Feature on Deccan Chronicle

i-dream was today featured on Deccan Chronicle edition of Bangalore and Chennai. Here's the link http://www.deccanchronicle.com/supplementary/be-your-own-boss-169.

Gujarat is showing the way. Let us atleast follow!

That India is on the verge of a serious water crisis is a foregone conclusion. So much so that the possibility of water riots in the future can't be ruled out. And it's not that the farmers of Vidarbha in Maharashtra or Bundelkhand in Uttar Pradesh are the only casualties of depleting groundwater level. In satellite townships like Gurgaon and state capitals like Hyderabad, the situation is much worse than the rest of the country. And the blame doesn't go to bad monsoons alone.

More than indifferent monsoons, this scarcity of water has been caused by over exploitation of groundwater and lack of water conservation measures at the micro level. The answer to this monumental challenge that stares at an otherwise resurgent India comes from Gujarat. The state shows the way in the form of a unique government-people partnership model for water conservation. The results are here to see.

In 2004, the water table of 112 tehsils of the total 225 tehsils in Gujarat was in semi-critical to over-exploited condition. But a satellite based survey done last year by the Central Ground Water Board (NGWB) found that as many as 60 of these 112 tehsils have regained their normal water table. What's more, the water table is rising further in many of these tehsils. Most of these tehsils are in Saurashtra and Kutch where the farmers and the government together have started a unique check dam revolution.

In the mid-90s, large parts of Saurashtra used to get water through train tankers from water-abundant areas of central and south Gujarat. Today it is a thing of the past. Earlier, many small rivers and rivulets in this region used to go dry by the end of monsoon. Now they have become almost perennial and several villages have become self-sufficient in water.

In the past 10 years, 1,05,000 check dams costing Rs 1,480 crore have been built in Gujarat under the government-people scheme. The villagers have contributed between 10 and 15 per cent of the cost in the form of labour while the Government has done the rest. Around 70,000 of these dams have been piloted by the state irrigation department and the rest by the state rural development department. These dams have a cap of Rs 15 lakh in terms of investment.

The mechanism for these check dam scheme is very simple. As and when a village committee wants to make a dam, it takes the local irrigation engineer to the selected spot. After seeing the spot, the engineer helps them select one of the six technical designs for a check dam. The six designs are finalised by the Government depending on the local geological conditions. Once that is done the department releases funds and the work on the dam begins.

The changes are less evident in north Gujarat where the topography for building check dams is not as conducive and the farmers here are also not very enthusiastic. But in this region also the water level, barring some tehsils where it is falling due to local factors, has been rising for the past two years. Says R.C. Jain, Regional Director of the cgwb and in-charge of Gujarat, "Gujarat has shown that where there is a will there is always a way. This experiment can inspire people in many water starved areas of India."

Interestingly, the check dam revolution was triggered in 1999 by Mansukh Suvagiya, a Rajkot-based social worker in Jhamka village of Junagadh where the villagers collected money and constructed 52 check dams in a span of two months on small rivulets in and around the village. Today, Jhamka is a symbol of water and agro self-sufficiency.

To get something from mother earth you have to give something back. If you don't, it will stop giving you. It's not a one-way cycle.- Narendra Modi, Chief Minister, Gujarat.

In the same year, the Saurashtra Jaldhara Trust, an NGO run by diamond magnate by Mathurbhai Savani built 213 check dams on rivulets in and around Khopala near Bhavnagar to turn the village's fortune. As the success of this experiment travelled to other areas of Saurashtra with the trust's help, the then chief minister Keshubhai Patel took interest in it and launched the ambitious Sardar Patel Water Recharging Programme in 2000 to build check dams in partnership with the people.

When Chief Minister Narendra Modi took over in 2001, he laid emphasis on creating farm ponds in areas like north and central Gujarat where building check dams was not very feasible. As a result 1,81,00,000 farm ponds have been built till date at a cost of Rs 181 crore. Farm ponds are built in that part of a farm where rain water collection happens in natural course.

