BASICS OF

PREVENTION OF THE GARBAGE MONSTER

GARBAGE has no solution

Garbage is created only when residents

TAKE THE TROUBLE

To mix

MAN MADE & NATURAL WASTES

DELIBERATELY

Hence, DON'T take the trouble to create garbage

If you take this ONE STEP

Others can take nine steps for you

Keep one COVERED bin for NATURAL

and one cardboard box for MAN MADE waste

(Thoughts from GREEN CROSS SOCIETY)

Contact us to learn more
May 2003

JUHU EKTA ALM

(Advanced Locality Management)­­­­­­­­­

Residents' Association of 20 Housing Societies

c/o: 33 Dheeraj, Juhu Dhara Complex; Juhu Versova Link Rd.

Andheri (West); Mumbai 400 053

E-Mail: juhuektaalm@yahoogroups.com

Website: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/juhuektaalm

GENERATE ELECTRIC POWER FOR FREE.

India cannot solve its energy-power needs in the near future (the current five year plan - 2007 to 2012, proposes production of about 78,000 MW in addition to a current installed capacity of about 141,000 MW). A large number of the citizens ... up to 450 million (about 85 million households as per 2001 Census), are forced to live with no access to electricity, they still use Kerosene. Some 3.3 million (0.62 million households), have no means of home lighting at all. The other sources of energy: crude oil, coal, biomass, gas, solar and wind, are also not accessible-affordable to many Indian citizens, most of who live in the total 229,000 villages (population above 1,000 as per 2001 Census), in India.

While the rich citizens of the OPEC and OECD countries live in wanton luxury, some of the better off citizens of India, waste energy without thought. Think ... every percentage point of energy saved, is equivalent to a percentage point of energy produced. This, with out the issue of 'green house gases', raw material, equipment, labour, theft, losses. So ... it costs nothing to save energy.

Mumbai city currently suffers an electric power shortage of about 1000 MW, Maharashtra State a current shortage of about 4000 MW, while the current all India shortage is about 22,000 MW. The current national production of about 612 billion units of electricity per year, gives about 532 units of electricity per capita per year. This is only about 25% of the global average and works out to about 235 units of electric energy per Indian household per month. This huge shortage, can be reduced by each citizen saving energy in any form, thereby helping reduce 'production pollution' and making the saved amount available to fellow citizens, farms and industry.

So ... citizens of India, go on and save.

1. Try not to use cars for single passenger. Reduce trips to the market to once in ten days. Try walking if it requires only 15 minutes. Drive at medium speeds, try not to overtake. Switch off engine if waiting for more than one minute. Use car AC only when absolutely essential.

2. Switch off electric appliances from the wall plug whenever you can. Open windows instead of using fans and ACs. Use the sun for drying clothes, not dryers. Reduce the temperature setting on your water heaters. Replace geysers with storage heaters. Use white / yellow CFLs instead of filament or halogen lamps. Reduce use of dish washers. Walk down the stairs, it saves lift power and gives you exercise. Save lighting energy in your housing complexes. Keep sound amplifiers at low settings.

3. When cooking, keep your gas rings at low or medium. Use pressure cooker where ever possible with a low setting. Use microwave for heating food. Keep moderate setting on your refrigerator.

4. Save water, it needs energy for filtering and pumping. Do not use running water for shaving, brushing and washing anything.

5. Do not burn garden waste, bury it ... it makes good manure and eliminates smoke and CO2.

6. Follow these points even at your place of work. Enable 'sleep mode' in your desktop computers, reduce print-outs, and review setting of your HVAC systems. Switch off machines promptly when not in use.

7. Most important, refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, renew.

If parents and children learn and internalise these simple practices, India will save up to 25% of its energy needs ... that means produce 25% more energy without:

1. spending a rupee,

2. without waiting for four years to build power plants,

3. without generating green house gases and damaging the environment,

4. without giving more money to be misused for ostentatious living by the super rich nations.

Remember there are about 85 million households in India without access to electric lighting. Think and understand their plight.

(Data taken from censusundia.gov.in web link and various India Power Ministry publications).

COLORED PEOPLE.

This poem was nominated 'poem of 2005' for the best
poem, written by an African kid.........amazing thought!!!


When I born, I Black,
When I grow up, I Black,
When I go in Sun, I Black,
When I scared, I Black,
When I sick, I Black,
And when I die, I still black..
And you White fella,
When you born, you Pink,
When you grow up, you White,
When you go in Sun, you Red,
When you cold, you Blue,
When you scared, you Yellow,
When you sick, you Green,
And when you die, you Gray..
And you calling me Colored ????

I am unable to find the source at this time. My apologies.

TAXATION FUNDA'S.

In true spirit of the Budget: How the tax system works!

You've heard the cry in the past "It's just a tax cut for the rich!", and it is accepted as fact.
But what does that really mean? The following explanation may help.

Suppose that every day, 10 men go out for dinner. The bill for all 10 comes to $100. They decided to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes, and it went like this:

* The first four men (the poorest) paid nothing.
* The fifth paid $1.
* The sixth $3.
* The seventh $7.
* The eighth $12.
* The ninth $18.
* The tenth man (the richest) paid $59.

All 10 were quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner said: "Since you are all such good customers, I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20." So now dinner for the 10 only cost $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. The first four men were unaffected. They would still eat for free. But how should the other six, the paying customers, divvy up the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his "fair share"?

They realised that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth and sixth men would each end up being paid to eat. The restaurateur suggested reducing each man's bill by roughly the same percentage, thus:

* The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% saving).
* The sixth paid $2 instead of $3 (33% saving).
* The seventh paid $5 instead of $7 (28% saving).
* The eighth paid $9 instead of $12 (25% saving).
* The ninth paid $14 instead of $18 (22% saving).
* The tenth paid $49 instead of $59 (16% saving).

Each of the six was better off, and the first four continued to eat for free, but outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man "but he got $10!"
"That's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than me!"
"That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for dinner. The nine sat down and ate without him, but when they came to pay the bill, they discovered that they didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of it.

That, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up at the table anymore. There are lots of
good restaurants in Monaco and the Caribbean (tax saving havens).

With thanks to David R. Kamerschen, Professor of Economics, University of Georgia.

EVERLASTING HAPPINESS.

"If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.

"If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

"If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

"If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

"If you can attend a religious meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.

"If your parents are still alive and still married, you are very rare.

"If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

"If you can hold someone's hand, hug him or her or even touch them on the shoulder, you are blessed because you can offer a healing touch.

"If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you, and furthermore, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

"Have a good day, count your blessings, and pass this along to remind everyone else how very blessed we all are."

