Bubble Wrapped February 2011

VOLUME I, ISSUE II, FEBRUARY 2011, www.bubblewrapped.
asia
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VOLUME I, ISSUE II, FEBRUARY 2011, www.bubblewrapped.asia
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Brooksville
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Bubblewrapped February 2011
CONTENTS
THE TRIPPING POINT
04 THE ORGANIC INCLINATION
Is there a market for organic products in India and
does it really help the farmers?
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THE GREEN TONE
08 REHASHED TRASH
Recycling waste and optimising our disposal systems
for cleaner and greener tomorrow.
10 EVERGREEN
10 years of Greenpeace in India.
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THE WILD TRUTH
15 SWIMMING TO SAFETY
Giving the Ganges back to their rightful owners, the dolphins.
17 VOICE FOR THE VOICELESS
India does have laws that protect animals,
but how many of us know that?
18 ENDANGERED SPECIES
The top 5 endangered species.
EDITOR ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chetna B+
DESIGNER 20 CLEANING UP CITIES
Guru Munishwar Citizens clean up after themselves.
CONTRIBUTORS 22 FIELDING FOR CHILD RIGHTS
Akhil Sood Project Crayons plays Gully Cricket for Children.
Anushree Chatterjee
22 A PICTURE OF INDIA
Chitra Kalyani
Aham Bhumika is hosting a photo exhibition to fund the Grain School.
Deepa Bhasthi
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Elle Reynolds
Giresh Nair
THE CORPORATE PITCH
Karanjeet Kaur 24 PAYBACK WITH INTEREST
Kirthana Udayan Standard Chartered's CSR programme has more to it than just the marathon.
Pooja Bhula ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
graffiti
Rahul Fonseca publishing
house
Ridhnika Nepaul Produced and Published by
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THE TIPPING POINT

6
7
AN ORGANIC
INCLINATION
Author: Akhil Sood
Walk into a supermarket and ask for

organic coffee, and you will be lead to an
aisle stacked with organic coffee, tea,
rice, pulses and more. For many
customers these are just overpriced
products in earthy-looking packaging.
For some others it's about a healthier
lifestyle. So then is it just a trend that's
captivating the upper-middle class
consciousness? Or is there more meat
to the whole 'organic' issue?
Organic food products are slowly

