Over the past two months under an unprecedented global lockdown, people with asthma and COPD experienced an unusual freedom. People with respiratory conditions reported an improvement in symptoms and reduction in consumption of anti-asthmatic drugs a... Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/panorama/goodbye-clean-air-pollution-is-back-851157.html
Officers of both countries were to meet at Munnabao-Khokraoar border post, but Pakistan yet again refused to cooperate on an issue that has already caused huge losses to farmers on both sides. Pakistan on Thursday skipped a crucial meeting with India to tackle recent locust attacks that led to extensive crop damage in both countries. Officers of both countries were to meet at Munnabao-Khokraoar border post, but Pakistan yet again refused to cooperate on an issue that has already caused huge losses to farmers on both sides. Even though a meeting was scheduled for today, sources said Pakistan did not formally communicate its response to India. Amid all this, a fresh warning was issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of more locust attacks in June along both sides of the Indo-Pakistan border. India had earlier offered Pakistan and Iran help to formulate a coordinated approach to fight the desert locust swarms. While Tehran responded to India’s offer to supply pesticide and carry out desert locust control operations in Sistan- Balochistan and South Khorasan provinces, Pakistan continues to remain silent on the matter. It may be noted that India had offered to facilitate the supply of pesticide Malathion to Pakistan. The institutionalised mechanism of Locust Warning Organization (LWO) could be energised for such cooperation which will mitigate the effect of locusts attack in India. While there has been no bilateral cooperation to fight this menace, both countries have participated in meetings under a forum administered by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). India, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan are part of FAO’s Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in South-West Asia (SWAC), which is one of the oldest of the three regional commissions within the global locust early warning and prevention system. | June 19, 2020
With Delhi’s gyms remaining closed and people avoiding public transport (even cabs) from fear of Covid-19, cycle sales are soaring in a city that used to swear by cars. One day earlier this month, Mukesh Sharma, a freelance graphic designer got into a bus headed for Connaught Place. It was the first time in two months he was getting into a bus. The bus wasn’t crowded, and everyone in it was wearing masks but Sharma was still uncomfortable. And afraid. What if one of the passengers was an asymptomatic carrier of the coronavirus disease. He got down at the next stop. “And that evening, I went out and bought a cycle,” said Sharma. He isn’t the only one. With Delhi’s gyms remaining closed and people avoiding public transport (even cabs) from fear of Covid-19, cycle sales are soaring in a city that used to swear by cars. Some of the buyers haven’t cycled since their school days but that hasn’t stopped them from wholeheartedly taking to what is perhaps the most socialdistanced mode of transport -- and also one of the most efficient ways of exercising and getting around. A constant rush of customers has prompted Gaurav Wadhwa, who runs one of the city’s oldest cycle shops in South Delhi’s Yusuf Sarai Market, to open for business at 7 am. His sales have gone up three times. “Earlier, I used to sell 25 cycles a day and now I sell 75,” said Wadhwa. He added that many customers are also bringing in their old bicycles to be repaired. Mayak Malhotra, another prominent cycle dealer in Paschim Vihar, echoed Wadhwa. He added that people are buying not-socheap mid-range hybrid bikes, not just for fitness but also to commute. “My sales have gone up five times in the past couple of weeks. A lot of people are buying cycles because they want to avoid public transport. I sold a cycle to a person who wished to switch to a cycle to commute from his home in Paschim Vihar to office in Rohini [15 km away]. A lot of these young people would earlier take the Metro or cabs.” In some ways, the cycle is the vehicle of the lockdown. There are countless tales of stranded migrant workers cycling hundreds of kilometres back home in the absence of public transport. It’s everyone’s favourite way of getting fit. And for those who can’t afford a car or a motorcycle, it is a great way to get around a city that still doesn’t see as much traffic as it used to. Dhruv Karan Mehta, who recently formed a cycling group, said the pandemic has helped many like him rediscover the joys of cycling. “I had a cycle which remained unused for a decade, and during the [Covid-19] lockdown, I started using it to get around my neighbourhood to buy essentials. It was such a great experience cycling on empty roads and I shared my cycling stories on social media,” said Mehta, a Defence Colony resident. “Some of those who followed my posts expressed interest in buying cycles and forming a cycling group. About eight of us recently bought new cycles and I now use only my cycle for short commutes.” Anant Rishi, a businessman in Sarvodya Enclave, recently bought two cycles–one for himself and another for his wife . “Now even my wife and father have become avid bikers. My gym is closed but I cycle 60 km every alternate morning,” said Rishi. As many as 30.6% of Delhi households owned a bicycle, and about 11% of the working population cycled to work, according to the 2011 census. Many believe the sudden interest in cycling can help make Delhi a more bikefriendly city. “The government should use this growing enthusiasm for cycles during the pandemic to prioritise development of cycling infrastructure in the city, something it has been talking about for many years now,” said Rajendra Ravi, founder, Institute For Democracy And Sustainability, a non-government organisation, which advocates for the rights of cyclists. Earlier this month, the Centre sent an advisory to states and Union territories, asking them to come up with short, medium and long- term plans to promote cycling and walking, among other interventions, for safe urban transit systems post-Covid-19. The advisory said cities across the world were ramping up their cycling systems in response to the coronavirus crisis. Authorities in New York, for example, have added 64 km of new non-motorized transport (NMT) lanes. Bogota in Colombia added 76 km. Milan converted 35 km of streets into cycling lanes. In Auckland (New Zealand) on-street car parking was removed to build 17 km of temporary bike lanes. The short-term strategy outlined in the Centre’s advisory includes creating temporary pedestrian areas, footpaths, and cycle lanes through removable barricades, tape, cones, road markings/painting, and mobile signs on identified corridors/areas. It seeks to encourage closure of one or more lanes to promote walking and cycling at a specific time or on a specific day. Experts believe that such “tactical urbanism”, which uses short term, lowcost, and scalable interventions, is a good way to catalyse long-term change and integrate cycling into urban transport systems. Prof Avilash Roul, the principal scientist at Indo-German Center for Sustainability, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, said cycling can be an effective alternative to public transport in the post-Covid world. Citing Albert Einstein who once wrote “life is like riding a bicycle, to keep your balance, you must keep moving,” Roul said cities too will have to perform a balancing act for a long time to come. “Cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai, with very high infection rates, must immediately create pop-up cycle lanes and work to develop a plan for creating cycling infrastructure. While many cities, including Delhi, set up PBS [Public Bike Sharing] systems, they failed to simultaneously create cycling infrastructure,” added Roul. “The city governments must use this growing passion for cycling, and work with local communities to redesign roads and give a fair share to cyclists. ” Safety is paramount, experts say. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director at the Centre for Science and Environment, cited the Census 2011 data and said nearly 48% of the daily trips in Delhi are within 5km range. “Across the world, cities have created pop-up bike lanes using bollards or markings on roads. People will switch to cycling or walking if we provide safe infrastructure to them. Cycling is a good option for people who have to travel short distances. It will also take the load off the public transport systems [that] will run on half or onethird capacity due to social distancing norms.” Sharma is enjoying his cycling. “It takes me about 40 minutes to reach CP,” he said. “ While it is dangerous to cycle in Delhi, at least I feel safe from the coronavirus.”