In 2003, the Gujarat Government launched the Gujarat Green Revolution Company to propagate sprinkler and drip irrigation technology among farmers by giving them hefty incentives. Rated as the best in the country by the Union Agriculture Ministry for last three years, this initiative is one of the reasons why the groundwater level is getting recharged in the state.

But it was not easy for the Government to convince the farmers, who were agitating for more power, to participate in the project. The agitating farmers were told to take to water conserving farming techniques and tapping surface water through indigenous methods which could end their dependence on power. "To get something from mother earth you have to give something back. If you don't, it will stop giving you. It can't be a one-way cycle," Modi told the farmers. The agitators understood the logic of his appeal and the rest is history.

Then there are other big irrigation schemes which have helped in enhancing the water table in Gujarat. For example, in north and central Gujarat, the mud canal of the Sujalam Sufalam Yojana played a key role in bringing up the water level. The project targeted at pumping 'excess' water from the Kadana canal into north Gujarat dams by laying pipelines; building an unlined canal across 21 rivers in north Gujarat, and building two lakh farm-ponds. In another initiative, the state government has partnered with NGOs to build over 40 bigger-sized check dams costing up to Rs 1 crore.

Besides these long-term projects, certain short-term initiatives have also worked wonders. Last year, Gujarat had a bad monsoon but when the Government realised that rains could hit the state in the last leg of monsoon, it launched a quick water conservation drive by building boribunds (very small dams made by blocking small rivulets with the help of sand bags). In 20 days, over 2,50,000 boribunds came up as a result of a joint effort by the departments of rural development and forest management, NGOs and village committees.

When the rains did come, these boribunds conserved a lot of water. Says Ram Kumar, CEO of the State Watershed Management Agency: "Our resolve is to ensure that not a single drop of water is wasted." The success has not resulted in complacency in the Government which launched another innovative scheme three months ago to tap surface water on the hilly slopes of the tribal regions of south, north and east Gujarat by making terrace talavis-small ponds dug on hill slopes.

In 2009, Gujarat registered 9.06 per cent agricultural growth rate while the nation's growth rate was less than three per cent. The total cultivable area in Gujarat has increased by a phenomenal 15 per cent in the past 10 years. During that period, Gujarat's agro production has jumped from Rs 18,000 crore to Rs 49,000 crore. The state increased its cotton yield six-fold from 175 kg per hectare to 798 kg, more than the world average of 787 kg.

"Gujarat has set the finest example of groundwater management through indigenous and modern methods and through people's participation," says Tushaar Shah, senior fellow at the International Water Management Institute. When Jhamka and Khopala did it, the rest of Gujarat wondered why not they. It's time the rest of the country asked the same question.
By Uday Mahurkar

Reproduced From India Today.

Let's Do It

Delhi city produces around 8,000 MT of solid waste. If you are wondering if this is an annual figure, please hold your breath and then proceed to read the next few words : "Delhi produces 8,000 MT of solid waste DAILY". Also note that 1 MT = 1,000 kg. I do not want to even get into multuplying this figure by no. of days in a year and arriving at an annual figure, for my counting abilities are only so limited. Out of this, only 60% of the waste is collected and remaining is dumped on the Delhi roads.

However, if you are reading this, you would react in one of the following ways,

a) Oh My GOD! So much waste, we must do something about it

b) Oh My GOD! So much waste. But why should only I do something about it

c) Oh My GOD! So much waste. But even if I do my bit, how much difference is it going to make

d) Kya Farak Padta Hai yaar, kaun sa ye kooda mere ghar mein aa raha hai

If you choose 1, I can proudly say that you are amongst those few who believe in the idea of a healthy future. To them I would say, keep doing the good work friends, this is just the beginning of a journey. However, if you choose any of the remaining three options, CONGRATULATIONS because you are not alone. You are joined by millions of people across the city/country who think the same. The only thing which these people do not realize is that if all these million souls choose to think positively for the environment, their collective thoughts and the corresponding actions will reverse all the environmental impacts within a span of a few days.