(Adapted from the website: http://www.goodnewsindia.com).

BHAGAWAT GEETA Chaper-3.

A deep thought to what one actually wants, leads one to the conclusion that we want to be continuously happy and have limitless power. This is the real meaning of moksha. Pursuit of this happiness leads each one of us to various activities and their consequent results. Our karma (actions) leads to results over which we have no control. If our actions are nishkaam karma (selfless and intelligent actions), done as a yagna or offering or contribution, then the outcome is always good for us.

Humans are born with a 'will to choose' and a deep sense of 'inadequacy'. Humans also mistake their body for their atma or 'true self'. So all effort is made to keep the body alive by any means and all activities are focused on seeking gratification for the body. Therefore, most of us are 'consumers' who do not like to 'contribute', that means we are bhogis and not yogis. The result is raaga and dwesha which are Sanskrit for desirable and un-desirable. These lead to more desires and anger when the same are not fulfilled. Anger leads to lack of intelligent action (bad karma) and the whole cycle repeats at a higher level. On the other hand if desires get fulfilled, more desires and greed are born and somewhere they are not fulfilled and again anger results. Lust is an extreme form of desire.

All happiness and misery is within us ... but due to ignorance, we pin these to objects and situations and therefore blame the world. Actually, the whole universe is serving our needs in some way or another, all the time. But we lack the humility to acknowledge this and expect others to do for us that which we are reluctant to do for them. Thus we are constantly breaking the equilibrium of the universe and achieving gratification in bits and pieces and being jealous, angry and greedy of other beings when they enjoy happiness or fulfillment. Forgetting that happiness and limitlessness is actually within us we, are pursuing them outside of us and adding to our unending misery.

All humans, have to evolve through this and hope for a better understanding of above and hence achieve better karma. So we are having a good time now, but only in bits and pieces, with sadness and misery in between. But 'true consistent-continuous-unending happiness and feeling of limitlessness' which is moksha has to be realised. This is within us but we are unable to tap it. This can be experienced only when we truly conquer Kaam, Krodha and Lobha (Desire-Lust, Anger and Greed), which unfortunately are our natural tendencies. However, by expressing our will-power, we can avoid these and get closer to nishkaam karma. Thus we become true yogis without giving up civilization and without giving up zest for life.

(Words in italics are Sanskrit). Above is my personal interpretation.

So You Want to be an Entrepreneur, Guy Kawasaki, an extract.

So You Want to be an Entrepreneur.

By Guy Kawasaki. (Book: The Art of The Start)

It is customary to do a speech about lofty things like human rights, society, and empowerment. I'm not a customary guy. The title of my address is, "So You Want to be an Entrepreneur."

10. Embrace the unknown.

In the late 1800s there was a thriving ice industry in this area. Bubba and Junior would cut blocks of ice from frozen lakes and ponds and sell them around the world.

These ice harvesters were put out of business by companies that invented ice factories. It was no longer necessary to cut and ship ice because companies could make it in any city during any season.

These ice makers were put out of business by refrigerator companies. If it was convenient to make ice at a manufacturing plant, imagine how much better it was to make ice and create cold storage in every one's home.

Interestingly, none of the companies made the transition from ice harvester to ice factory to refrigerator company because they resisted the unknown and accepted the known. If you want to be an entrepreneur, do the opposite: Love, embrace, embody, and create the unknown.

9. Don't ask people to do something that you wouldn't do.

Suppose you made the world's greatest mouse trap - based on a miniature

nuclear bomb. You murder mice better than anyone in the history of mankind. However, there are some issues:

• You need a PhD in physics to set it
• You have to drop off the radioactive dead mice 100 miles away
• It costs $50,000

  

You wouldn't buy a product like this. Why do you think anyone else would?

Imagine if airline execs flew in coach and ate the food? The world would be a different place. Don't ask people to do something you wouldn't do.

8. Focus on implementation.

During the first 15 years of my career, I thought that the key to entrepreneurship was the quality of the idea. I was wrong. Good ideas are easy. Even great ideas are easy.

Ideas are the not the key to entrepreneurship. Implementation is the key, and furthermore, the key to implementation is building a great team.

Anyone can come up with good ideas all day long. I'll give you multiple-billion dollar idea right now: create a fast, small, easy to use, bug-free operating system. There you go. Have at it.

And come see me if you can do it and need funding.

7. Don't be paranoid.

If you have an idea, share it, talk about it, solicit feedback about it. Don't hold it close to your chest. Build partnerships and alliances. License it.

This is because, as I said, it's not the uniqueness of the idea that's the key. It's the uniqueness of your ability to implement it.

If you have a good idea, assume that five other people are working on the same thing. If you have a great idea, assume that ten other people are working on it.

I've never met a paranoid entrepreneur who was successful. The successful ones share their ideas, share their equity, share their dreams, and bare their souls.

6. Pursue entrepreneurship for the right reasons.

This is the hardest lesson of all to learn. It may seem to you that the goal of entrepreneurship is a liquidity event as a means to be "happy" and that happiness is predictable:

• IPO
• Big house
• Fast car
• Private plane

Happiness is temporary and fleeting. It should not be the goal of entrepreneurship.

Joy is the right goal. Joy, by contrast, is unpredictable. It comes from pursuing interests and passions that do not "obviously" result in happiness. It comes from building a great team, from family, from friends and inexpensive if not free things. It comes from making the world a better place.

So create products or services that you love. That make the world a better place. At the end of your life, God's not going to ask about your market cap. She's going to ask how you made the world a better place.

5. Continue to learn.

Learning is a process, not an event. I thought learning would be over when I got my degree. It's not true. Entrepreneurs never stop learning. Indeed, it gets easier to learn once you're out of school because it's easier to see the relevance of why you need to learn.

Don't confuse school and learning. You can go to school and not learn a thing. You can also learn a tremendous amount without school.

If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to continue to learn.

4. Be brief.

3. Obey the absolutes.

Things change from absolute to relative. When you were very young, it was absolutely wrong to lie, cheat, or steal. As you got older, and particularly when you rise in corporate hierarchies, you will be tempted by the "system" to think in relative terms.

"I didn't cheat as much on my taxes as my partner." "I don't pad my expense reports as much as others." "I didn't cook my books as much as other companies."

This is wrong. There absolutely are absolute rights and wrongs. An entrepreneur is an admired position in society. Therefore, you have the moral obligation to set a high standard.

Think of your graduation as your IPO. All the world is watching, so set a good example.

2. Play to win.

Play to win and don't let the bozos convince you to do anything less. Indeed, the more bozos tell you that you can't succeed, the more you may be on to something.