As the national capital opens up from a lockdown in a phased manner amid the Covid-19 outbreak, commuting has become a hurdle for many. The Delhi Metro is yet to resume services and buses are operating only in limited numbers. After waiting for nearly 35 minutes at a Barakhamba Road bus stop, Neeraj Kumar (25), a resident of Moti Nagar, manages to get on to a Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus headed towards his house. Three buses to his destination did not stop at the stand; they were full as per social distancing norms set by the Centre, he says. “This is the new normal. Commuting has become a big problem, as the Metro is not working and buses often don’t stop as they are full,” said Kumar, who works as a field agent with a chartered accountancy firm. Anita Devi (45), a resident of Sultanpuri, said it took her two-and-a-half hours to reach the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital. While waiting at the bus stop outside the hospital, she said: “I came here after almost three months to get medicines, but neither could I meet the doctor nor get the medicines. I have been waiting for 45 minutes. But the buses are also not stopping at the stand.” As the national capital opens up from a lockdown in a phased manner amid the Covid-19 outbreak, commuting has become a hurdle for many. The Delhi Metro is yet to resume services and buses are operating only in limited numbers. DTC has a fleet of 3,724 buses and the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) has 2,830 cluster buses. While DIMTS officials say that all its 2,830 buses are operating, DTC has been able to press into service only about 50% of its fleet. With nearly six million passenger trips daily, the Delhi Metro is the transport lifeline of Delhi-NCR. With no word on when the Centre will allow the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to resume operations, the state-run bus system is the only cost-effective option available to people. According to a senior official in the transport department, close to 700 buses are on police and special duty. “Of the remaining 3,000, nearly 1,800 buses are plying on the roads. We have not received any complaints so far about shortage of buses,” the official said, asking not to be named. When asked why fewer DTC buses were operating, the official cited multiple reasons. “There are many reasons. Some of our drivers are not able to come as they live in neighbouring states which have strict border restrictions. Some others are 55 and above in age. Some of our staff has also tested positive for Covid-19 due to which others had to be placed in home quarantine. But we are trying to work out a way so that sufficient numbers of buses are on the roads.” Commuters say they now plan their work keeping in mind the time it takes to reach home, as there is a curfew in place after 9pm. “We now have to plan our work schedule according to the availability of buses,” said Mahinder Singh, an IT professional. Due to the restrictions imposed to check the spread of Covid-19 — curfew from 9pm, limited number of passengers in buses and e-rickshaws and inadequate public transportation — Singh said commuting was proving to be a challenge. “Earlier, I would visit 4-5 places for work. But now, I don’t take any assignments after 4pm, as I have to plan my trip back home. Now, we have to wait for a minimum of 30 minutes for buses. I can’t afford to take auto-rickshaw every day as I have to visit multiple locations,” said Singh, who lives in Rajouri Garden. Transport expert Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said that efforts should be made to ensure availability of adequate public transport system so that people don’t switch to private vehicles. “People are switching to personal vehicles due to safety reasons and also due to a shortage of public transport. The capacity of buses has further gone down due to the restrictions of 20 passengers. Like they do during the odd-even scheme in peak pollution season, the government should pool resources to meet the requirement of public transport.” A senior government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “So far, there is no plan to rope in private players. But we are trying to ensure that 90-95% DTC buses are out on the roads, especially during peak hours.”
A bittersweet silver lining to the COVID-19 virus is how clear the air in among the world’s most polluted cities has develop into. New Delhi is one in all many megacities around the globe reporting a lot more energizing air for the primary time in years because the virus pressured individuals inside two weeks in the past. Members of a Delhi Whatsapp group exchanged screenshots of the every day air high quality index final week, not believing their eyes once they noticed {that a} inexperienced banner had changed the acquainted ominous purple banner, indicating the circumstances had been “good.” “It’s positively alpine,” one individual wrote, in accordance to the Guardian. Dr. Shashi Tharoor, a Delhi politician and environmentalist, referred to as the improved air high quality a wake-up name. “The blissful sight of blue skies and the enjoyment of respiratory clear air gives simply the distinction to illustrate what we’re doing to ourselves the remainder of the time,” Tharoor stated. “In the present day the standard Delhi AQI hovers round 30 and one blissful afternoon, after a spurt of rain, it dropped to seven.” Cities like Bangkok, Beijing, Sao Paulo and Bogota, which all have some kind of stayat- home order in place, are reporting unprecedented ranges of fresh air. The unhappy irony is, few can benefit from the blue skies and recent air since most everybody has to keep inside. Day laborers stand outside a construction site where work has been halted during India's 21-day coronavirus shutdown. Day laborers stand outdoors a development web site the place work has been halted throughout India’s 21-day coronavirus shutdown.Adnan Abidi/Reuters The drop in air pollution reveals how lethal a task vehicles play in India’s air pollution, stated Delhi environmentalist Sunita Narain. Narain pressured environmentalists aren’t “celebrating” the virus that has ravaged many cities. “Now we have to make certain we take this breath of recent air and take into consideration the intense efforts we want to cope with air pollution in Delhi.” | June 16, 2020
Apart from the dust, air pollution also includes PM 2.5 particles and other harmful gases Indoor air quality and pollution are often overlooked in the discussions around air pollution Air Sanitisation solutions are devised that take care of all aspects of air pollution Thinking Beyond Temporary Measures: What Does India Need To Improve Its Air Defence Against Coronavirus? The State of Global Air Report 2019 suggested that 90% of the people across the world lived in cities with mild to severe air pollution. As the world builds a stronger economy with advanced technology, air pollution has become an inevitable outcome of this economic progress. Increased per capita income has improved people’s lifestyle access to products like cars and air-conditioning, but increased stress on natural resources as well. In India, air pollution has been a persistent issue in recent times. A staggering 6 of the world’s 10 most polluted cities are in India, with the capital city of New Delhi making its way to the list. The deteriorating air quality and pollution owing to the vehicle and industrial emissions have been a matter of concern for a long time for both the citizens as well as government authorities. Studies show that in the next 10 years, New Delhi’s air quality will be the deadliest in the world with Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore close behind, which is an alarming fact. Apart from the dust, air pollution also includes PM 2.5 particles and other harmful gases. These majorly impact health by creating respiratory problems such as asthma, wheezing and other complications. For children, they impact their health more adversely by causing Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder when exposed to increased air pollution continuously. Contrary to popular belief, air pollution does not only constitute pollution outdoors. Indoor air quality has been proven to be equally poor with millions of dust particles and other microbes in the air that we breathe in. In fact, indoor air can be up to 10-15 times more polluted than the air outdoors. Considering that we spend close to 90% of our time indoors, indoor air quality needs a major boost. This brings us to the subject of the coronavirus and its correlation to air pollution. The novel coronavirus or Covid-19 which has brought the world to its knees is highly contagious and