becoming fashionable in an age where
health concerns for the upwardly-
mobile professionals are a reality thanks
to erratic lifestyles and bad eating
habits. Awareness about the plight of
farmers is also gaining momentum, as is
the realisation of chemical materials
posing a viable threat to the
environment. It's no surprise then that
the consumption of organic produce
seems to be increasing. But is this just a
fad? Or is there a sustainable model in
place that can change the lives of
farmers and consumers for
the better?
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ELIGIBILITY them with the due certification. “We eliminating the profits procured by the
“The very first criterion for organic help a lot of small-scale and individual middle man. She throws further light on
production is the eradication of all farmers who want to convert to organic the subject when she says, “Indian
pesticides, weed-icides and production. The current percentage of farming methods were largely organic
insecticides. Instead of chemical land used for organic production in India around the time of the Partition.
fertilisers, the farmers need to use is very low. I would say around 1 to 2%, However, the chemicals that have been
organic manure or compost,” says but the trend seems to be picking up as subsequently dumped onto us severely
Nakul Kiran, Manager – Agribusiness, both producers and consumers are deplete the condition of the land.”
Mysore Amalgamated Coffee Estate. learning about its benefits. A lot of the Kavita, who is affiliated with various
Compost is decomposed and recycled states in the North-East have adopted organisations and groups of farmers
plant matter which is subsequently organic farming in a big way. In fact, the who approach her for assistance in
used as fertiliser serving as an demand is steadily increasing, and conversion to organic practices, says
alternative to synthetic pesticides and several retail chains catering to such that the trend seems to be changing and
mineral fertilisers. Once the farmer produce are also coming up in India,” that organic methods are the way
converts to organic production, he is says Dilip Dhaker, MD – Biocert India forward.
required to practice these methods for a Pvt. Ltd.,
minimum of three years before Consumer Benefits
accreditation is given according to There are several health benefits which
Indian standards. Nakul also informs us BENEFITS organic foods provide. “Various surveys
that it can take up to 10 years for the Environmental Concerns have been done to prove that
cultivated land to be completely “The land, or the zameen, is of prime consumption of organic products could
'organic' and for all chemical additives to concern to the farmer,” says Dilip. “Most increase the life span of the individual. It
be erased from the system. farmers today have inherited the lands helps build up a good immune system,
that they use, and organic farming and has good digestive properties for
The National Programme for Organic methods serve as a beneficial tool in the human body. Eventually, a consumer
Production, which is a segment within expanding the life as well as the quality would purchase organic products for
the Ministry of Commerce, provides of this sacred land,” he adds. The the sake of his own health,” says Dilip.
benefits as well as support to farmers requirement for water is significantly Organic foods are priced at a
using organic methods. Various less, and within three to four years, the significantly higher rate, “The margin
organisations have also been set up to quality of the land begins to improve, varies from 10 to 40%, according to the
help provide farmers with the proper which also benefits the environment. product. Organic soya beans are priced
certification which allows their goods to at around 10 percent higher than
be classified as 'organic'. Biocert India Kavita Mukhi organises the Farmers' conventionally produced soya beans,
Pvt. Ltd. is one such organisation which Market every weekend in Bandra while pulses range from 25 to 30%. The
actively assists farmers to convert to providing organic farmers with a price depends on the yield that the crop
organic methods as well as providing channel for selling their products while provides for the farmer, as well as the
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demand, hence the difference,” says option for healthy and organic snacking. amount of residue in foods which are
Dilip. However, the health benefits It gives an organic and chemical free produced using chemical fertilisers.
provide a sense of balance in alternative to snacking with various dry Fruits and vegetables are sprayed
comparison with the increased prices. fruits, such as figs, apricots and nuts heavily with pesticides and insecticides,
“What people do,” adds Kavita, “is that available under the brand name. The which is why the risks are higher. They
they purchase cheap goods adulterated almond and pistachio nuts are prepared need to be thoroughly washed, and
with harmful chemicals, which results in in organic sea salts, which help to even then, small traces of the residue
illnesses and poor health. Thus, people preserve their nutrient value, and lower are often accumulated in the system
tend to have their priorities mixed up, cholesterol levels. “People end up over a period of time, which can result in
choosing to spend a fortune on a pair of consuming a lot of toxins in our daily lead poisoning and various other health
shoes instead of paying slightly higher rituals of snacking,” says Ecorico disorders,” says Nakul. In contrast, all
for food.” In fact, Kavita informs us how founder Megha Rawal, “so we wanted materials used in organic farming are
the prices at the Farmers' Market that to provide a healthier alternative to that. harmless and completely natural.
she organises are actually lower than The concept behind Ecorico is 'organic'
the market rates for conventional food and 'rich'.” (Ecorico products are Dilip sums it up, comparing the organic
products due to the recent inflation in available at Kavita Mukhi's vs. inorganic debate to that of ayurvedic
food items, spurring people to Farmers' Market.) medicine as opposed to allopathic
switch to organic. practices, “Organic foods provide long-
On the split side, inorganic foods can be term rewards to the consumers, which
Ecorico, another innovative new extremely harmful to the body. is what people are slowly realising.”
initiative undertaken by Megha and Arjit “Chemical sprays are water soluble.