Playing to win is one of the finest things you can do. It enables you to fulfill your potential. It enables you to improve the world and, conveniently, develop high expectations for everyone else too.

And what if you lose? Just make sure you lose while trying something grand.

The unexamined life may not be worth living, but the unlived life is not worth examining. Make sure your life is worth examining.

1. Enjoy your family, friends, and colleagues before they are gone.

This isn't directly related to entrepreneurship. It's the even bigger picture.

This is the most important lesson of all. Nothing - not money, power, or fame - can replace your family and friends or bring them back once they are gone.

STRAY DOGS RISE TO 200,000 (?) IN MUMBAI.

In Mumbai this is a very serious problem and citizens need to be aware of its implications. Citizens complain of dog bites, being chased by dog packs, random barking at night, frightened citizens and kids, filth and waste spread over the pavements, etc. Yet the obvious seems to escape everyone's attention. Mercy killing, sterilization, dog pounds, careing NGOs, temporary adoptions, relocation, etc. are not long term solutions to a gigantic problem of 200,000 strays. Nature is only filling a niche in its pro-life process.

The rampant throwing of waste food on the street corners and nullas, leads to gathering of dogs and their subsequent rapid breeding. Then there are the 'do gooders' and those with the 'religious slant' all which leads to people routinely feeding dogs and leaving them on the streets.

Nature takes care on its own .... shortage of easily available food will eventually lead to lower fertility and therefore lower population of stray dogs.

Let us discipline ourselves not to throw wet garbage and food leftovers in open areas. Do not leave garbage pails open or with easily removable lids which the dogs will invariably open. Over time, the stray dog breeding will reduce and the rest will move away to greener pastures. Do not feed strays unless you plan to take 'care of them' in every way.

If we can do this even for one year, we will find the local area free of all dogs. The local static population will slowly leave. If the city does it, within five years, natural death and other means will reduce the stray dog population to negligible levels. Let nature take its course and we can save tax rupee which is now being wasted on vaccinations, immunizations and sterilization. This tax rupee can be better used for development work. All we need to do is stop the wet garbage on the streets. Lets ensure that our neighbours understand this simple plan.

Problems which have festered for long time cannot be solved by shortcuts or expensive projects.

DANGEROUS WATERS ... continued on 13th Feb. 2008.

This is the third version of what is shown as Juhu Beach by Google Earth.
The picture which I downloaded on 13th Feb. 2008, shows the polluted black waters coming down on to the main beach area from the Malad Creek. The superimposed 'clean azure waters' patch which existed when I last checked is gone. Please see my earlier note of 20th April 2006 under the same heading. I am happy that the reality is shown as is. Maybe now, a wider opinion will force the local and state authorities to take required action.

US POLITICS Vs. Indian Politics.

Here is something that will make you laugh if you do not cry first ...
(Reproduced from Mumbai edition of DNA-After Hrs, Tue. 12th Feb. 2008, page-5).
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US politics vs Indian politics

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama met on Sunday for a cup of coffee. Both were tired after last week's Super Tuesday. This US election campaign was seemingly endless and draining them of their energy. Obama sipped his cappuccino and pointed to a newspaper headline and took a deep breath. "I wish I was an Indian," he said. Hillary looked at him suspiciously and asked, "You mean North Indian or South Indian?" Obama was confused. "What do you mean?" he asked. "It's not like North American and South American! North Indian and South Indian belong to the same country - not different continents!" "We could learn a thing or two from these Indian politicians," pointed out Hillary. "They easily divide people on the basis of state, language, caste, community, religion and thus ensure a substantial voting percentage for their respective parties!" Obama nodded. "Yeah, you're right," he sighed. "Here we go on and on, speech after speech, creating a good impression on the American public after spending sleepless nights doing our homework on what's the need of the hour for the larger good of the country… And in India, all they have to do is make an irresponsible, provocative speech and cause a riot!" Hillary looked thoughtful. "But I bet we could change the face of American politics and do something similar! After all, 60 % of our great country is made up of immigrants —Italians, Mexicans, Chinese, Indians…. I guess my ratings will soar the moment I blame these immigrants for all the problems in our country and launch a verbal attack on famous immigrants like Arnold Schwarzenegger, demand a ban on pizza and gelato and exhort my Democrat party members to beat up Indian taxi drivers in New York, Italian restaurateurs in Los Angeles and sabotage multiplexes showing Japanese horror films…" "We can do that?" asked an excited Obama. "Are you sure we can actually damage the social fabric of America for our political gains and get away with it? That's fantastic! I never realised we could become as dangerous as terrorists and not be accountable for our words or deeds, and blame all the damage to public and private property in the bargain as the emotional reaction of the common man!" "It gets even better," says Hillary. "We can demand apology from everyone but never apologise to anyone! Have you ever heard an Indian politician saying sorry?" sureshnair2004@gmail.com

Copyright Permission www.3dsyndication.com
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If you wish to cry in despair ... please do, and then, laugh at yourself and think how we can overcome the baddies in our political arena. Join the citizens groups who are causing a change for the better. If none exist in your neighbourhood, start one. All help is available. Think of Citizen Candidates, think of 'breaking rules and retaining values', etc. Be part of the brave new India.
--

Kaam Chor Representatives.

From: Praful Vora &<praful.vora@gmail.com>
Date: 9 Dec 2007 21:01
Subject: Fwd: Kaam Chor Representatives.
To: Election Commission of India <feedback@eci.gov.in>
Lok Sabha Speaker speakerloksabha@sansad.nic.in
Rajya Sabha Chairman <vpindia@nic.in>

It is requested that the issues raised in the following email be taken up as 'proposed amendments' by the Honourable Members with a view of 'informed citizens' acting for betterment of the country.

Here is something disgusting about our 'elected representatives' in the Sunday 09th Dec. 2007 Mumbai edition of The Times of India, page 9.

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Our MPs aren't doing their job

Avijit Ghosh | TNN

New Delhi: The work rate of parliament has dipped dramatically. In 2007, parliament functioned for the least number of days and the lowest number of total hours since 2000, with the exception of 2004, an election year.

This year also saw the lowest number of bills being introduced and passed in the new millennium, again barring 2004. Shockingly, young Lok Sabha MPs (between 25 and 40 years) and their Rajya Sabha counterparts (between 30 and 45 years) had the lowest participation rates among all age groups in parliament debates this year.

A study conducted by PRS Legislative Research, an independent and not-forprofit group, has revealed that the total working hours of parliament in 2007 were nearly 40% less than in 2006. This year, the Lok Sabha met for a mere 66 days, the lowest since 2004. According to constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap, the current state of affairs does not speak well of parliamentary democracy. "It means that there is a quantitative as well as a qualitative erosion,'' he remarked.