researchers across the globe are gathering evidence of the virus’s airborne nature. That being said, India, which is seeing a rise in cases despite stringent lockdown measures and to add to the woes of citizens, air pollution is a matter of concern. With the nationwide lockdown owing to the pandemic slated to be relaxed over the next 1 month, businesses are gearing up to resume operations. On that note, India needs to take meaningful long-term steps to protect its people from the three primary air pollutants; dust, microbes and harmful gases. Air pollution and the lethality of airborne infections are highly correlated. Citizens exposed to air pollution constantly are much more susceptible to infections and viruses like Covid-19. While the government has taken considerable measures to bring down pollution levels and ameliorate the air quality, the future calls for more robust solutions to improve air quality that addresses the problem more holistically. The lockdown has significantly contributed to better air quality with little to no vehicle emissions and factories/manufacturing units remaining shut, pollution levels are bound to arise when these are resumed. So, what needs to be done? How can air quality levels be upgraded with more permanent solutions? The Pandemic Effect The novel coronavirus which originated in the Wuhan district of China, spread across the world like wildfire, resulting in the global economy going into a downward spiral. The virus has been proven to be transmitted from one person to another through respiratory droplets such as cough, sneeze, or saliva. The virus has infected over 4 million people across the world so far and is still continuing its onslaught. While recent reports have been debating the airborne nature of the virus, the cause for concern only increases. The only way to possibly overcome Covid-19 is through a threepronged strategy – sanitize, purify, protect. Keeping Track Of Indoor Air Pollution Indoor air quality and pollution are often overlooked in the discussions around air pollution. In 2019, the Activist Organization Centre for Science and Environment’s air pollution suggested that the hidden air pollution indoors in our homes, workplaces and other indoor environments are equally hazardous to our health. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in some cases can even be worse than the outdoor air. In larger centrally air-conditioned spaces, the outdoor air which is already contaminated is constantly being circulated inside. This incoming polluted air has further degenerated with chemical vapours emitted from furnishings, cleaners, and bonding agents. Another popular misconception is that airconditioned rooms are cleaner than nonair- conditioned ones. This is a myth. Air conditioners do not purify the air. They merely recycle the air and cool it down before releasing it back into the room. In most cases, the indoor air is not being treated through any system. The AHU rooms or filters, if not maintained properly, add to the pollution levels indoors thus increasing the risk of crosscontamination. With the lockdown imposed in several countries, people are forced to spend a majority of their time indoors aside from stepping outside their homes for essential items such as groceries and pharmaceuticals. This means that they are constantly exposed to household air pollution.
Pacific Green Technologies, Inc. (the “Company” or “PGTK”) (OTCQB:PGTK), developer of the ENVI-Marine(TM) emission control system (the “System”), today provides an update on the impact of the Pandemic on its business activities. Since entering the marine sector, the Company has delivered 86 ENVIMarine( TM) Systems to its customers, with another 56 ENVI-Marine(TM) Systems contracted to be delivered in 2020 and 2021. Travel restrictions resulting from the Pandemic have impeded the Company’s ability to enter and exit shipyards. The Company has postponed 32 ENVI-Marine(TM) System installations to 2021 to accommodate client and supplier needs but has received no ENVI-Marine System cancellations as a result of the Pandemic. The Company can report the successful registration in China of its joint venture company with partner PowerChina SPEM. The joint venture, along with the ongoing integration of Shanghai Engin Digital Technology Co. Ltd., (“Engin”), which was acquired by PGTK in December 2019, has positioned the Company to take advantage of the rapidly growing renewables market around the world in concentrated solar power (CSP), desalination and waste-to-energy (WtE). The Company is also pleased to announce that it has made significant progress in developing its business relationships in India. By 2022, an additional 175 GW of electrical capacity in India is forecasted to require Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD) (source: Centre for Science and Environment, India), which PGTK’s efficient ENVI-Clean(TM) Systems are well suited to deliver. The Company has continued its obligation to maintain shareholder value on behalf of its shareholders. The Company has embarked on an aggressive cost-cutting campaign and restructured its operations to maintain its strong financial position despite the global economic strain and uncertainty created by the Pandemic. Scott Poulter, Chief Executive, said: “We have been working hard with our clients and suppliers to ease the collective strain that the Pandemic has imposed on our business and the business of our partners and stakeholders. We are pleased to see increasing interest in our newly acquired solar and desalination technologies across a number of different regions. These opportunities will complement our highly-efficient emission control technologies, which have allowed us to target the massive FGD and WtE markets. The Pandemic has had a devastating effect on lives and livelihoods. Hopefully, the world will take a new look at how we live and how we treat our environment as the two should go hand in hand.” About Pacific Green Technologies, Inc. fPacific Green Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB:PGTK) is focused on addressing the world’s need for cleaner and more sustainable energy. The company’s strategy is to build through organic development and acquisition, a portfolio of patented competitive cutting-edge technologies designed to meet the growing market for renewables and increasingly stringent environmental standards. For more information, visit PGTK’s website: www.pacificgreentechnologies.com Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains “forwardlooking statements,” as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements in this news release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, the ongoing effects of the pandemic on delays and orders regarding Pacific Green’s emission control system, potential business developments in India and future interest in our solar and desalination technologies. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, general economic and political conditions, the continuation of the JV with POWERCHINA SPEM, and the ongoing impact of the pandemic. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this news release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our annual report on Form 10- K for the most recent fiscal year, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |June 15, 2020
The link of these disparate events to climate change is incontrovertible Sunita Narain The world is paying for years of procrastination and prevarication. Already multiple back-breaking crises are unfolding, simply because we did not fix what was broken in the past. So, on the one hand, we are confronted with Covid- 19 — leading to both health crisis and massive economic collapse, driving down the livelihoods of the poorest and the most vulnerable. As we can see from the upheavals across the world — from India to the US — it is the poor (black or brown) who have been disproportionately hit by the virus. They have suffered twice: They lost lives to the contagion and they lost livelihoods. But even as this heart-breaking crisis is unfolding in front of our eyes, there is another looming disaster that is waving a red flag — climate change. In the last 15 days, the eastern side of India has been hit by a super cyclone, which has devastated lives and property. But this is not all, the western side — Covid-hit city of Mumbai had a near escape from Cyclone Nisarga — but coastal districts of Maharashtra were not so lucky. This, when we know the aftermath of these events is worse because it takes away the development dividend and years of investment in building infrastructure to improve the lives of people. But this is also not all. There are swarms of locusts already devouring fields in