Rawal provides the consumer with an Thus, you end up consuming some
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Advantages for the Farmer relatively safe one, as the cost of farmers form groups of 100, 200 or 500
The risk for a small-scale farmer, with cultivation is significantly lower in people, and they all cultivate the same
one or two acres of land, converting to organic farming. The water crop. They focus on products which
organic production is significantly less consumption is also reduced. “One of have a high demand in the market, like
as the farmer becomes completely self- the biggest advantages of organic cotton or soya bean.” This further
sufficient in the production of compost cultivation,” he says, “is the reduced reduces the element of risk attached to
and natural fertilisers. He is not forced to dependence on weather conditions. A conversion. He also tells us that farmers
procure heavy loans from banks for conventional farmer invests hefty whose land is situated near forests are
purchase of raw materials, and thus amounts in fertilisers, pesticides and largely cooperative and convert easily.
prevents himself from falling into the insecticides, and is thus dependent on “This is due to the easy access to natural
trap of a debt cycle in case the yield is conducive weather conditions for a resources for compost and fertilisers.”
reduced one year. This helps to good yield. A poor yield would naturally Organic products have a high demand in
minimise the perils that outside then result in large debts and profits the export market, he adds, with
elements may pose, as the farmer is would take a massive hit.” Dilip adds to increase in revenue margins touching
able to cultivate his crop entirely on his that when he states that along with the 20 to 25% depending on the product,
own. Then there is the obvious increased lifespan and better quality of thus providing them with a further
advantage of the 10 to 40% increase in soil farmers too enjoy health benefits. incentive to convert to
revenue that the farmer will benefit from organic farming.
if he goes organic. Another trend which seems to be
developing, according to Dilip, is the
Nakul tells us that with the increased constitution of farming groups. “In
margin in sales, the proposition is a group farming, individual organic
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DRAWBACKS AND and the quantity of the yield to stabilise. methods. “It is feasible only for the
DISADVANTAGES Seeds and raw materials are not readily smaller farmers as their risk is reduced.
Due to the high difference in prices and available in the market as yet as Smaller yield is countered by high
lack of awareness in a developing nation compared to chemical materials. Also, prices. It is not logistically possible to
like India, consumption of organic foods there is no fixed pattern of practice yet, increase production or expand the
is restricted primarily to the well- as opposed to the scientific methods consumer reach in India at this
educated, upper-middle class segment. that are already in place for the use of moment.” Chemicals required per acre
The phenomenon is yet to penetrate the chemical raw materials.” He adds that are much less. One “super pill” which is
masses since the current price range is due to the miniscule percentage of land chemically manufactured would
not affordable, which is why a large in India which is under organic probably be the same as 10,000 of such
number of large-scale farmers resist cultivation, the production is limited and organically produced fertilisers.
converting to organic methods. “The inadequate as of now. He states though, Production of such large amounts of
yield is significantly lower in the first that the scale on which it is practiced compost and manure becomes
three to four years of shifting to these will increase with the growth in demand impossible for the farmer, hence the
practices. Hence, big farmers are not for organic products, and that the prices reduced yield. In such a scenario, he
keen on taking on the added loss in are bound to decrease once the also believes that it would be extremely
revenue that the shift would result in,” production is higher. difficult to switch to completely organic
says Dilip. There is also the added practices. “Many areas are already
difficulty in maximising the yield as the Nakul, however, maintains that a large facing severe food shortages and the
methods are still being tested and scale conversion to organic cultivation
experimented, “The quality fluctuates, is not financially viable due to the limited
and it will take some time for the quality produce that the crop yields using these
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crisis will only escalate if the scale of farmers will earn a larger sum. At the option is to maintain a balance since it
chemicals-aided farming is drastically moment, the chains procure from does not seem logistically possible to
reduced. With the increasing wholesalers, who in turn purchase their do away with conventional methods for
population, the only way of tackling food produce from other wholesalers and so the sake of organic production.”
shortage is increase of production of on. Once these middlemen are
goods which is not possible with removed, it would also result in better
organic farming.” quality of foods since the product would
be fresher than it is now.”
Considering the low yield the cost of
food is bound to go up, and the role of He asserts that the increasing demand
the middleman comes into play as well. for organic goods as of now is deceptive
Nakul tells us that the farmers would, on and there is still a long way to go, “The
an average, get around 30 to 50% of the base for measuring demand for organic
revenue, with the rest going into produce is extremely low as of now. So,
transportation costs and pocketed by the smallest increase in demand will
the middlemen. He adds that as drastically alter the figures and the
awareness increases, the role of the percentage will shoot up while the
middleman will be reduced, or numbers will remain low. For example, if
eliminated altogether. “Large chains like the demand is restricted to 10 people,
Reliance and others would probably even one added individual demanding
procure the goods directly from the organic foods will constitute a 10%
farmer, thus bringing down prices as the increase. Thus, as of now, the only
Farmers' Market in Bandra