In 2007, parliament introduced 56 bills and passed 46. Last year was much better: 66 introduced and 65 passed. Between 2000 and 2006 (barring 2004), on an average 75 bills were introduced every year and 65 passed. Political scientist Imtiaz Ahmed said the development indicated a lack of consensus among political parties and the government's unwillingness to face parliament. "It also means that parliament now acts primarily as an agitational body rather than as a constitutional and legislative authority,'' he added.

Times View

TOI has always maintained that the job of our legislators, be they MPs or MLAs, is to legislate. We have repeatedly drawn attention to instances when they waste legislation time either by disrupting parliament, boycotting proceedings or plain bunking. Very often it's because they don't do their work that the judiciary is left with little option but to fill the vacuum. It now transpires that the work ethic of our MPs is only getting worse by the year, as this report suggests, indicating that they have adopted a cavalier attitude towards their responsibilities. It's time to check this. For starters, we feel that the salary and allowances of MPs and MLAs should be pegged in some way to their work in parliament and in the assembly. We also feel that at election time, the parliamentary record of legislators should be communicated to voters, so that voters can factor that in along with the MPs' work in the constituencies. That perhaps will force our elected representatives to take their job more seriously.

LS worked 36% less than last yr

New Delhi: Parliament fell short by 16 days from its original target for the year. The budget session was held for 32 days despite the original plan being for 42 days. Similarly, the monsoon session was planned for 23 days but held for only 16. The winter session, though, went according to schedule.

The Lok Sabha works for six hours and Rajya Sabha five hours a day. In 2007, the Lower House functioned for an average 4.3 hours and the Upper House for an average 3.3 hours each day. In comparison, the 2006 Lok Sabha had functioned an average 5.7 hours and the Rajya Sabha 4.9 hours.This year, the Lok Sabha functioned for 280 hours and the Rajya Sabha for 217 hours. Compared to last year, it is 36% less for the Lower House and 42% for the Upper House.

Interestingly, while young MPs were wary of participating in parliamentary debates, the older guards were much more active in democratic discussions in the country's highest public forum. According to the study, the maximum participation in debates came from the 56-70 age-group of MPs.

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This issue of: absent representatives, persistent disruptions, misbehaviour during sessions, and similar negative activities has been discussed in various public fora and media. The TV broadcast is not enough since it is often not available to citizens. I have some thoughts on this matter:

1. Could the pre-election disclosure norms include queries relating to such behaviour of candidates? For example, queries could be: percentage of 'full day/session' attendance record for previous five years, number of times named by Chair for mis-behaviour in previous five years, number of queries raised in previous five years, number of discussion participation in previous five years. Can the election commission consider inclusion of such in the disclosure norms to allow voters to get to know their candidates better?

2. Could the political parties be persuaded to include such info in their candidate selection process and give publicity to it?

3. Citizens groups who conduct 'meet the candidates' programs must consider giving wide publicity to the 'repeat candidates' activities along the above lines.

4. The print and electronic media could do their bit during the interview sessions too.

5. The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha could give out authentic info at their website to allow voters gain a clear view of their representatives. The same for the State Assembly websites?

Best wishes.

--

DANGEROUS WATERS REVISITED (Originally written 20th April 2007).

In my earlier note on the pollution at Main Juhu Beach, I had said that "... it seems our government, beaureaucarcy, system thinks that our citizens would be still unaware of how this facility can be put to good use. One can view encroachments, mangroves, waterline, forest area, pollution, etc. ...". This was said too soon. I had also thanked Google for their munificence in providing Google Earth facility free to the citizens of the world. This may also have been too soon. Why ? Read on.

Today I visited the same site on Google Earth and low and behold ... all the polluution is GONE. The pictures at the said site HAVE BEEN CLEANED UP, but not the actual Beach. How wonderful. Take a look. Since the said beach is only about 2 Kms from my home, I could verify that only the Google Earth pictures have been cleaned up. If you see the picture carefully, you might notice the patch of clean azure waters super imposed on the dark waters (seen at the lower left corner). This is a poor job done by Google, to please who, I wonder.

This is how the 'great system' works. Beware.

DANGEROUS WATERS (Originally written 30th Oct. 2006).

Many of you readers are familiar with the Google Earth Software. It is a program which you can download free of cost, from the weblink: http://earth.google.com/ thereby allowing your desktop computer to act like an ‘eye in the sky’. In short, one gets to see the satellite images of the ground by zooming from say 7,000 Kms to as little as 100 Meters above sea level. One such picture of our famous Juhu Main Beach in Mumbai is shown above. The location is, Latitude: 19.109056N, Longitude: 72.829428E as seen from an elevation of 9 Kms. Please remember this free software does not allow real time images.

This wonderful software allows you to locate your home, office, street, in fact almost any place on earth while sitting at ease in your home with a decent desktop computer and a reasonable internet connection. It also has the facility of measuring distances and marking places of interest for your further study … all free of cost. Isn’t it wonderful? A big thank you Google! However, it seems our government, beaureaucarcy, system thinks that our citizens would be still unaware of how this facility can be put to good use. One can view encroachments, mangroves, waterline, forest area, pollution, etc.

If you study the above picture carefully, you will notice that in addition to ‘JUHU MAIN BEACH’, I have marked off, JUHU KOLIWADA NALLA (about 2 KM to the south of the beach), IRLA NALLA (about 2.4 KM to the north of the beach) and the MALAD NALLA (about 5 KM to the north of the beach). The distances are straight line distances measured with the facility available with the software and may be presumed to be fairly accurate, since my trials with measuring street lengths in Juhu area, is found to be accurate.

A closer study of the water colour of the sea will show that dark coloured water seems to flow out of all the Nalla’s into the sea. This pollution can be better viewed by zooming in to 2 Kms. It seems to be spreading from the Malad Nalla and the Irla Nalla down to the Juhu Main Beach. This dirty polluted water is mostly untreated sewage coming form slums, illegal industry, etc. It should be obvious that it will not be safe for humans (or animals), to swim, paddle, bathe or wash anywhere near this whole area. The main beach is right in the centre of this mess and the tides are going to bring the pollution right back to the main beach daily. Yet recently, a leading minister of our Maharashtra State made a comment, that the beach was safe for swimming. Citizens are being misled to think that the water is safe, so one will often see kids, adults, bathing in the beach water. Little do they know the danger of the filth and pollution, which is neither measured, nor stopped. Why citizens are kept unaware of the serious risk to the health of their families? Why is the Nalla water not aerated / treated? Why is it released so close to the beach line? Can our Chief Minister answer or clarify the situation? Must activists file RTI applications and visit the Courts with a PIL? Should the Courts interpret the law, write new laws and even administer it?