Any journey however needs a captain. For the journey towards a clean city, I have certainly found one in Let's Do It Delhi initiative by Anita Bhargava and team. Lets Do It Delhi is a people's initiative and its objective is to achieve a unified action involving all the citizens of this wonderful city resulting in cleaning Delhi of its entire mess. i-dream was proud to collaborate with Lets Do It Delhi in organizing School Clean Up Day on 7 May, 2010. Students from New State Academy, Pitam Pura, Modern Public School, Shalimar Bagh were amongst the 5,000 students who participated in the campaign.

The skeptics might say how much difference it would have made to the city. It may not be much when it comes to calculating the amount of waste collected but the impact in terms of sensitizing the young generation was extremely significant. Also, through these young kids, we were able to reach out to even larger number of people with the message of Litter free Delhi.

Students from Modern Public School, Shalimar Bagh cleaning the school boundary

Students from New State Academy, Pitam Pura cleaning a local park

However, this is just the beginning. Over the period of the year 2010, Lets Do It Delhi will take this drive to even larger places in Delhi and involve more and more number of people. I urge all of you to take the Anti Litter Pledge by logging onto http://www.letsdoitdelhi.org/ and help make this city a world class city. Cmon, I am sure none of you wants to live in a filthy, stinky society. Go ahead and the MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE.

April Fool Banaya

I dread 1 April, for every year on this day I live under the fear that someone somewhere may discover my trick through which I have been successfully fooling billions of people across the world. However, not even one intelligent soul has emerged in so many years to understand what a fool I have been making of the entire humanity.

Dull, barrena and empty thats what I am today. I am questioning my own existence nowadays and pondering that why has my beauty withered , why is my face looking pale. I no longer have my charming exuberance. The doctor says that I am suffering from dehydration. I consider myself highly unfortunate that I am unable to support even my children who can merely be mute spectators to the entire catastrophe. I wish I could once again take you in my arms and give you all the love I have my dear son. I am so sorry but I have been rendered helpless.

However, I must tell you all that I am not sitting silent. I am busy fooling the entire humanity into destruction. As they continue to trouble me and my beautiful children, I am also trying to show them how foolish they are to not understand ever what I can do to them. I am killing them slowly and therefore fooling them, for none can realize what would happen to them 20 years from now. They are all dying a slow death, their lungs, their brains, their eyes, their ears, each part of their body is slowly and gradually undergoing a change. If I would wish, I can also destroy them in a single moment. But with them, even I would cease to exist. Therefore, I am fooling them into slow death thereby also giving them a chance to redeem themselves. Only if one of them could be smart enough to understand my trick.

And I also do not need any one particular day to play tricks with humans as I play with them all year long, every day, every moment (read -floods, droughts, tsunami, cyclones etc). But on this April Fools Day, people become extra cautious and I wonder if one of them from somewhere would be smart enough to figure out my trick. Till then Happy Fools Day.

PS: I may drive some happiness by fooling the humanity but deep within I am sad and I want the humans to redeem themselves for in their happiness lies my prosperity and vice versa.
PPS: If you have still not figured out who I am, I reveal myself as Planet Earth.

with inputs from my dear friend Harshita Mittal.

Green IPL or just a show off

Indian Premier League, a phenomenon which has caught the attention of one and all has tied up with UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) with an idea to make the games green. This as the wesbite claims they are doing by calculating their carbon footprints (amount of carbon emissions happening because of the games), by making team captains take a pledge to reduce their team's environmental impact, by asking players, sponsors and partners to be more mindful of their footprints and by creating awareness amongst the general public through " Tip of the day" which the commentator announces just before the toss for every match.

Let us look at the above initiatives and some other aspects of games to understand if IPL is really going green.

I have been following the tip of the day since a few matches and this is what some of the tips are like:

1. Save electricity by switching off electrical appliances
2. Save water by closing your taps
3. Reduce, reuse and recycle

Now, even if we have someone who is totally against the idea of working for environment and we ask him/her to tell us three ways to protect the environment, he/she with a very high degree of probability might give out the above three points . If we ask students in school about three ways to save environment, they might as well tell us the above mentioned ways. The point is that these tips are so basic and regular that they neither enhance the knowledge of the spectators nor add any value to them. If at all IPL had to include the section of "Tip of the day", they could have been more specific in guiding people on how they can adopt green lifestyle habits and make a contribution to the environment.