The market is located at Wind Chimes Play School, Bhalla House, 97 Hill Road, next to Kobe and opposite
St Andrew's Church, Bandra (W) and is open from 10am to 4pm every Sunday.
Provides a forum for organic farmers to sell their products to the public free of cost.
· Brings exposure to the farmers.
· Helps raise awareness about the benefits of organic farming to the public.
· Fresher products due to the reduced transportation and storage of the goods.
· Eliminates the prospect of the middleman, thus increasing revenue for the farmer.
· Brings down the price of the products due to the elimination of transportation costs
which constitute a large bulk of the revenue earned on organic products.
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14
ASLI JANWAR KAUN?????

He trusts you completely. He loves you without question. He will
devote his entire life to you. And yet, you abandoned him on the
street. To starve and fall sick. Scared and alone. To die, slowly
and painfully.
Every day, pets are left to die by owners who think it’s alright to
treat a loving, innocent creature in this manner. So tell us, who is
the real animal here?
Don’t be silent. Report all such cases to Animals Matter to Me on

+91 9819380310 and help bring justice for those who cannot
speak for themselves.
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THE GREEN TONE

16
17
REHASHED
TRASH
Author: Rahul Fonseca
Most of us have noticed the little

chasing arrows in a triangle on various
products or heard of the familiar three
R's - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle being
chanted by school going children,
educators and a number of environment
conscious organisations around the city.
But if anyone stops to think about what
it exactly is, the answer is very simple.
Recycling is simply collecting products
that have reached the end of their useful
lives and then transforming them into
valuable secondary raw materials that
can be fed back into the manufacturing
process.
GOING BACK
Recycling has been around in India for
many years with most blissfully
oblivious to it. Almost every household
separates newspapers in order to sell
them in bulk to recyclers or Kabari
walas, a common name for dry waste
dealers. Until the recent emergence of
cheap plastic containers, glass bottles
were reused in Indian houses for a
variety of purposes ranging from water
storage to preserving spices and grain.
While most recycling in India is
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undertaken via the informal sector, it has SO WHY RECYCLE If that's not eye opening enough, you
always included rag-pickers, There are opposing schools of thought might want to consider a few other
middlemen, transporters, larger regarding recycling. Some believe that factors. Recycling of paper and paper
middlemen and finally, re-processors. recycling is a waste of time and human products reduces felling of trees. In
The rag pickers form the backbone of resources as it just postpones at best practice, more than 80% of the paper
this recycling industry. The material the problems that global warming and used in India is being collected by
picked up and recycled include plastics, waste generation are associated with. recyclers, of which only 20% makes it
paper, glass, and metals. Studies Others believe that through recycling back to the paper industry. The
indicate that rag-pickers are the base of conservation of energy and maximum remaining 60% is usually diverted
a large recycling pyramid, handling utilisation of resources is not an towards other areas like packaging and
between 9 to 15% of the solid waste impossible dream. Studies have proved wrapping. The recycling industry is still
generated in Indian cities. The fast that using certain recycled metals can developing and the support from
growth of the Indian economy comes save up to 95 % of energy as compared corporate companies is increasing with
with a formidable increase in both to using virgin ore. Recycling of time. Delhi based company Pragati
recyclable and non recyclable waste. aluminium scrap can lead to a reduction Papers Industries Ltd, has set up a `5
According to a report by the Ministry of of 92% of carbon dioxide emissions billion (US$ 124 million) recycled waste-
Environment and Forests, the plastics versus production of the metal from ore. paper plant in Gujarat. The plant is set to
industry is growing at 10% per annum, But does it really work? If waste is produce 400 tonnes of newsprint from
and almost 52% of this is expected to be effectively collected and sent in for waste-paper, saving close to 6,800 trees
used in the packaging sector. A recycling, savings can be achieved both every day. Economists have found that
relatively new problem is one that in terms of energy and in emissions into producing recycled paper uses less
involves e-waste. This includes DVDs, the environment. energy and water than harvesting,
CDs, floppies, tapes and electronic pulping, processing, and transporting
components including chips, virgin trees. When less recycled paper is
processors, mother boards and printed Material Energy Air Pollution used, additional energy is needed to
Savings Savings
circuit boards. All of these may contain create and maintain farmed forests until
heavy metals and other materials which these forests are can self-sustain as
Aluminium 95% 95%
are hazardous to the environment if not virgin forests.
Cardboard 24% -
disposed correctly. There are plans to On the flipside though, in order to
set up e-waste recycling facilities in Glass 5-30% 20% achieve a significant slowdown of the
Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai as yet, Paper 40% 73% resource depletion recycling rates
none exist in the country. However, the Plastics 70% - above 80% are required. When
spurt in the IT sector is causing this toxic foresting companies cut down trees,
Steel 60% -
waste to pile up. more are planted in their place.
Environmentalists say that these
“farmed" forests are significantly
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inferior to virgin forests in several ways,

because the new forests cannot
effectively stop soil erosion, require
fertilisers to grow and are not even close
to the size of the original virgin trees
they replace.
THE ROLE OF CORPORATE