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The FAQ on the VOTE JUHU agenda ...

(Originally written in Nov. 2006 on behalf of JUHU CITIZEN'S WELFARE GROUP).

1. What is this VOTE JUHU thing? Is it a new method to persuade citizens to go and vote? An outing on the long holiday is just what I need, and so does my family. We are not interested in politics. Nothing changes here, the same old wine in new bottles! The whole system is corrupt and I alone can do nothing, except protect my turf.

All claim India is a democracy. Yet we have no real chance to choose our leaders. They are foisted on us and we are expected to rubber stamp one or the other. Even telling the election official: 'none of the above' makes no difference and in some areas of India, one out of the thirty candidate-alleged criminals gets elected. There is also no 'right to recall'. The political parties have a self-perpetuating agenda of placating the ‘lowest common denominator' and ‘vote bank politics’. We have also learnt to only take...take...take. Can we not spare some thought, time and effort to make our society and locality safe and better for the coming generation?

Vote Juhu is adopted from Vote Mumbai, which is a plan to bring democracy down to mohalla-nukad-street level. This is sanctioned by our Constitution's 74th Amendment (June 1993), but not yet implemented. Each mohalla (represented by one polling booth of about 1,200 registered voters), elects an ‘area sabha representative’ (ASR). These representatives together form a democratically elected Electoral ‘Ward Committee’ (WC) in the Electoral Ward of about 50,000 registered voters. There would be 35 to 45 such Members in the Electoral ‘Ward Committee’ some reserved for women and backward classes. This is the basic unit of city governance and would be empowered with funds, planning, co-ordinating and monitoring activities and development in the Electoral Ward. This Committee will be chaired by the City Councillor-Corporator and may also nominate experts / NGOs. Ideally it could even put up a candidate from among themselves for the City Councillor-Corporator, so that the candidate is a true representative at street level - a 'Citizen’s Consensus Candidate' (CCC). Such candidates will together form the 227 councillors-corporators who will govern the city. In addition, the citizens should get to directly elect a City Mayor – a mass leader, who will head the Councillors. The officers and municipal staff would be answerable to the Councillors and Mayor, just as your employees are answerable to you – the owners and managers of your homes, offices and industry. This among other things is the ‘systemic reform’ for bringing good municipal governance to Mumbai. In this manner each registered voter will find true democratic representation through his ASR to the Electoral WC and there on to the City Government. Please click the ‘research’ button at http://votemumbai.org for the ‘concept note’ (an 84 A4-page pdf document).

Also, you have the duty and right to vote. Your failure to vote for a truly representative candidate means you have forfeited the right to ever complain for a better quality of life. Any number of episodic holidays or picnics will not substitute good local governance. With the latter you will perpetually be on a holiday from anxiety and misery arising due to poor governance. Our expectation is that this ‘systemic reform’ will be shortly ‘notified’ by the Maharashtra State Government. With VOTE JUHU, we plan to be ready with a sample system in Municipal Electoral Ward-63.


2. Who is promoting the VOTE MUMBAI agenda and who are behind it in our Juhu area?

The Vote Mumbai agenda has been developed by LOKSATTA … a national level NGO with a Mumbai Chapter (http://www.loksatta.org/default.asp). Guidance has been taken from JANAAGRAH-Bangalore (http://www.janaagraha.org/). At a more local level, it is called VOTE JUHU since in the Juhu area, the Electoral Ward-63 has been redefined for the coming Municipal Elections in January 2007. It is supported by AGNI (http://agnimumbai.org/). At the micro level, JUHU CITIZENS WELFARE GROUP (http://juhucitizen.org), GULMOHUR AREA SOCIETIES FEDERATION, the numerous ALMs from Juhu Vile Parle and nearby areas, all support this plan-agenda. Day by day, more are joining in the chorus for ‘a better agenda’ than the one being followed for the past 133 years (http://www.mcgm.gov.in/forms/grindex1.aspx).


3. What is the use of having ONE 'Citizen’s Consensus Candidate’? What can ONE ELECTED REPRESENTATIVE in Ward-63, do at local government level?

Yes, there are 227 elected Councillors-Corporators and we are trying to get ONE NON-PARTISAN CITIZENS CANDIDATE elected in Electoral Ward-63. All journeys start with one small step. Our journey is to change the system democratically. There will be no supermen doing superhuman jobs, only ordinary persons doing ordinary jobs in a superb fashion, because we have a superb plan of practical local governance. Maybe this one CCC will do little, but the fact that s-he has come from the actual grass roots level and has support (as well as monitoring) of a team of ASRs who constitute the Electoral WC, will cause other city wards and other cities to try to copy this method, and then we will have many more such 'citizens representatives'. This is NOT new policy. It is being done at the gram panchayat level by virtue of the 73rd Amendment (April 1993), where there is one representative for about 425 voters. The urban areas have somehow been missing this simple democratic method; where there is one representative for about 50,000 voters. So this is the power of ONE, many will follow. Nothing can stop an idea whose time has come. In any case, the citizens will at least be better informed about the policy and budgets through the Electoral WC and ASRs. Protests will certainly follow any fool hardy scheme. Possibly, citizens will not then be wasting resources in morchas and by visiting the Courts with PILs, for each and every administrative matter.

In the current scenario, the Councillor-Corporator has negligible powers over the system. S-he also has to beg for effecting change. The existing and past Councillors-Corporators were not all bad people, they had to work in a bad system and found that being compliant was beneficial. In our democratic system, we have to step by step bring about changes and transparency. The power to spend will come to the grass roots level with the systemic reforms that the Vote Mumbai plan envisages. The corruption will reduce and results will follow. The CCC and the ASRs will not allow the same job to be done every year just to spend money on contracts which allow leakage to rent seekers. The reason is simple; you elected the CCC and the ASR and would therefore object. Thus, acceptable and useful change for the better will come about.


4. How can we be certain that this ONE NON-PARTISAN CITIZENS CONSENSUS CANDIDATE will not turn rogue? Anyway, who has the time or inclination to be an ‘area sabha representative’ or an ‘electoral ward committee’ representative? Are the NGOs now going political to also grab the ‘loaves and fishes of office’?