the western and now northern states of India and countries of Africa, and threaten to do much more damage in the coming months as their inexorable flight continues across the continents. The link of these disparate events to climate change is incontrovertible. What we are seeing today is the result of increased frequency and intensity of cyclones and variable and extreme rain events. This weather disruption is because of changes in temperatures on land and on sea. Not only is the number increasing and now, Indian scientists say there is “rapidification” of cyclones because of changes in temperature between land and sea. This, in turn, is adding to the force of destruction and the unpredictability of the event. The locust infestation is linked to this phenomenon. First in 2018, and then in 2019, there were a series of cyclones and extreme rain events in the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula and eastern Africa. Then, in 2019 and now in 2020, the same African regions and Indian deserts saw unseasonal rain and extended monsoons. The desert critter became ideal breeding grounds, and its growth went from what is called the individual stage to gregarious, and the infestation grew from being categorised as an outbreak to an upsurge. Much like Covid-19 — when the World Health Organization hummed and hawed about when it would upgrade the threat to pandemic — the Food and Agriculture Organization too is “considering” when to declare the locust upsurge as a plague. Covid-19 is the result of our progressively worsening dystopian relationship with nature. It is also the result of years of lost time, when we could have invested in public health and in building a more equitable society where the poor are not doubly hit. It is the same with climate change and every other issue that stares us in the face today. Too much time has been wasted in denial or just not to get our act together to function at the speed and scale that is needed. We do not have the luxury of time any more. My generation has squandered the privilege away. And, this, please be clear, is only the beginning. Right now, the poor in the world — in the rich or the emerging world — are the worst sufferers; they live on the margins of survival in the best of times. Now we are in the midst of the worst of times. But as I keep saying, Covid-19 and climate change teach us that we are as strong as the weakest link. So, what should we do? I can repeat all that we know. But I want to lay out, in my view, one non-negotiable fundamental that we must not do any more. We must not deny or cover up the problem. The multiple crises happening together are going to make the world more insecure; they will make governments yearn to be more authoritarian and intolerant. We are seeing it everywhere. In India, our top law officer has called people who draw attention to societal and governance problems vultures — likening critics to birds of prey. There is also a fine line between what governments consider needless denouncement and what they consider unnecessary during a national crisis — this then becomes that time when it is best to self-censor, otherwise it will weaken governmental resolve! But this will not do. We need more information, not less. We also need to know what is happening on the ground so that our actions can be guided better; so that we do not make mistakes or repeat them. Let’s always remember that Covid- 19 is a global pandemic today because scientists in China or at the WHO did not have the courage to speak truth to power. Making us all cheerleaders will not make the problem go away. It will exacerbate the many crises that are here to stay.
The bicycle maker was forced to layoff staff & shut its last manufacturing unit on 3 June after it ran out of funds during the Covid lockdown. For many Indians, childhood meant an evening ritual of a ‘galli ka chakkar’ with their friends on their trusty Atlas Cycle. But the makers of what is possibly every Indian’s first set of wheels shut shop on 3 June 2020, ironically, on a day that is celebrated as World Bicycle Day. After 70 years of being not just in the business but in the fabric of India’s identity, the company was forced to shut its last manufacturing unit in Sahibabad, Uttar Pradesh, when it could no longer afford to run operations. While the company had been under financial pressure for a while, the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown was the last nail in the coffin. A notice on the factory gate greeted the staff: “We are facing difficulty in arranging funds for our day to- day operations. We are also unable to buy raw material. In these conditions, the management is not in a position to operate the factory.” The news broke many hearts. Many took to the internet to grieve for how a piece of their childhood was being taken away. Sunita Narain, an environmentalist and cycling enthusiast, said, “I used to ride an Atlas cycle in my childhood. It was synonymous with bicycles. We want more cycles on the roads so this news is really tragic.” Atlas Cycles was founded in 1950 by Janki Das Kapur, a man with a singular dream, to build quality cycles at affordable prices for his fellow Indians. From his modest beginnings, of building cycles in a shed in Sonepat, he set up his first factory complex, a 25-acre affair, in just a year. In the first year itself, the plant rolled out 12,000 cycles. Under his leadership, Atlas Cycles emerged as India’s largest cycle manufacturer by 1965. Janki Das Kapur gave up the reins for his son Jai Dev, who worked in tandem with joint presidents Girish Kapur and Gautam Kapur. Soon, Atlas became the official supplier of bicycles to the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi. After it expanded its production overseas, the company produced over 40 lakh bicycles each year. In 2003, Girish Kapur had revealed that the company enjoyed 28 per cent of the bicycle market in India. He added, “Atlas is the only Indian bicycle company with a complete manufacturing unit whose inhouse research and development unit has been recognised by the department of scientific and industrial research, Union Ministry of Science and Technology. The company has a modern paint application unit at Sahibabad.” The company philosophy of ‘employee empowerment’ has gone a long way, so much so that even former Atlas employees are heartbroken by the closure. Ashish Nagpal, who worked with the company for 19 years and now owns a cycling club called Cycle Sutra, said, “Having worked with Atlas as a brand head, the news was extremely painful and disheartening and gave me sleepless nights.” Also read: Boroline — the cure-all that is stuck in time but still brings joy, especially to Bengalis From utility-driven to rebel bike, women in the front seat The brand’s logo symbolises Greek Titan Atlas holding up the world on his shoulders. The company’s website reveals this is because “Atlas assimilates in itself aspirations of the millions in their progress and transition through various phases in their lives.” The advertisement campaigns of Atlas Cycles were vital in establishing the brand as a household name. One of the initial posters for the cycle promoted a utility serving product that came at an affordable price. Moreover, an overarching and rather refreshing theme in the first few advertisements was that they promoted women riding these cycles. Not only that, these women were clad in saris, putting paid simultaneously to the stereotype of women not being sporty and of saris being a hindrance to such activities. One of Atlas Cycles’ many vintage advertisements featuring women as the focus | Pinterest As the brand continued to build its name over the years, the focus of its campaign strategy changed. From establishing itself as a utility-driven brand that was affordable to all, it switched to promoting itself as the new adventure sport bike on the block. Tapping into the spirit of a rebel without a cause, Atlas launched the Rebel cycle. The ad features a young boy who, fed up of arguing with his father, takes a long ride across different terrains on his Rebel bike. Then came the breakthrough bike also known as Atlas Concorde, which came with 10 gears, something that was unheard of until then. With many new brands of wheels coming into the market, Atlas had to up its advertising game, which it did by jumping on the brand ambassador bandwagon. In 2004, it signed actor Suniel Shetty and tennis champ Sania Mirza as brand ambassadors, and allocated a separate budget of Rs 7 to 8 crores for this campaign. Also read: Chandrakanta, the show in which Irrfan won hearts four lines at a time The Atlas will ride back While this shutdown was a shock to many consumers, it had been a long time coming. The