Similarly loose is the initiative of asking captains, players and sponsors to take a pledge to reduce their carbon emissions. A pledge turning into an action is a very rare possibility. Rather it would have been better to provide green options to our players and make them choose the same. This is so because in a number of cases it has been observed that people want to contribute to environment but they don't know how. This is a similar situtation as well, wherein players might be willing to help the environment but if we will not provide them options or solutions to choose from, they will be unable to do so on their own.

The initiative to calculate the carbon footprints is certainly a step in the right direction. But I do hope that this is just not another exercise to showcase to the world that IPL is going green when the reality may be far from it. If we look at the existing scenario there are a number of situations/actions which might be resulting in excessive carbon emissions. Some of the actions are mentioned hereunder:

1. Travelling of players across cities though air planes
2. Travelling of players from their hotels to the stadium and back
3. Travelling of spectators from their homes/offices to the stadium and back
4. Loud music being played in the stadium
5. Firecracker show at the end of every match (sometimes even in between)
6. Unhealthy food being provided at the venues in the form of burgers, patties, cold drinks, alcohol etc
7. Waste leftover by spectators and players after the match
8. After match parties which extend to early hours of the next morning
9. Players residing in 5 start hotels

Now, I am not someone who is against the games neither am I saying that above activities should not happen. I am thoroughly enjoying watching all the matches and also fully supporting Delhi Darevevills (who unlike last time are not doing so well in this edition). All that I am trying to say that if we take a close look especially with the intention of making the games green, some of these activities could be totally avoided (like the firecracker show), some could be toned down (like the number of times the loud music is played can be reduced, post match parties can end a little early) and in some cases people can be provided several green options to choose from. Some of the green options can be:

1. Using electric vehicles to move the players from hotels to stadiums and back
2. Improve public transport facility and stop parking of private vehicles near the stadium. This can be achieved asking the local goverment for support and also hiring a few buses to enable people to travel together
3. Provide healthy/organic food inside the stadiums
4. Set up a proper mechanism of waste collection and recycling post the match
5. Ask the 5 star hotels to comply to some basic environment standards so that minimum usage and wastage of energy happens (Players staying in 5 start hotels is infact resulting in highest carbon emissions)

Because environment has become such a hot topic of discussion these days, it is being used by individuals and corporates to project a certain image of themselves which is inclined towards a critical social cause. IPL seems like no exception as is clear from the above analysis.

Making a difference to the environment is all about making the right choices. And if you would make the right choices, the results would show automatically and you wouldn't have to indulge in showoff.

World Water Day - Do we need this?

22 March is celebrated worldover as World Water Day. Water Pollution and providing access to good quality drinking water are one of most serious challenges being faced by countries worldover especially the developing countries like India.

We, living in urban cities are lucky to get water which at most times is sufficient to fufill our daily water requirements. However, how many of us really thank God for this. I say so, because there are still so many people in our country including small kids who are dying just because they do not have access to clean drinking water. We, humans can still survive without food for a certain number of days, however if you are left with no water for 2-3hours in the hot weather conditions which exist today you would find it difficult to survive.

Let us look at various areas where water is used by people in urban centres:

1. Drinking
2. Bathing
3. Brushing
4. Shaving (for men)
5. Washing clothes
6. Cleaning floors
7. Cleaning Cars/vehicles
8. Cleaning Utensils
9. Flushing
10. Watering of plants

I am sure there must be other uses of water as well, please help me out in compiling an even comprehensive list. The point that I want to make is we are lucky to get and thereby use water for so many things which we feel are essential for our daily survival. Whereas on the other hand, there are people who do not even get enough water to satisfy their requirement of point no. 1 in the list above. Now, few of you might say, "Kya Farak Padta Hai" and some of you my dear friends may say, so what can we do sitting at our home.