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Much of the difficulty inherent in
recycling comes from the fact that most
products are not designed with
recycling in mind. As part of social
responsibility programmes corporates
are trying to maximise the utility of the
materials in their products. The
Environment Initiative and Corporate
Social Responsibility, showed soft drink
major Coca Cola India promoting PET
recycling, an effort which has been
appreciated by several state pollution
control boards. The objective was to
develop a self sustaining system of
recycling post-consumer PET bottles. A
sustainable value chain has been
established to ensure viability of the
pricing structure at each level starting
from rag pickers to scrap dealers to
collection cum grinding/bailing centres
to recyclers. Others such as Philips
have tied up with recyclers for
collecting, transporting and recycling
used consumer products. They offer
consumers a convenient way of
recycling their unwanted, obsolete and
damaged products by dropping them
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off at convenient locations. There are recyclables. Fines are imposed for non Overcoming this is easy if as a
companies looking in to new uses for segregation. Although there are laws collective, we enforce laws, use social
old materials. Plastics for example are pertaining to waste disposal the Indian pressure to compel participation in
now being melted down and infused government needs to take further steps recycling programmes and try
into asphalt to strengthen roadways by to bring about trash and recycling inculcating good ideas at the school
enhancing asphalt's bonding ability, and legislation. A simple step in this level. American social psychologist
making the roads longer lasting by direction would be the implementation Shawn Burn substantiates this with his
rendering them more impervious to of container deposit legislation offering study that shows, once recycling
water. Biodegradable plastic is the a refund for the return of certain becomes a part of people’s daily
packaging material of the future. Many containers, typically glass, plastic, and routine, it will be easy to pass on to
companies have taken to using metal. This process has been future generations.
biodegradable packing “peanuts” made successfully implemented in various
from corn starch to protect delicate countries around the world. When a
shipments. Construction major HCC product in such a container is
Hindustan Construction Company Ltd. purchased, a small surcharge is added
is trying to address the issue by funding to the price. This surcharge can be
a new project called Solid Waste reclaimed by the consumer if the
Management (SWM) Kihim which has container is returned to a collection
been initiated in the Kihim village in point. Banning the improper disposal of
Maharashtra. The structure houses a certain toxic materials such as used oil,
small-scale programme employing and batteries as waste and creating a
village women to make handbags, proper disposal facility for these will
mobile phone pouches, mats as well as increase the availability of recyclable
small and large accessories and materials. Ineffective monitoring of
furnishings from polythene bags. such laws could lead to a failure of the
recycling project and to illegal dumping.
PATH TO RENEWD WORLD
Being eco-conscious also involves a In-spite of legislature and a good
much overlooked segment of dumping recycling model the masses have to be
and incineration of garbage, a process made aware of the benefits of recycling
carried unchecked for decades in India. for it to be successful. Studies abroad
Some cities in India have adopted the have found that people tend to not
garbage segregation at source policy recycle when they lack the knowledge
wherein every household has to of what can be recycled. Most Indians
separate their daily waste into wet, are only sensitive to short term survival
biodegradable garbage and dry goals with a “chalta hai” attitude.
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EVERGREEN
Author: Anushree Chaterjee
“To ensure the ability of the Earth to

nurture life in all its diversity.” Thus
remains the goal of Greenpeace, an
organisation founded 40 years ago to
protect the earth and all its precious
natural resources. Evolving from anti-
nuclear protests in the 1970s,
Greenpeace has been tirelessly working
towards causes like preservation of
forests, oceanic concerns and global
warming, with a presence in 42
countries. With its global headquarters
in Amsterdam it has five million
supporters worldwide. Today, it is one of
the most largely recognised
environmental organisations in the
world, with offices across Asia, Europe,
the Americas and the Pacific.
Greenpeace India, interestingly, has