There will be checks and balances, an executable bond signed and witnessed, accountability, redress procedures, independent audit unit, citizen’s charter, disclosure norms, Ombudsman and above all the sovereign power of the State Government. In any case, this person will be from amongst you, so he has to face you daily. You will choose a person who has grass roots experience, a person you know for long. So chances of his turning rogue are low. If push comes to shove, you would have right to recall. At worst there will be one or few bad apples in the Ward Committee and can be out-voted. Kindly let us know who runs your homes, offices, and housing complexes? Have you invited politicians or do you find one among yourselves to do these routine things? Don’t you eject bad apples? There are many in our ‘silent majority’ who have the skills, talent, resources, expertise and time for selfless service. They will come forward only if they feel they have a superb system of governance in place. In any case, the fact that you all find time to come for the meets to discuss better governance shows that some have the inclination to raise the performance benchmark. In all our meets we have had fifty or more interested persons with various skill sets who are eager to volunteer without office or profit. Why is this so? The NGOs, JCWGs, AGNIs, ALMs are NOT interested in becoming political parties or promoting political parties, this is for sure. If the later did their jobs then NGOs would be free to pursue other activities like health, education and training.


5. Why not right away, choose a popular prominent personality, who is certain to win? Why waste time with 'agenda', plan, method, etc.? We could persuade this prominent person about our requirements and go ahead.

Consider this … a bad street map with a good car driver and great car will still NOT get you to your destination; however, a good street map with an ordinary driver and an old car will certainly get you to your destination rather quickly. Think about the plan-agenda … not the person. We need to give up 'idol worship'. Let’s get real for a change. Prominent persons have their own prominent agendas. They think they are above the plan / agenda and have little time for common folk. We have a great plan; it will drive the change in the system and get us democratization of local governance. Any person will do, provided s-he has some grass roots experience, has worked in the area, considers the new agenda as sacrosanct and is willing to be humble and listen, instead of talk down to citizens. The plan is greater than the person; this is not to be forgotten. Idols are great in cinema, fantasy and in sports; not in local governance. The risks are too great for mid-term failure. We have a long term goal of bring about a change in the entire city and the entire country. We cannot afford failure due to personality, time restraints and ego problems.


6. Established national political parties are well setup, they have efficient networking, national presence, large resources, excellent contacts and great reach from lowest to highest rung. How can one fight against the established national parties?

How can David fight Goliath? How can one MKG fight the might of an Empire? What can one M.Teresa do against overwhelming disease and apathy? How can one poor black woman in a city bus in Chicago-USA, fight for civil rights? How can poor, largely illiterate Indians, unseat the great and powerful Indira Gandhi? We all know the answers to the above. It is the POWER OF ONE. When the time of an idea has come, there is no power that can stop it.

National and local political parties, though important and essential, have their own agenda, not necessarily the same as what you need in your locality-mohalla. Your life is improved or made miserable because of the candidate foisted on you in your area. The political party candidate is selected by the party, not elected by you. You and your neighbours are never consulted, where is the democracy we boast about? There are no ‘american style primaries’ to select candidates. In fact till recently, some political parties did not hold internal elections or file tax returns. This political party candidate is answerable to the political bosses, not you; at best, the vote bank politics will rule. Where is the opportunity for you to put in your demands and requests? Who wants to meet you, listen to you, and make your hard life more liveable? The CCC is from among you. The ASRs will themselves constitute the Electoral WC. This Committee will control the selected Councillor-Corporator, and you will control the ASR. Your true representative is in place. You will have right to recall your representative. This is full and transparent democracy. The network of citizens and representatives and elected official is the best networking possible, it beats the political party networking any day. We often hear of this or that local party leader waiting for days on end to meet the ‘great leader’ in Delhi, of having conflicts with party bosses and often running to headquarters for every little local issue. These changes in system, will simultaneously improve the functioning of the political parties too.

Again, why imagine that only the political parties have resources? Do the citizens among themselves lack talent, experts, money, time, effort? Who is running the industries, factories, shops, homes, offices, certainly not the politicians or their parties? Who is paying all kinds of taxes and yet getting no replies or consultation on how they are spent? Have the current lot of ALMs not proven what they can do in spite of negligible support.

When this plan-agenda catches on in the city, imagine the progress and satisfaction of a true democratic process. See how some gram panchayat work. All are not good, but some are doing well; however all city governments are uniformly doing badly with the current system. It’s time for a change. You can bring it about. Let the national or state political parties form working committees, consult the experts in society, work out policy, make laws, force the implementation of laws, etc. This is their job, they should work at it. We can see how they have been working so far, by viewing the Loksabha-TV, Rajyasabha-TV and various TV-News networks.


7. How will this affect the economically challenged, the poor and the backward?

In one line … they will not be lapping up to the slum / political overlords anymore. They will not be paying protection monies from their hard earned incomes. They can hope to get out of the poverty cycle wherein they are doomed for life. Their area sabha representatives will insist on better civic amenities from the municipal ward development funds. They will not let their monies go to waste through poor quality of work. They are not stupid, they work extra hard just to keep running in the same place. They lack the talent, skills, education, money and power. This plan will allow them to try to access all these. During the catastrophes in Mumbai in the last two years, it was shown on TV that the politicians were using their own branded coupons, flags and banners and spending public money as though it were their own. It is easy for them to be generous with citizens and tax payer’s money. They were busy giving away tax money without accurate accounting or long term benefits and worse, skimming from it. You would not allow such in your home or office. In the recent past some of our ALMs have hard evidence how the poor were misguided and looted in the name of floods and disease. Public sab jaanti hai. So the poor have a better chance for redress and new life, if citizen representatives have power in their own hands.


8. Why should citizens back or support this experiment? What are the chances of success? The established political parties and their machinery are too powerful. What if this ONE NON-PARTISAN CCC loses? Can anyone guarantee a win? Failure might bring a negative backlash.

No, there is no magic wand for winning. There is no guarantee for success. We all can only try. What if we lose? We have been losing for the past fifty years; we are used to it now. Now we got a superb plan which is working in the gram panchayat. Why not try to make it work in the urban areas? It is part of our Constitution’s 74th Amendment. The ancients have said:
Karmanye Vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana
Ma Karma Phala Hetur Bhurmatey Sangostva Akarmani
(You are entitled to the effort, not to the fruit of the effort. Work ceaselessly for a cause and worry not of the result.)
Citizens have got fed up of great progress on economic front with zero results on the social and civic fronts. They are desperate for a change. We are offering a plan, give it your whole hearted effort and success is ours. Have not the Whistleblowers, local NGOs and ALMs dealt with obstruction, physical threats, abuse and pressure from various sources? Are we to hide like fugitives in our own city and run from shadows like criminals? Is this the example we want to set for our next generation? In any case, the risk takers have taken a stand, the citizens are only required to support and vote for them. The risk takers will become the area sabha representatives and leaders, the others will sit in the side lines. At least vote with your conscience.