Well, the least anyone can do is to save and recycle water. Use only that much water you feel will be sufficient for your bathing/shaving/cleaning purposes. Trust me, you do not need a bucketfull of water to clean your car, howsoever big it may be. All you need is one bottle of water (1 litre or even less). Next time you go out to clean your car, carry only one bottle of water and you would see it for yourself how almost magically your car will appear like new with that much water only. There are just some of the pointers which I am suggesting. I am sure most of you would be smart enough to know how you can save water at home/school/office.

Only thing we need is to get away from our conventional mindset which often tells us " What would happen only through my actions". We need to understand that there are millions of people out there who are also thinking the same and therefore so is the condition of our water bodies and we are facing acute water shortage. However, if all these millions of people start thinking "I can also make a change and my own individual actions do matter", it would not take us even a week to solve the problem of water crisis.

World Water Day stands for nothing else but only calls out to everyone to change their mindset and Make their own Choices. The choices which can ensure that no one in any part of the world at any time dies because he/she could not get clean and healthy water to drink. AMEN!

Chidiya Udi Udi Udi...phurrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Every year from far across the various corners of the world, a number of migratory birds visit Delhi and make Yamuna river basin their home for a few months. It is a wonderful scene to look at these birds of different colours and sizes enjoying the river water and playing with each other. However, the Asian Water Bird Census - 2010 has revealed some very saddening facts for the bird lovers in Delhi and also its residents. The findings are summarized hereunder:

• 112 bar-headed geese came this year compared to 212 in 2009
• Number of gadwal was down to 72 from 302
• Northern Shoveler to 484 from 854
• Norther Pintail to 172 from 272
• Only 231 common coot were spotted in place of 355 in 2009
• The mixed flock of brown headed and black headed gull dropped to 345 from 877
• Number of common pochard fell drastically to 28 from 320 in 2009
• Somebirds which gave Delhi a miss this year includes avocet, bar-headed and black - tailed godwits, cob ducks and garganey
• Grey - leg geese remained constant at 411 insteas of 416 in 2009
• Number of Eurasian spoonbills increased from 16 to 6
• Common teal increased from 78 to 184 in 2009

Is there anyone saying "Yayyyyy", there are three species of birds whose numbers have gone up? This is how a typical climate skeptic or someone with "Kya Farak Padta Hai" attitude problem would react to the above information. I can still understand someone if he/she is wondering what impact does the above findings have.

To understand this, we must appreciate that if the number of birds are going down there must be some reason behind the same. One reason which is very apparent is the deteriorating condition of our river Yamuna. With 52% of Delhi's sewage being dumped into the river, the city's lifeline is turning into a "ganda nala", to which even birds have now refused to inhabit. The other factors which affect the migration of these birds are temperature and change of weather. These two factors are also self explanatory. The temperature is rising every year (2009 was the second most warmest year in the recorded history) and the change in weather is becoming as unpredictable as the mood of my girlfriend (if I would have have one). It is clear that summers are becoming longer and winters are not only becoming shorter but are also arriving late.

It is therefore easy to establish that climate change and increasing pollution in the city (both air and water) is contributing to the decreasing number of birds visiting our city. And hence, it is also correct to say that the above findings are an indication to we humans that something terribly wrong is happening to our city.

For a detailed analysis of other factors responsible for the above mentioned state, you can log on to http://yamunajiyeabhiyaan.blogspot.com/2010/03/migratory-bird-count-falls-sharply-in.html.

It is upto us to do some action else Delhi's winters will slowly and gradually lose their charm and romanticism. It is all about "Making your own choices"

Inputs : report published on The Hindu on March 08, 2010

Paani

Economic Times has reported that in 20 years from now, our country India will face acute groundwater shortage. Let us look at what their report says through following bullet points:

• Groundwater supports approximately 60% of irrigated agriculture and more than 80% of rural and urban water supplies
• India is the largest user of groundwater in the world with an estimated use of 230 cubic kms of groundwater every year - more than a quarter of the global total
• Out of a total of 5, 723 groundwater blocks in the country, 1,615 are classified as semi-critical or over exploited
• Today, 29% of groundwater blocks are semi-critical, critical or over exploited
• By 2025, 60% of India's groundwater blocks will be in critical condition
• Almost 54% of the groundwater blocks in Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu fall in these categories

So, what does this mean for all us. Should we stop using ground water completely? Only a fool would say Yes to that question. Point is, groundwater like any other resource exists to be used by humans and animals for their survival. The key word however is survival. Unfortunately, the trend today is that people are using it for greed and not mere survival.