company first started making losses in 2014, which resulted in its Malanpur plant in Madhya Pradesh being shut. The company continued to record losses four years later, forcing its Sonepat plant shut in February 2018. And now, it has shut its last factory and laid off around 700 employees. But staying true to the spirit of Atlas, company CEO NP Singh Rana is confident that the closure and layoffs are temporary, and that the company will resume production once it is able to raise Rs 50 crores after selling surplus land. Rana said, “Demand is not a problem, the market is very good. We have a very strong dealer and supplier base. We are a 70-year-old brand and very well accepted in the market. We will bounce back.” The wheels for Atlas Cycles’ future have already been set in motion. Rana has explained that an application seeking to sell the surplus land has already been filed at the National Company Law Tribunal. He remains confident of the company’s future, saying, “Once we get the permission, we will sell off our surplus land and the surplus land money will be much higher to pay back all the dues of suppliers and our people and we will resume production.” Like our childhood’s galli ka chakkar, here’s hoping Atlas Cycles comes riding right back into India’s life – especially, given climate crisis and a pandemic, because eco-friendly wheels are truly the only way to move ahead. |June 14, 2020
The report also warns of increased stress on the country’s natural resources. India’s average temperature has already increased by around 0.7 degree Celsius during the 1901–2018 period due to greenhouse gas emissions and by the end of 2100 it is expected to rise by approximately 4.4 degree Celsius – relative to 1976–2005 average, in the worst-case scenario – warns the first-ever climate change assessment report by the Indian government. The report Assessment of Climate Change over the Indian Region prepared by the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences or MoES warned that the rapid changes in the temperature would mean increasing stress on India’s “natural ecosystems, agricultural output, and freshwater resources, while also causing escalating damage to infrastructure.” This ultimately means a serious impact on “country’s biodiversity, food, water and energy security, and public health.” It said that several regions in India are global biodiversity hotspots with numerous endemic species of plants and animals and with the “climate changing more rapidly than the usual pace of evolutionary adaptability of many species, they may face increasing threats on account of these changes.” The global average temperature has risen by around one degree Celsius since preindustrial times. In 2015, at the Paris Agreement, the world decided to limit global warming to two degree Celsius below pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degree Celsius. At current greenhouse gas emissions trajectories, global average temperature may rise 3-5 degree Celsius and perhaps higher if tipping points are triggered. The MoES report cautioned that by the end of 2100, the “frequency of summer [April–June] heat waves over India is projected to be three to four times higher” and the “average duration of heatwave events is also projected to approximately double.” The impact of heatwave stress is expected across India but particularly over the densely populated Indo-Gangetic river basin. According to the report, the sea surface temperature of the tropical Indian Ocean has also risen by one degree Celsius, on average, during 1951–2015, which is higher than the global average warming of 0.7 degree Celsius, over the same period. The rise in temperature is also playing havoc with India’s rainfall which is significant for India’s agriculture sector on which millions are dependent. The report noted that the summer monsoon precipitation (June to September) over India has declined by around six percent from 1951 to 2015, with notable decreases over the Indo-Gangetic Plains and the Western Ghats. “There has been a shift in the recent period toward more frequent dry spells [27% higher during 1981–2011 relative to 1951–1980] and more intense wet spells during the summer monsoon season,” said the report. It stressed that the overall decrease of seasonal summer monsoon rainfall during the last six to seven decades has led to an increased propensity for droughts over India. “Both the frequency and spatial extent of droughts have increased significantly during 1951–2016. In particular, areas over central India, Southwest coast, Southern peninsula and Northeastern India have experienced more than two droughts per decade, on average, during this period. The area affected by drought has also increased by 1.3% per decade over the same period. Climate model projections indicate a high likelihood of an increase in the frequency [more than two events per decade], intensity and area under drought conditions in India by the end of the 21st century,” said the MoES report. Climate change can increase the frequency of drought conditions in India. Credit: Christopher Michel/Flickr Climate scientist Roxy Mathew Koll of the Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, who is also the author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Oceans and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, explained to Mongabay-India that until now we were dependent on IPCC report for assessment of climate change but the problem is that it is a global overview and doesn’t include region-specific details. “We urgently needed something like that considering that rise in extreme weather events is already visible,” said Koll, who is one of the co-authors of the MoES report. “We required a report that quantified the changes on the regional scale and this report gives an overall view as to how climate change is happening in different spheres across India. Whether it is the changes over the Himalayas, the coastal areas, or the rainfall pattern, in this report we are quantifying it. Now we have the exact details as to what extent climate parameters are changing.” Severe impact on Himalayas The report highlights that the Hindu Kush Himalayas have experienced a temperature rise of about 1.3 degree Celsius during 1951–2014. “Several areas of HKH have experienced a declining trend in snowfall and also retreat of glaciers in recent decades. In contrast, the highelevation Karakoram Himalayas have experienced higher winter snowfall that has shielded the region from glacier shrinkage. By the end of the 21st century, the annual mean surface temperature over HKH is projected to increase by about 5.2 degree Celsius...human-induced climate change has led to accelerated warming of the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau at a rate of 0.2 degree Celsius per decade during 1951–2014,” said the report. It said that the future warming in the HKH region, “which is projected to be in the range of 2.6–4.6 degree Celsius” by the end of 2100, “will further exacerbate the snowfall and glacier decline leading to profound hydrological and agricultural impacts in the region.” Resources under stress The report by the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences observed that the impact of climate change on the availability of freshwater is a critical area of concern for India and the growing propensity for droughts and floods because of changing rainfall patterns caused by climate change would be “detrimental to surface and groundwater recharge, posing threats to the country’s water security.” “Likewise, the country’s food security may be placed under progressively greater pressure due to rising temperatures, heat extremes, floods, droughts and increasing year-to-year rainfall variability that can disrupt rain-fed agricultural food production and adversely impact crop yield,” the report warned. It further explained that the rising temperatures are also likely to increase energy demand for space cooling, which if met by thermal power would mean a further increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Rising temperatures leading to change in rainfall pattern resulting in floods is also a cause of concern. Credit: Ceekaypee/Wikimedia Commons “In addition, thermal power plants require substantial amounts of water for cooling to generate electricity. Power plants sited inland draw freshwater largely from dam reservoirs, rivers and canals. A rise in water withdrawal by power plants would directly compete with water withdrawal for agriculture and domestic consumption, particularly in water-stressed areas. On the other hand, power plants sited around the coast that use seawater for cooling are vulnerable to damage from sea-level rise, cyclones, and storm