On the Election Day, a representative of the CCC will sit in each Polling Booth. It will be the job of the representative to monitor who all vote from each area and so know which ‘idiots’ do not vote. The non-voters need to fear the ridicule of the voting neighbours, not the threats of the political parties. Our current information tells us that the better political parties are slowly veering towards our point of view in any case. Time will show.


9. Have the promoters of this VOTE JUHU any experience with politics, have they consulted experts and why not talk to the established political parties to adopt the new plan and agenda? Why re-invent fire, so to speak?

Right! We have already had invites from major parties to understand our agenda and plan. Our activists using back channel are in touch with leading politicians in the city. Our experience in politics is nil, we do not wish to enter politics, we are planners and thinkers, we wish to set the system right and make this great nation developed. Improvements in the system will enable the politicians do a good job. All help in this area is welcome.


10. How is this plan for VOTE JUHU propagated in the Juhu area? What are the means and modalities for selecting the ASRs and CCC right now? How will this be all inclusive if all citizens in Juhu area do not know about this?

Currently, Juhu Citizens Welfare Group prints and distributes, free of cost, 15,000 copies of the monthly bulletin called Juhu Citizen. It also has its own weblink: http://juhucitizen.org Selfless activists, representing fifteen ALMs meet every Thursday evening, for the past five years. Workshops, seminars, meets, joint meets with other NGOs are routine. Currently, activists are meeting with interested persons in all the sections of Electoral Ward-63. Leaflets are being circulated, in various local languages. Each such activist has an arm long record of active selfless work; they are Mumbiakars in every sense of the term. As of this date, over 30 activists have been chosen as ASRs by their local area citizens. They met in a public session and selected one from among themselves to run for office as a CCC. All details will be placed before you thru our publications, emails and weblink. Already the mainline city newspapers have published details of our experiment with truth. Please help us help you and your family have a better quality of life. Help make India developed and civilized. Please circulate this plan.


11. How can one help or volunteer for VOTE JUHU? Which area does the Ward-63 cover?

We need more volunteers for various simple tasks, like telephoning, distributing, coordinating, data entry, etc. Please sign on and do your bit. Kindly contact any of the following:
Hansel D’Souza 98 2000 0006 / 2445 6131
Anand Desai 98 2060 2715 / 2673 2645
Praful Vora 2623 9739
Anil Desai 98 2012 2451 /
Vimal Thakor 98 93 2289 8474 / 2614 9798
The map showing the area with approximate location of various Electoral Parts is appended on page-7. An abridged database for same is also appended on page-8.


12. How is the VOTE JUHU agenda and plan funded? How can an individual or organization sponsor or donate?

Currently we are taking donations from our Volunteers and help in kind from the participating NGOs. Obviously, this is not enough. Please visit the weblink: http://juhucitizen.org and see the tax exemption details at the bottom of the ‘About Us’ page. Please send in your cheques. We are in the process of asking all the ALMs in the area for contributions for this cause. Citizens may want to sponsor some sensitization events or expenses for same. It may be noted that we do not expect the 2007-Councillor-Election campaign to cost anywhere near what the political parties spend. We expect to keep funding the petty expenses of the WC and the ASRs for three to five years more. For this we plan fund collection projects once the elections are behind us and our CCC is in the chair.


13. Who should one approach for more information or clarification?

If the web links mentioned above are not sufficient, please feel free to talk to any of the following:
Hansel D’Souza 98 2000 0006 / 2445 6131
Anand Desai 98 2060 2715 / 2673 2645
Praful Vora 2623 9739
Anil Desai 98 2012 2451
Vimal Thakor 98 93 2289 8474 / 2614 9798
Mayank Gandhi 98 6703 6880
Maybe you can spare time to attend one of our citizen’s meets in some area of Ward-63.
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EVOLUTION NOT REVOLUTION (Orignally written 02nd Dec. 2006).

There is a book by Kulapati K.M. Munshi (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai, 1988), about a great ancient thinker and leader. This is a mythological story about BHAGAWAN PARASHURAM ... (RAMA of the AXE). He is supposed to have lived a rather long ascetic life in the Vedic times, he predates Krishna and Ram. He is supposed to have trained the leaders and kshatriyas in those days in the art and practice of war and weaponry ... becoming his pupil was considered the highest of glory ... same as IITs, IIMs, etc. of modern times. Because of this he knew the attitudes of his pupils and tried to mould these future leaders to lead their small countries to dharma (right conduct).

The Kshatriya class were the rajanyas at that time and ruled small areas often warring with each other and keeping the people poor and in a constant state of conflict. When he found that the rajanyas (that is the ruling class and kings) were not working for the welfare of the citizens and society, he would arrive with his ruthless army of Bhrighus and put every one of them to death. He is believed to have destroyed the kshatriyas twelve times 'from the face of the earth' since he found that military power made them a-dharmic ... they would forget raj-dharma.

I am struck by this ancient practice, which may be adapted even today. Nothing has changed since that time; we are having the same mind sets and same poor leadership, where welfare of citizens is last on the agenda of all rajanyas across the world. They meet in the UNO and spend tax payer’s monies and have all the royal perks, but deliver little. In their own countries they practice duplicity and some have democratic elections pretending to have advanced since the ancient days of kings and dictators. But the effective outcome for the citizens is worse than in the past. This is true of USA, India and also of Burkina-Faso. Over five thousand years and humans have not progressed to a better living standard for even ten percent of the human race. The class system (known as caste system) is more and more entrenched. We need a modern Parashuram ... he will be the sasvat-dharma-gopta, the protector of eternal dharma, who will root out the wicked and re-establish dharma.

Citizens of Juhu have made a beginning by adopting a plan known as VOTE WARD-63. They wish to bring democracy to grass roots level by selecting a Consensus Citizens Candidate and Area Sabha Representatives for the forthcoming Municipal Elections in Mumbai. This agenda and plan will soon be ‘notified’ by the Govt. of Maharashtra, since it is in line with the 74^th Amendment to the Indian Constitution. It will bring a new wave in political practice and hopefully new leaders will emerge who will be devoted to selfless service for the citizens of Great-India. It will put an end to the rent seeking criminalized political class of today.

Please give your whole hearted support to this experiment by spreading the word and casting your precious vote. Let us opt for evolution and not revolution.

CARROT AND STICK (Originally written 28th Sep. 2006).

Sometime back, the MCGB bosses were depressed that the Vaitarna Dam Project has been put down by Delhi. They have promised to plant trees to replace those that would need to be cut down. This scheme took years in preparing and all knew that trees had to be cut, locals relocated, but no attempt has been made till date to plant the trees or relocate persons, ahead of scheme implementation. Actually this is the last thing on their minds. To hell with the environment and the poor. The same thoght process or rather lack of it, applies to so many of the Mumbai renewal projects under various names and schemes.