completed 10 very successful years of
lobbying for the environmental
grievances faced by the people, flora
and fauna here. With its global
endeavour of independently
campaigning to change attitudes and
behaviour towards the environment,
Greenpeace India started out in 2001
with a focus on four broad campaign
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strategies. These include the prevention only save almost 50 lakhs but also a which was to be forwarded to Prime
of another nuclear catastrophe, significant proportion of electric power Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh as an
stopping the radical climate change, and carbon dioxide – just by switching opposition to the civil nuclear liability
promotion of sustainable agriculture to compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). A bill. What backs such bold campaigns is
and preserving the oceanic similar activity was carried out in the fact that Greenpeace has
surroundings of the Indian Mumbai, a city threatened with maintained a stand to not accept
subcontinent. submergence if the global temperature donations and support from any
rise is not kept below two degrees corporations, government or political
As an organisation, Greenpeace is centigrade. A 66-feet 'life ring' with parties. This fiercely independent
known for its strong, committed inflatable life savers was made in front stance lends it considerable credibility
campaigns to attack problems at hand, of the Gateway of India, attracting and headway.
with substantial solutions that see the enough attention and creating
entire process of change through. The more thinkers. Another threat came around September
mission in every nation that the last year, when the biotech seed
organisation has been set up is to One of the biggest and longest running industry attempted to 'revolutionise'
identify key issues and challenges, environmental disasters, born out of a agriculture by introducing the
particular to that region. That said, its criminal negligence of human concern genetically modified (GM) brinjal into
campaigns seek to become catalysts is the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, at the Union the markets. While the common
for change and revolution, engaging the Carbide plant. Initiating an online consumer remained confused about
local public to realise the problem, want petition series, Stop Another Bhopal, this newcomer that might soon be on
a change and work towards achieving it. Greenpeace's anti-nuclear campaigners his plate, Greenpeace India's committee
Several campaigns organised by sent emails to their supporters and for Sustainable Agriculture saw it as a
Greenpeace all across India come to patrons, clearly highlighting the clear hazard to the country's agriculture,
mind. About three years ago, in its fight injustice being meted out over the food safety and environment. A
against global warming and climate decades to the victims of this tragedy. It delegation led by Rajesh Krishnan,
change in India, it launched a campaign called for a collective action not just for manager of this committee, met the
called Ban the Bulb, a demonstration these helpless people but also for the Parliamentary Standing Committee on
right in front of the famous Mysore nation at large. The petition stated, Agriculture and demanded a ban on GM
Palace. To phase out the situation of "India must hold a public consultation crops. It made a presentation using
inefficient lighting here, the Greenpeace before changing the liability rules for any credible evidence and research,
authorities zeroed in on one of the most nuclear accidents caused by U.S. outlining the threats of such crops. This
prominently lit up destinations in India. corporations." The power, clearly, was presentation was a key cog in the
The point was very well made, since this being sought in the hands of the machinery of large-scale public protest
palace uses over 96,000 incandescent common people, against the
light bulbs for its weekly illumination. oppression of foreign arbitration. More
Avoiding this light overdose could not than 1.8 lakh people signed the petition,
24
surrounding the introduction of GM but decided to overlook the issue. studying its ten-year-long sojourn in
vegetables. In the face of such Following this, Greenpeace launched India. In an attempt to rope in more
opposition, the government suspended the 'Turtle-versus-Tata' game – a Pacman youth support, it has begun 'talking coal'
the plan indefinitely. style game, launched to spread with social network icon, Facebook.
awareness of the Oliver Ridley's plight. While Facebook announced plans to
Before one assumes that Greenpeace's Rather embarrassed, the Tata Group power a massive data centre using
actions are all about petitions, had filed a lawsuit against Greenpeace, energy efficient computers, powered by
presentations and pleas, it's important claiming defamation and monetary huge amounts of coal, it probably didn't
to consider some more recent activities. damages. On January 28, 2011, the realise that coal is the biggest
Case in point here is the 'Turtle-versus- Delhi High Court denied the Tata's plea contributor to global warming. Egging it
Tata' game. The Tata Group's upcoming for an interim injunction, postponing the on to a greener infrastructure and
Dhamra port in Orissa is being made hearing to a later date. The Greenpeace i d e n t i t y, G r e e n p e a c e ' s 7 5 0 , 0 0 0
despite creating a violation of the Forest website states, “This case has set a members internationally (out of which
Conservation Act. On account of its legal precedent in India, as it is the first over 28,000 are from India) are
proximity to the Bhitarkanika National time that a giant corporation has sought beginning to 'Unfriend Coal' on their FB
Park and Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary, to use trademark infringement laws to pages. With a decade of sustained
the Dhamra port endangers the habitats muzzle criticism of its environmental actions for the preservation of the
and lives of rare species like the performance”. Sometimes, planet, it seems probable that Mr.
saltwater crocodiles and Oliver Ridley Greenpeace's game plans do get rather Zuckerberg shall sit up and take keen
sea turtles. Documents obtained by tongue-in-cheek, this proves. notice of this development.
Greenpeace under the Right to
Information Act have revealed that Sometimes a message, Greenpeace
Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh proves, needs to essentially be
had agreed that the port was in probable transmitted through several mediums.
violation of the Forest Conservation Act, This is a lesson to be learnt from
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On its official website, Greenpeace defines its mission as the following:

Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning organization that acts to change attitudes and
behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment and to promote peace by:
· Catalysing an energy revolution to address the number one threat facing our planet: climate change.
· Defending our oceans by challenging wasteful and destructive fishing, and creating a global
network of marine reserves.
· Protecting the world's remaining ancient forests which are depended on by many animals,
plants and people.
· Working for disarmament and peace by reducing dependence on finite resources and calling
for the elimination of all nuclear weapons.
· Creating a toxic free future with safer alternatives to hazardous chemicals in today's products
and manufacturing.
· Campaigning for sustainable agriculture by encouraging socially and ecologically
responsible farming practices.
26
THE WILD TRUTH

27
28
SWIMMING
TO SAFETY
Author: Pooja Bhulla
Imagine you are a victim of ship wreck

and are adrift in the middle of the ocean.
Praying to God for a miracle is a given;
probably even screaming out loud for
help is an option in the hope that the
wind and the waves will carry your voice
to the nearest vessel. But after ingesting
sizeable amounts of salt water, there are
chances you might also hallucinate
being rescued by very loving creatures,
dolphins. Unfortunately today it's these
gentle mammals that need to be
rescued from the death traps thrown by
fishermen in the Ganges as well as
human infiltration into their
natural habitat.
The journey, for Indian scientists and

conservationists trying to protect
Ganges River Dolphins, has been a long
and challenging one after the species
made it to the 'Endangered list of IUCN
(International Union for Conservation of
Nature)' in 1996, owing to the
continuous decline in their number.
Years of relentless efforts finally paid off
on 5th October 2009, when the Central
Government of India declared the
Ganges River Dolphin, the National
29
Aquatic Animal (NAA). Though on one about in the river. What had started off
hand, this move means great support in as childhood curiosity and fascination,
the form of funds, on the other, a whole became an integral part of his work in
range of issues directly impacting the the years to come. During his research
situation of the dolphins, need to be on the Hydrobiology of Ganga for his
addressed in order to make any real PHD in 1980, he noticed that the
difference. number of dolphins had decreased
drastically. He says “Fishermen were my
GANGES RIVER DOLPHINS first teachers and told me that dolphins
The scientific name for Ganges River often get entangled in gill nets and die
Dolphins is Platanista Gangetica and as they can't breathe in water”. After
they are found in Ganga, Bramhaputra John Anderson's paper was published in
and their tributaries. The locals have 1879, no Indian had published anything
named them 'Susu' because of the about Ganges dolphins for a century.
'Soos' sound dolphins make when they Prof. Sinha was the first one to get basic
breathe on the water's surface. Unlike estimates of the dolphin population in
most dolphins of the world that have 1991 under GAP (Ganga Action Plan).
sharp eye sight, Ganges River Dolphins His research also revealed that
are blind. They have a long snout which fishermen used dolphin oil as bait. Prof.
enables them to browse food through Sinha tested various alternatives for
mud (a commendable adaptation three years and found a solution in fish
because they live in muddy waters) and oil which proved to be equally effective.
have a very small dorsal fin. The In 1996 he was appointed Chairman of
shortcoming of their vision is mitigated the Asian River Dolphins Committee,
by their ability to use echo to locate, the same year in which the Ganges river
range and identify objects. Females give dolphins were declared endangered by
birth only to one calf in two to three IUCN. Prof. Sinha has continued
years. working on conservation of dolphins
and along with Dr. Sandeep Behera has
BEGINNING OF DOLPHIN been a driving force for getting it the
CONSERVATION IN INDIA status of NAA.
R. K. Sinha, Prof. of Zoology at Patna
University and Chairman of NGRBA
(National Gamga River Basin Authority)
recalls the first time he saw dolphins in
the Ganges, at the age of 10, frolicking
30
OTHER ORGANISATIONS INVOLVED, REGION CENTRIC PROBLEMS, AND ACHIEVEMENTS.
World Wildlife Fund – India (WWF)