surge,” said the report adding that this could mean that climate change could impact the “reliability of the country’s energy infrastructure and supply.” Forests and urban spaces According to the MoES report, India’s climate change adaptation and mitigation response is achievable by a greater emphasis on widening observational networks, sustained monitoring, expanding research on regional changes in climate and their impacts, and by continued investment in education and outreach programmes. “For instance, networks of tide gauges with GPS along the Indian coastline would help monitor local changes in sea level, climate models would help project future changes, and outreach would help inform the requisite adaptation measures in coastal communities and cities. Outreach and communication of climate change risk to district and village-level communities would facilitate water-harvesting and farming decisions needed to adapt to a changing climate,” it explained. The report stressed that as “cities being uniquely impacted by heat stress and localised flooding”, there is a pressing need for research and strategies that are directed towards “improving resilience in Indian cities.” Koll stressed that oceanic changes are an important area and the report focuses on that. “The origin of many of the extreme events, rainfall, cyclones, heatwaves, sealevel rise is the oceanic changes. The reason is that they absorb about 93 percent heat from global warming and then respond to it. For instance, the intensity cyclones hitting India’s coasts are intensifying quite rapidly. There are many gaps in our ocean observations and we need to plug them by improving observations both over coastal regions and in the open ocean,” said Koll. He further said that the first assessment report by them takes care of the physical aspects of climate change while the next one could focus on how these changes are impacting sectors like agriculture, food, water and power. The report emphasised that low impact development and green building infrastructure can reduce both urban heating and air pollution. “A reduction in air pollution would greatly benefit human and environmental health, improve the efficiency of solar energy generation, and even potentially aid in increasing the quantum of monsoon rainfall over India. An increase in rainfall together with measures for water harvesting would aid the restoration of groundwater levels,” it added. Anumita Roychowdhury, of the Centre for Science and Environment, a Delhi-based environment think-tank, said, with this report the government is officially recognising the interconnectedness of the diverse nature environmental impacts and its deep link with climate change. “This report reinforces the idea that we need alignment at the policy and implementation level across sectors that have an impact on the environment. This is absolutely critical as different sectors cannot remain in silos anymore. Post this report, we look forward to well-defined indicators for an aligned action with focused policy interventions and effective leveraging of resources and budgets to deliver on a larger goal. This should be the basis of the action of the government going forward,” Roychowdhury told Mongabay-India. The report suggested that policymakers focus on forests and urban green spaces. It said that aside from mitigating climate change through carbon sequestration, trees also enhance resilience to flash floods and landslides, improve resilience to droughts, improve the resilience of coastal infrastructure, reduce vulnerability to extreme heat by reducing ambient temperatures, and support native wildlife and biodiversity. “In short, forests and urban green spaces will deliver substantial economic benefits to the country by mitigating a wide range of the expected impacts of climate change in India and is the safest, most reliable means of realising several of India’s sustainable development goals,” the report said. Aarti Khosla, who is the director of Climate Trends, told Mongabay-India that the “report is a good step as it finally lays to rest all confusion about the relationship of climate change with extreme weather events and climate vulnerabilities in terms of increase in droughts and lean rainfall period etc.” “However, at the time of post-Covid-19 lockdown, when the focus is on economic recovery, it stops short of establishing linkages between the importance of sustainable and green recovery,” said Khosla while explaining that the report should have focused properly on the importance of pursuing economic growth which is sustainable for the planet. She said such scientific evidence will prove useful to simplify and educate the citizens on what is happening to our environment. “The pandemic has revealed that society does have a collective conscience and people are ready to shift their attitudes. The impacts of climate change don’t fall evenly and will have to be communicated across the vast swathes of our population,” Khosla said. | June 24, 2020
A new report on Painting Tools market that provides a comprehensive review of this industry with respect to the driving forces influencing the market size. Comprising the current and future trends defining the dynamics of this industry vertical, this report also incorporates the regional landscape of Painting Tools market in tandem with its competitive terrain. Rise in construction of smart commercial buildings along with shifting trend towards visibly striking textures smart homes, fueling the need for rollers and spray guns owing to their large surface area coverage. Positive application outlook providing smooth finish which improves the overall aesthetic appearance, also propelling the business growth. Furthermore, increasing DIY in painting is becoming popular particularly among developed economies such as U.S. and Europe which in return will foster myriad of opportunities for the overall painting tools market. Increasing demand for the modern painting tools due to its easy availability, consumer-friendly, and low-cost features as compared to the other conventional equipments will foster new opportunities for the painting tools market growth. Factors such as improved aesthetic appeal of walls, less wastage of paints, and ease in paint application on walls & ceilings will enhance the industry landscape. In addition, rising per capita income of the consumers owing to the significant development in the overall GDP of the countries will further enhance the business expansion. Request Sample Copy of this Report @ https://www.cuereport.com/requestsample/ 2251 Furniture application is anticipated to surpass USD 900 million by 2025 in the overall painting tools market over the forecast period. Growing demand for the household & institutional furniture owing to the changing home decorations and interior design trends will provide positive scope for the segment growth. Additionally, escalating furniture demand in houses and other commercial buildings for making comfortable living & working environment will further proliferate the application scope in the overall market. Stringent regulations & norms pertaining to the increased usage of water-based paints for the significant reduction of VOC emissions in several manufacturing processes will provide positive scope for the painting tools market growth. Additionally, rising awareness of poison free environment along with initiatives by Centre for Science and Environment has supported in regulating standards on usage on paintings and coatings in India, thus driving the business growth. North America is anticipated to surpass USD 2.5 billion in the overall painting tools market up to 2025. Rapid expansion of construction & automotive industry owing to the increasing technological innovation and advancements will boost industry in the region. For instance, construction application in North America accounted for over 70% share of the overall business in 2018. Additionally, surging demand of paints from the automobiles sector due to the increased annual production of the vehicles will further propel the market share across the region over the projected timeframe. Scrapers product will observe significant gains exceeding 5.5% in the global painting tools market over the projected time period. Scrapers are majorly used for trueing a surface or for a particular decorative finish. Rapid growth in the construction activities across the developing countries such as UAE, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia owing to the increasing population and growing trends in the home d?cor segment will promulgate the product scope in the industry. Painting tools market is highly competitive in nature owing to the presence of several global and regional