Only if we could put some restraint on the usage of groundwater, only if we could choose to use our resources cautiously, we could definitely avoid the situation of deep crisis as mentioned in the report above. We cannot even afford to display our Kya Farak Padta Hai attitude to this because there is absolutely no rocket science in understanding that "Paani" is the most critical thing required for our survival. We all would cease to exist without "Paani".

All I would say is Make your own Choices.

Key Green Features of Budget 2010-11

Key Green Features of Budget 2010-11

Posted using ShareThis

Do me a favour...let's play Holi

The subject line is a very famous Holi song shot on Akshay Kumar and Priyanka Chopra. However, if I were to tweak the song a little, it might help convey a very important environment friendly message,

" Do me a favour, let's play organic holi"

You may ask me, why is there so much hulla bulla about organic colors because since so many years we have been using the regular colors and nothing seems to happen to us. The answer is simple but complicated to understand because we only believe in what we see as an immediate action and lack the ability to understand the long term impact. The truth however is that the regular colors are toxic and slowly and gradually these are causing damage to our skin, hair and even lungs. Look at the following facts about different colors used in holi:

Green: The copper sulphate used can cause temporary blindness and eye allergies

Silver: It may include aluminium bromide, a carcinogenic

Red: It may contain mercury sulphate, which can cause skin cancer, mental retardation or even paralysis

Purple: It may contain chromium iodide that can lead to various allergies and asthma

(source - Times of India)

When we look at the above facts, some of us may prefer to stay indoors and let this festival pass away. However, Holi is supposed to be a festival of joy, fun and happiness and we should not deprive ourselves from the good times. So, what can we do so as to avoid the usage of such harmful colors and yet make the festival memorable. The answer lies in using organic colors.

Organic colors are made from flowers and materials which are natural and therefore environment friendly and cause no damage to our body parts. Yes, we can make them at home as well. But through this blog post, I will not tell you how to make them at home because it is a tedious job and would require good amount of dedication and time of yours. And in our practical day to day life, now we even do not have enough time to make gujias at home, so making colors is a far fetched dream. However, if someone is up to the challenge, you can log on to http://www.holifestival.org/holi-natural-colors.html and learn about how to make colors at home.

For the rest of you (which would obviously be a majority of you), you can buy such colors from the market. If you cannot find them still, you can contact the Kriti team at 26027845 /26033088 or mail them at space.kriti@gmail.com or visit them at S-35 Tara Aptts, Alaknanda, New Delhi 19. The Kriti team is selling Rangdular colors which are completely chemical free. For more details, please log on to http://krititeam.blogspot.com/2010/02/celebrate-holi-with-natural-colours.html.

Another important contribution which you can make on this holi is to save water. By choosing to play holi with natural color, you would end up saving water automatically. The rationale is very easy to understand. When you use chemicals on your skin, you end up using much more water than required to clean your skin and body thereby leading to wastage. But when you use natural colors, they can go away with just a simple bath. So, without making any significant effort, you end up contributing to your environment. Also, use water balloons and water canon cautiously. I am not asking you not to use them, but may be there usage can just be a little minimized.

All said and done, it is your attitude and choices you make that would decide whether you contribute positively or negatively to the environment on this holi. So, go on and Make your own Choices.

Happy Valentines Day

Love is an elixir of life and transcends beyond all boundaries. When we are in love, we are ready to go to any extremes to ensure a smile on the beautiful face of our partner. Love is the wilful intent to serve the well being of another (your partner). And as SRK puts it, love knows no conditions. Love is all about giving.

But at the same time, love is successful and one is happy only when one gets love in return. At this stage, I recall SRKs dialogue from Mohabbatein when he says, "pyaar mein koi shartein nahin hoti. Ye zaroori nahin ki jisse main pyaar karun, wo bhi mujhse pyaar karein." But I feel this is a complete idealistic scenario and in real life whenever we find love, the feeling has to flows in both the directions. Mark Twain sums it all, " Love is the irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired".

