source is free, perhaps it is the bottling and the carriage cost which one pays to consume this water. 

I have traveled length and breadth of this country and so many times I have drank water from a hand-pump, a well, a waterfall or a stream. Its okay with me. Perhaps someone up there is kind with me..literally मैंने घाट घाट का पानी पिया है। I am not finicky when the source of water is natural. But I doubt the bottled mineral water.  The quality of it. It appalls the way used up water bottles are dotting the landscape everywhere. It is sad to see every historical and tourist place littered with PET bottles. Now even the soft drink bottles are PET, so enough trash to be darted in the tree branches, waterfalls, lakes and river. I have seen people throwing bottles for fun, kick them and leave them. If possible I have asked them to take it back and many times disposed it myself. But disposal itself is questionable. At Elephanta Island there is a heap of trash accumulated. Will it be brought back for recycling? When? Who? How? 

Question is why create situations such as these where we will have to find remedies and sometimes expensive ones. The environment will be damaged and we will pay a very heavy price by then. Why can't we have central potable water units in every place and people fill their bottles from there..free of charge?  By the way, it is become fashionable and perhaps easy way out to keep bottled Mineral Water at every meeting. Even in the government. Gone are the days when a decent sparkling glass of water, covered was kept in front of dignitaries. 

America has created enough trash already and is beginning to change. We in India have it in our genes... we are okay with recycling, reusing and reaffirming our faith in nature. It won't be difficult to BAN THE PLASTIC BOTTLES IN INDIA. We can do it. We should do it and we should do it right away.


#‎GovernmentofIndia‬ ‪#‎BJP‬ ‪#‎BMC‬ ‪#‎MIneralWater‬ ‪#‎Bottledwater‬ ‪#‎trekkers‬ Please check this out. here is google search link... This news is true... Its time we work on this too.

https://www.google.co.in/search?q=sanfrancisco+water+bottles&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=fflb&gfe_rd=cr&ei=w-7pU7C_OcaGoAPko4Ao

Ganapati Bappa Morya on eco-drive !!

Hello...... one more thing... equally important.....

There will be a "Beach Clean Up Opearation" on 9th Sept at Girgaum Chowpatty.... to help keep the Chowpatty and Sea clean after the Ganesh Visarjan.

We should do it, we can do it but why? And why not. Last year I too was very gung ho about this cleaning the beaches after Ganapati. I approached some schools in SOBO to chip in and one particular Principal gave me a very thought provoking answer and made me reconsider the entire issue in a new light. Here's what she said..

"Why create such a situation in the first place? Everyone including the authorities first create that mess after visarjan and then we are expecting to bring children to teach them about environment and get them to clean the beaches. What kind of confused message we are giving children?"

I had no answer. I am a staunch Hindu and I love Ganesha and I do love bringing Ganapati home every year. And I do feel strongly about certain things like environment. Having lived in Mumbai, I have observed that all these sarvjanik Ganapati Pandals are more of social and political in nature than purely religious. Which is fine and in a way it brings about a certain flavour, typical to this festival. But then it also brings about certain serious environment issues with it and they have to be addressed sooner than we would like to.

Now the question is can't we work backwards? Like create Ganpatis which are of a particular size, made of purely biodegradable material, including the colours.  Not allow any other idol to be submerged in water bodies if it is not conforming to 'save-environment' specifications. Having done that can't the same very people who danced all the way to visarjan go and help clean the beaches and other places where they happily bid farewell to their loving God. Ganapati Bappa would love to go on an eco-drive.