players. Major companies present in the industry include Asian Paints, Gordon Brush, Dura Paints, and Nespoli Group. Other prominent players include Mill-Rose Company, Braun Brush, Purdy, Anderson Products, Milton Brushware, and Richard Tools. The leading companies are making significant investments in certain technological & innovative advancements for strengthening their foothold in the overall painting tools market across the globe. Mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic collaborations, and product enhancements are the among the major strategies that are adopted by the key industry players. For instance, on 21st March 2019, Gordon Brush announced the acquisition of Spectrum Paint Applicator Corp., a leading producer of consumer & industrial paint brushes. Increasing demand for the modern painting tools due to its easy availability, consumer-friendly, and low-cost features as compared to the other conventional equipments will foster new opportunities for the painting tools market growth. Factors such as improved aesthetic appeal of walls, less wastage of paints, and ease in paint application on walls & ceilings will enhance the industry landscape. In addition, rising per capita income of the consumers owing to the significant development in the overall GDP of the countries will further enhance the business expansion. Rise in construction of smart commercial buildings along with shifting trend towards visibly striking textures smart homes, fueling the need for rollers and spray guns owing to their large surface area coverage. Positive application outlook providing smooth finish which improves the overall aesthetic appearance, also propelling the business growth. Furthermore, increasing DIY in painting is becoming popular particularly among developed economies such as U.S. and Europe which in return will foster myriad of opportunities for the overall painting tools market. Stringent regulations & norms pertaining to the increased usage of water-based paints for the significant reduction of VOC emissions in several manufacturing processes will provide positive scope for the painting tools market growth. Additionally, rising awareness of poison free environment along with initiatives by Centre for Science and Environment has supported in regulating standards on usage on paintings and coatings in India, thus driving the business growth. Scrapers product will observe significant gains exceeding 5.5% in the global painting tools market over the projected time period. Scrapers are majorly used for trueing a surface or for a particular decorative finish. Rapid growth in the construction activities across the developing countries such as UAE, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia owing to the increasing population and growing trends in the home d?cor segment will promulgate the product scope in the industry. Furniture application is anticipated to surpass USD 900 million by 2025 in the overall painting tools market over the forecast period. Growing demand for the household & institutional furniture owing to the changing home decorations and interior design trends will provide positive scope for the segment growth. Additionally, escalating furniture demand in houses and other commercial buildings for making comfortable living & working environment will further proliferate the application scope in the overall market. North America is anticipated to surpass USD 2.5 billion in the overall painting tools market up to 2025. Rapid expansion of construction & automotive industry owing to the increasing technological innovation and advancements will boost industry in the region. For instance, construction application in North America accounted for over 70% share of the overall business in 2018. Additionally, surging demand of paints from the automobiles sector due to the increased annual production of the vehicles will further propel the market share across the region over the projected timeframe. Painting tools market is highly competitive in nature owing to the presence of several global and regional players. Major companies present in the industry include Asian Paints, Gordon Brush, Dura Paints, and Nespoli Group. Other prominent players include Mill-Rose Company, Braun Brush, Purdy, Anderson Products, Milton Brushware, and Richard Tools. The leading companies are making significant investments in certain technological & innovative advancements for strengthening their foothold in the overall painting tools market across the globe. Mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic collaborations, and product enhancements are the among the major strategies that are adopted by the key industry players. For instance, on 21st March 2019, Gordon Brush announced the acquisition of Spectrum Paint Applicator Corp., a leading producer of consumer & industrial paint brushes.
Rescued during the 26/11 siege at the Taj in Mumbai, the professor had promptly taken the very flight he was booked on to return to work. Around seven in the morning there were two messages, two minutes apart. The first said “good morning” and the next said “Some sad news. Prof. Vaidyanathan passed away late last night, early this morning”. It is taking time to sink in, but there is no other way this news of professor Vaidyanathan’s passing could have been delivered. With a perfunctory ‘good morning’, and then a matter-of-fact news. That was what Vaidyanathan would have wanted and certainly not this write-up about him that I am undertaking. But, unlike many of my contemporaries who were his students and part-feared, part-adored and part-respected him, I could take more liberties for not having received my formal training from him. I was his student in an informal way, and even an optional student. I got to meet him, know him and work with him all at the same time when I was appointed on the Vaidyanathan Task Force on co-operative reform. I had heard about him from some of my colleagues, followed his work – particularly the sharp articles he would write in the Economic and Political Weekly. When I was put on to the committee, I was warned, “Watch out, he is a task master and he has a sharp tongue, not easy to work with him”. Having worked with him and interacted with him all these years, I really did not know where this came from. Yes, he was meticulous, stickler to data and its interpretation, but was quite an endearing personality. Friendly, caring, warm and non-hierarchical. And the most endearing part of it was that there was a certain easy attitude about himself. “If you cut his veins, you will find data flowing instead of blood,” one of his students told me, and I was soon to realise that. In the first meeting of the task force, he said that we would need the services of a statistician for helping the committee to navigate through the data. This was the first time that I had heard that a task force would summon the services of a statistician! While, the secretariat for the committee was National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, people in Reserve Bank of India (RBI) obliged and deputed a senior officer from the statistical department to be with the committee. While the committee did run some regressions and looked at the available data, he and the rest of us were really sad at the type of data that was available. So much so that we made a mention of it indicating that the report was based on dodgy data! It was not the days when data was suppressed, but those when some data was just not collected. One of the recommendations of the committee was to make better data available. On the other hand, we the research community, should be thankful to him for ensuring that the RBI has a dedicated data warehouse and that data can be accessed at a granular level. This database is the direct result of Vaidyanathan’s intervention in 2003 when he was appointed the Chair of Expert Group on Central Database Management System. The RBI press release indicated that the data was placed in the public domain before the recommendations of the committee! But these activities and adventures were only much later in his career – a career that spanned academia and practice, what is cherished most is his association with Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram and later Madras Institute of Development Studies. He also worked with National Council for Applied Economic Research, the Food and Agriculture Organisation and as a full time member of the planning commission. After the submission of the Vaidyanathan Committee report, he was inducted as a member of the central board of Reserve Bank of India. He nurtured generations of young researchers. Every third sentence in a conversation would move towards data, analysis