When human civilization started billions of years ago, the first entity to love us was our nature, our environment, our planet earth. And this love has been so strong that it has sustained its feelings over a period of all these years. It knows no boundaries and is beyond sex, religion, region, caste and all other factors which divide the humanity today. This feeling comes straight out of SRK's romantic films which make one-sided love immortal. The love exhibited by our planet towards humans knows no conditions and expects absolutely nothing in return. And as ideal as it may sound, it is also immune to the human actions. Our beloved earth provides us with unconditional access to all the resources required for our survival and also protects us from all bad things happening in our universe. It goes out to all extreme to ensure that its lover (we humans) are always happy and content with their life.

But as expressed earlier, we are now living in practical times. Unlike so many things that have transformed all around us, love also has undergone a sea change. A certain element of expectation has crept into the feeling of love. Complete harmony, peace and happiness can only happen when we get love in return of our love. The earth expects humans to love it back. But the reality is that the earth is not getting back what it desires. The rising temperatures, more floods and droughts, increasing cases of cyclones and hurricanes are just some ways of letting the humans know that their darling is angry. If our lover is annoyed with us, it is extremely critical for the other partner to pacify the lover and win the love back. For if it does not happen, a break-up or a divorce can have even catastrophic impacts in our lives. I cannot wait for a break-up and thereby ruin my life. I am off to find ways to win back my lover. As for you, you can make your own choices.

Workshop on Climate Change

A workshop on Global Warming and Climate Actionability was organized at Rukmini Devi Public School on 16 February 2010. The workshop was attended by over 100 students of class VIII and a few teachers. This workshop was organized as a part of Green 2010 campaign started by i-dream. Under the same campaign, several workshops have also been organized in schools like Kalka Public School, GK-1 and Mount. Abu Public School, Rohini.

Through the workshop series, we are reaching out to young students and creating awareness on Global Warming, its impacts and how can individuals contribute to work for a greener tomorrow.

We hope that the student community would be sensitized through these workshops and strive to work in a positive manner for the environment.

Ms. Nidhi Narayan, teacher Rukmini Devi introducing the speaker of the day, Rohit Prakash

Students attending the workshop

A reality show to award Green Warriors

Green Kerela Express is one of a kind initiative which would award prizes to villages which are going green. The show will be aired on Doordarshan and will be aired in Kerela to begin with. The show which starts from 1 March has already 250 entries working on sustainable development.

Among the contestants is a village which has adopted organic farming, another competitor is a household that is converting bio degradable waste into bio-fuel. The program's anchors will travel on bicycles covering a number of villages in Kerela to shoot its 105 episodes. All the participants will be judged by an expert committee using the flimed documentation of their project. Selected participants will then face questions from judges in the studio and viewers will also get an opportunity to choose the best entry by sending sms which would be added to the score given by the judges. The winning entry will pocket a cool amount of $213, 000 which would be funded by the state government.

An initiative like this would certainly encourage a large number of people to work on ideas and projects aimed at sustainable development. With time, such a concept should be taken to other states and cities as well as this would ensure creating a pool of people working on sustainable development ideas and knowledge sharing between states which would further bolster this movement of environment revolution.

For anyone reading this blog, if you have a green idea and you wish to take it to the stage of implementation, please write to us at info@simplygreens.com.

i-dream campaign on Youtube

Just in case if you missed catching up any action on Green 2010 - Delhi for a green beginning campaign, you can now watch a small video presentation on the same on Youtube at the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qD6YxuKcco

Please do leave your comments.