While hundreds of crores of rupees (now thousands) are sought to be spend from the tax payers money to put up grand projects, no thought is given to:

1. return money to the tax payer / housing complex that install ground water charging.

2. return money to the tax payer who consume less water and electricity, by charging exponentiallyhigher rates for higher consumption. The base line must depend on the economic level of householder.

3. return money to the tax payer who use well water for washing.

4. return money to the the tax payer who do vermicomposting.

5. return money to the housing complexes that keep 'saaf aangan'.

6. return money to the housing complexes that provides for internal parking for cars.

7. return money to housing complexes that nurture and maintain approved trees.

8. return money to housing complexes that permit 'roving hawkers' to conduct business for say one hour daily.

9. return money to housing complexes that maintain and run baalwadi, creche, home for senior citizen, etc.

It is well known that in this city of 'greed and fear' its either 'the money or the stick' that works. So pay the citizens not to do things that spoil our life/envronment.

In case some think that this is bribery ... think again ... it works. After all its the tax payers money anyway. Return money through Municipal Tax deductions and/or Sales Tax Coupons and/or Income Tax Coupons. Thus the paying people will get the benifit and not the sponges and lurkers. The bottom ten percent of India can then get development funds for education, health and better food, since funds for grand projects can be put to better use. The added advantage is that the black money generation will come down since the fifteen percent leakages from grand schmes/new projects will reduce.

TEN THINGS WE CAN DO. (Orignially written 08th Aug. 2006).

Do not use car horns except in emergency.

Remove the 'backup' sirens from your cars.

Do not encourage music, bands, dholaks, taasha, etc. at parties and family functions held in open air.

Harvest rainwater by 'ground water charging'. Encourage your housing complex to build 'soaking pits'.

Do not buy from street vendors. When the buying stops, so will the illegal hawking and street encroachment.

Register 'pheriwallas' with your housing complex and encourage them to visit for business for a short while daily.

Record with photos, details of your house servants and do not employ underage and children.

Register lessees and occupants of rented homes with your nearest police station.

Keep dry and wet garbage separate and verify that your housing complex sweeper does not mix the same.

Do not casually feed birds and animals on the street unless you decide to fully adopt and look after them. Ants, cockroaches, lizards, birds, rats, dogs, cats are natures' garbage disposal squads. If there is no garbage in your housing complex and the streets, they will go away.

BEACH DEVELOPMENT (Originally written 21st Aug. 2006).

The recent action by the city authorities at Juhu Main Beach reminds me of an email I had sent to interested persons and city civic blogs on 25^th December 2004. The effort needed to raise the benchmark for quality of Mumbai city life defies belief. It is therefore pertinent to review what other global cities have done in this regard. I invite you to visit Laguna Beach which is located some 25 kilometres by road, south of Irvine (near Los Angeles, California, USA). With modern technology, one need not undertake the actual journey of some 14,000 kilometres as the crow flies over the North Pole. All one has to do is use broadband internet on your desktop computer with Google Earth and one is there in two minutes. I have attached a satellite picture of a representative area of this beach.

I had an opportunity to actually visit this place with my wife Sandhya in the autumn of 2004. We had a wonderful day at the beach. I could not help comparing it with our beaches at: Bordi-Gundlav (Umergaon, Gujarat), Juhu-Girgaum (Mumbai), Alibaug, Ganpatipule, Bogmalo-Margao-etc. (Goa), Kovalam (Trivandrum, Kerala), Marina (Chennai) and you will know many others.

From the super white sands of Kovalam to the black sands of Bordi, it’s all fun and joy. However, we all know something is lacking in our beaches. Are our beaches all inclusive, meaning do they meet the requirements of all 'grades' of our citizens? Can all types have their expectations fulfilled and can all go back home happy with fond memories? We all know the answer is no to both the above questions.

At Laguna Beach, I found that the actual beach is looong, I mean many kilometres of open space. The well populated areas (meaning areas with more shopping and entertainment), have FIVE different zones for relaxation and enjoyment.

1. Open sea, clean transparent water in which you can swim safely (in most places), with lifeguards on duty. Unusual birds and fish frequent the water. One can see three different colorations in the water as well as the white surf.
2. The open sand with no obstruction or intrusion of any kind, wide belts from 20 to 200 meters wide.
3. A board walk, that is a wooden platform about 30 cm above the sand, about 2 meters wide running along the beach.
4. A slightly raised (above the boardwalk) concrete walk with green turf areas. This also has shady trees, open air water showers for washing off the sea water and the sand. Wooden benches and children play areas. Toilet blocks every 300 meters. Every about 300 meters, is a 6 meter round wooden hut with a conical roof and benches lining the inner walls (which have open windows). Here, musicians, poetry readers, artists and spiritual healers, hold forth.
5. Then there is the concrete footpath with angular parking and parking meters on the wide 20 meters wide road (with divider). Waste baskets every 50 meters with cleaning staff going about their jobs. On the other side of the road are all kinds of shops, food stalls, artist’s galleries, knick-knacks stores, music shops, liquor bars, clothing stores, etc. Open air flea markets are also found in the compounds of some shops, these not blocking the road or access. The main highway is easily accessible to this shore drive. Car horns are not used.

The tourists or visitors just drive up, park, puts in a few 'quarters' for parking cost, and take out their beach towels and umbrellas and rush off to the beach. No urchins or beggars or vendors to disturb him and his family. The small kids go to their play machines or sand pits, the younger people rush to the sea and beach, the old ones sit on the benches or under the trees or in the grass sunbathing / reading / chatting. The middle aged ones take off shopping after a while, which is just across the street (where cars stop at lights and for pedestrians, and where no horns are used). As you can imagine, all will be smiling. The hungry ones make a beeline to the numerous food stalls/shops where theme meals are available as well as fast food. Unfortunately, I did not notice any public transport at Laguna Beach. People do not hesitate to drive 100 Kms to spend a day at the beach and then go home smiling and rested. This is the cheapest relaxation there too.

Now when we compare with our beaches, all kinds ... under developed, city beaches, misused types or re-developed beaches, there is no comparison at all with Laguna Beach. There are other similar beaches along the California coast too. Why can't we have the equivalent of Laguna Beach in spite of having thousands of kilometres of shore line? Why do we boast so much of 'goa beaches' where one is hassled, pushed, rushed, robbed, drugged, whatever? Most of our beach areas have no infrastructure whatsoever. When can we change this? How do we raise our benchmarks?