and what one could argue based the findings. While he worked on a range of issues – agriculture, credit, labour and co-operatives – what marked out was his work on water and his collaboration in closely working with Centre for Science and Environment on climate change related issues. Two anecdotes summarise his being. He was in the Taj Mahal hotel (having attended the Central Board meeting of RBI) on the day of the Mumbai terror attacks. When I came to know that he was there and had safely moved to Chennai, I called him to enquire about his well-being. He dismissed the experience by an imaginary wave of hand (on telephone) and said, “There is a piece on The Hindu about my experiences, read it. Now tell me what are you doing about your field level data from Rajasthan, when are you going to get this out?” The piece in The Hindu is even more revealing. He is in the heritage block, where all the action is happening and he gets to know of it by switching on the television in the same hotel. He is rescued at 3 am, and on his way out, he gets into his trousers, packs his clothes in his bags, and takes the morning flight that he was booked on! In 2017, he sent an 80-page manuscript with this message: “Attached are reminiscences of my professional life and work. As a close friend and one who has been closely involved in wide ranging discussions over the years, I want to share them with you. I need to emphasis that these are not meant for wider circulation.” I wrote back to him a bit disappointed that there was no mention of the Vaidyanathan Committee in this write up. Also, very little personal detail. He said, “This is about professional life not the fluff one did, you just don’t get it. It is not an autobiography, it is only professional work.” The work of the Vaidyanathan committee had brought me near Vaidyanathan and helped me to foster a friendship that was cherished for a long time. The work of the committee was indeed of very high quality – it meant much to many people – and looked like one of the last hopes for the revival of co-operatives. As we were finalising the report, Dr Y.V. Reddy who was then the governor of RBI, volunteered to chair the implementation committee – a commitment shown at that level was somewhat rare. As much discussion was happening on the implementation mechanisms, the Finance Minister announced a farm loan waiver programme. Possibly, that was the end of hope. Reddy was no longer interested in the implementation committee and Vaidyanathan said, “It is over, let us move on”. That could have been one of the reasons that this work did not find mention in his reminiscences. In his passing we have lost an eminent economist, a great and open mind, a guru and an intellectual. I have lost a friend and a guide, and of course, a down-toearth, here-and-now philosopher.
New Delhi: Public places will need to become more suited for pedestrians and walking and cycling networks will need to be expanded in a post-Covid world, the Union housing and urban affairs ministry said in an advisory to states, asking them to redesign some market places as part of a pedestrianisation experiment. The initiative comes at a time when experts fear increased infection risk in mass transit, which in India is usually crowded at rush hours. Experts and officials handling policy in these areas believe those that can will switch to personal transport, which could have implications for pollution as well as congestion. “COVID-19 has brought cities around the world to a halt. Public transport is either shut or very limited in many cities. Movement of private motor vehicles is controlled. However, cities have benefitted from cleaner air. As cities look to ease the lockdown, the need of the hour is to provide safe, affordable and equitable modes of transport and also ensure physical distancing,” the advisory said. The ministry has asked states to select at least three market places in cities with million-plus population for the ‘pedestrianisation’ plan. For cities with fewer than a million people, at least one market area has to be redesigned and the selections need to be done by the end of this month, the ministry said in the advisory, seen by HT. “This will require proper survey of space used in the present scenario by various stakeholders. A movement/direction plan has to be prepared to see that there are designated walking paths where visitors are able to follow social distancing,” it said. Once the plan is made and firmed up, cities may start implementing it in two phases: measures that can be done in the short-term and those that will need more time. “Short-term recommendations include interventions that are quick, temporary, east to install, and ensure safety to commuters after the lockdown. The market spaces could be rearranged with quick and temporary measures such as barricades, road closure for vehicles, etc…On-street parking space or even carriageway lanes can be re-purposed for more walking and waiting space…Cyclists may be allowed with dedicated/earmarked pathways,” it said. Access ways motor vehicles for area residents should be clearly delineated and municipal bodies may increase the width of foot paths of the streets leading to the market, it added, while also recommending provisions for high frequency public transit. According to the ministry, redesigning vending spaces provides a good opportunity for innovations and long-term local authorities can begin working on long-term permanent structures to increase pedestrianisation once short-term steps prove effective. The planning, which the government described as needing to be holistic, can be done over the next three months till September 30 but a survey of vendors and others users of a market should be done by July 31. “By the end of September 2020, a plan may be formalised to start implementation. Short term measures such as temporary barricading, closure of roads for traffic, earmarking spaces, etc. to assess the plan on the field may be started in the first week of October 2020. The assessment of the implemented plan through short term measures may be done by November 2020 and amendments as required ma be completed by November 2020,” it added. Experts welcomed the initiative. “This is a very important step and we should move quickly on it. If you look at cities around the world—London, New York etc, they are all moving shorter trips to cycling and walking which are contact-free and make mobility safer. They also reduce pressure on already stressed public transport systems that will have to operate under social distancing norms. In urban India about nearly 48% of daily trip are below a distance of 5 KM and this is a big opportunity for India to move these short trips towards cycling and to promote it as an independent mode of travel. With the advisory we will have a clear map into transitioning towards pedestrianisation,” said Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy), Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
AMR accounts for 7,00,000 deaths every year the world over Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) accounts for 7,00,000 deaths every year the world over and by 2050, if the world does not take any action, 10 million lives will be at risk annually from this phenomenon, and 90% of them in Asia and Africa. This emerged out of a webinar – ‘Pandemics and industrial food animal farming’ – organised here on Wednesday by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The meet was addressed by Haileysus Getahun, director, Global Coordination and Partnership on AMR, Tripartite Joint Secretariat on AMR, World Health Organisation (WHO), Anuj Sharma, technical officer-AMR, Labs and IPC, WHO Country Office for India, Sunita Narain, Director General, CSE, among others. “In a year where a pandemic is ruling the roost, it is important to realise that AMR — the phenomenon which makes disease-causing germs resistant to the drugs designed to kill them — is also a pandemic of epic proportions, and needs immediate intervention,” said Ms. Narain. Also read: Battling anti-microbial resistance CSE also released its publication, ‘Body Burden: Antibiotic Resistance – A State of India’s Health’ on the occasion. Amit Khurana, Programme Director, Food Safety and Toxins, CSE, said food that we eat was increasingly being produced in intensive industrial settings. “This is the norm in high income countries of the world, while in low and middle income countries, intensification is happening due to the growing animal protein demand,” he said. CSE has recommend a ban on antibiotic use for growth promotion while reducing need for chemicals by focusing on animal husbandry, bio-security, alternatives, diagnostics, and veterinary extension systems.