Students displaying their banners and poster to audience members

Lamp Lighting Ceremony

Ms. Sangeeta Saxena, Principal Aadharshila Vidyapeeth giving the Welcome Address

Guest of Honour Shri Anoop Kumar addressing the students about the need to indianize our carbon mitigation steps

The next generation performing on Jai Ho and giving out a strong message

Schools receiving Certificate of Participation award

Winners of the painting competition receiving medals and certificates

Mata Jai Kaur Public School - Winners of the Adopt Green Life Drive

Aadharshila Vidyapeeth - Winners of Adopt Green Life drive

i-dream founder Rohit Prakash giving a thank you note

Painting Competition @ Dilli Haat on 23 Jan

Students in sunshine @ Dilli Haat, Pitam Pura

The message is loud and clear - Adopt recycling

Delhi Metro connects the entire Delhi - vision 2010

Sheroo and commonwealth games - Hope we can do it......

First Prize winner from Modern Public School

Painting Competition @ IHC, 16 Jan

Theme - Delhi in the Commonwealth Year

School students registering for the painting competition

Students participating in the competition

Painting in the shade.....

Amity International, Pushp Vihar

Creation of Aadharshila Vidyapeeth

Sheroo and Delhi metro - Delhi in 2010

New Green Fields Public School

Students from Kalka Public School with their creation

Young students with their interpretation on Delhi in the commonwealth year

Grand Finale - Green 2010

The blog could not be updated since last one week as so much action was happening within the i-dream team as well as on the streets of Delhi. But just to summarize, we hosted two painting competitions, one at IHC on 16 Jan and the other at Dilli Haat, Pitam Pura on 23 Jan besides continuing with our road campaigns in Lajpat Nagar, South Ex, and Lotus Temple. The pictures will be uploaded soon.

However, the big day is finally here. 25 January,2010 would mark the end of our month long campaign on creating awareness on Green lifestyle habits. The event is happening as per the schedule mentioned hereunder:

Date - 25 January, 2010

Time - 9:30 AM onwards

Venue - Aadharshila Vidyapeeth, CD Block, Pitam Pura

Our guest of honour is Mr. Anoop Kumar, IAS who has a distinguished record of working for sustainable environment development.

Anyone who reads this blog is invited to attend the finale ceremony and be a part of Green 2010. It has been a great effort and we hope that through our efforts we might have succeeded in mobilizing all the school children plus a significant number of Delhiites to think and most importantly act in a positive manner towards our environment.

Green 2010 @ Janakpuri

Students being briefed about the campaign

Students at District Centre, Janak Puri

Students in interaction with Anushree

Young students distributing green tips leaflets to people in the parking lot

Students doing a march on the road

1000 trees in 7 Days

Under Green 2010, i-dream has taken up a tough target of planting 1000 trees in 7 days. Through our Own a tree campaign, we want to reach out to 1000 people in Delhi /NCR and register them for the campaign. By paying only Rs. 250, citizens of Delhi/NCR can become proud owners of a tree in their own city. The amount would be used for planting of the trees and for maintaining the same for a period of one year.

The event would be held as per the details mentioned hereunder:

Date - 24 Jan,2010

Time - 9 AM Onwards

Venue - Forest Cover, MG Road

We only have 7 days. If you wish to bring down your carbon footprints and contribute to your environment, then please register for the campaign and make it a huge success.

It is time to Make your own Choice.

Green 2010 @ Inder Lok

Maharaja Agrasain School, Ashok Vihar participating in Green 2010

i-dream's Green India Member School New State Academy

This can be Delhi's future in 2047. Are we ready for this??????

Students standing guard on the road educating people in Delhi about Green lifestyle habits

Girls from New State Academy

The message is loud and clear.....

Aadharshila Vidyapeeth at its enthusiastic best

Green 2010 @ Deepali Chowk, Rohini -2

Students got onto the road during red light and interacted with people about green lifestyles and distributed green tips leaflets

A man on the bike reading the green tips leaflet

Students requesting people to switch off their engines during red light

Police personnel providing security to the students and participating in the campaign

Green 2010 @ Deepali Chowk, Rohini - 1

Students from Mata Jai Kaur Public School











Aadharshila Vidyapeeth at its best like always














Vikas Bharti Publi School, Rohini participating in Green 2010

Students being briefed by i-dream co-founder Rohit

Band fromMata Jai Kaur attracted the attention of the people

Students participating in the signature / message campaign









Environment expert Mr. Veer Kumar writing a message. He was there to encourage the students and support us in our endeavour