WWF undertook Dolphin Conservation in 1996, after Dr. Sandeep Behera joined it. WWF formed a Dolphin Conservation Programme in 1997,
which united organisations and individuals working in this field, with the aim of avoiding duplication and sharing findings, to catalyse the
conservation process.
In 2002 WWF funded all agencies in the committee: Patna University, Bhagalpur University, Vikramshila Sanctuary, Wildlife Institute of India and
a few individuals to conduct a survey over the 6000-km stretch through which the Ganges flows. It covered seven states, Assam, Bihar,
Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, and regions were divided among the agencies, and surveyed. A total
population count of 1800-2000 was reported in the year 2005.
Problems:
WWF focuses on the state of Uttar Pradesh, mainly the upper Ganga region. During the survey, they were able to identify ideal habitats for
dolphins, reasons for their decline in the region, and attitude of the fishermen towards them. Pollution and creation of dams and barrages have
been the main culprits of habitat degradation, reducing the flow of the river and dividing dolphins into isolated pockets.
Work and Achievements
· The upper Ganga stretch, from Bijnor to Narora (165kms), was identified as an ideal habitat for Ganges dolphins and WWF was successful in
getting it converted to a Ramsar Site (reserved site where commercial activities are prohibited.)
· Awareness programmes were conducted in order to educate and sensitise fishermen and villagers towards the condition of the river and role of
dolphins in maintaining the biodiversity. Local youth were trained to spread the message through films, slide shows and lectures.
· Involving religious leaders in the process was very effective, stories about the dolphin's role in hailing the holy Ganga to Earth had a religious and
spiritual appeal to the locals.
· Most farmers here now use cow dung instead of chemical pesticides.
· An awareness campaign was organised specially for children, the future stakeholders, to educate them about Ganga's ecosystem and
importance of the dolphins in it.
The cooperation of fishermen and conservation efforts of WWF over the past 20 years, have led to an increase in the number (20 to 56) of
dolphins in the upper Ganga stretch.
WWF has currently collaborated with Tokyo University and IIT Delhi for creation of equipment for Acoustic Research. The equipment picks up
sound frequencies produced by dolphins and enables observers on land to view it in real time. This not only facilitates day and night observation
and quicker census survey, but helps in understanding the underwater behaviour of Ganges dolphins. Dr. Sandeep Behera says “The
hydrophones we use won't disturb the dolphins in anyway because they only receives signals”.
31
32
Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary

Though Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary located in the Bhagalpur district of Bihar, India, was established in 1991, till the year 2000 very
few people knew about it. The sanctuary, a 50 km stretch of the Ganges River from Sultanganj to Kahalgaon, is the only protected area for the
Ganges River Dolphins in Asia.
Problems:
The complexities of this region are cyclic in nature. The impoverished state of fishermen tempts them to exploit the river's resources, leading to
further decline in the fish population and ultimately greater impoverishment of fishermen. The fish population of this region drastically reduced
after the Farakka Barrage was built in 1972. Today, despite having three fertile floodplains Bihar has to import more than 60% of its fish from pond
culture farms in Andhra Pradesh.
Not long ago fishermen in Bihar not only fished for their own livelihood but also paid water lords Rs.700 – Rs.2000 p.a. under the Panidari system.
But decline in fish population made it impossible for fishermen to continue to do so. In 1982, they started the Ganga Mukti Andolan for
abolishment of this unjust system. Their victory after 10 years of struggle was short lived, because soon the mafia took over.
Earlier fishermen only competed amongst themselves for large fish (a rare sight today), but as they continue to shift to smaller and smaller fish,
dolphins have to compete with them for prey. This overlap also leads to accidentals death of dolphins that get entangled in fishing nets.
Work and Achievements:
·The sanctuary partnered with Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) for technical support and to create a campaign for conservation
of dolphins.
·Ganga Yatra on foot was organised to familiarise the locals with the friendliness of dolphins and to motivate them to refrain from killing the
mammal.
·Dolphins were projected as part of Ganga's heritage in an attempt to gain respect among fishermen.
·The sanctuary has created a network with fishermen who report poachers and offenders to them. Intentional killing in this region is almost
negligible, in fact now many fishermen cut off their fishing nets when they realise that dolphins are entangled.
Efforts of Dr. Sunil Choudhary and his team at the sanctuary have paid off and the number of dolphins has increased from 95 to 175 in the past
15yrs. But the good work done by the sanctuary is being washed over by misbehaviour of cops in the name of protecting the sanctuary. When
boats are ceased or fishermen are unnecessarily charged, fishermen lose their livelihood, creating anti - sanctuary sentiments. The current aim
of the Sanctuary is to promote the co-existence and growth for both, fishermen and aquatic life.
33
Aranayak
The Brahmaputra river system in north east India, particularly in Assam is one of the major habitats of the species. In fact due to fewer
anthropogenic activities there is more hope for conservation. Dr. Abdul Wakid of Aaranyak has been systematically working towards
conservation of Ganges dolphins in this region.
Problems:
In the NE entanglement of Dolphins is not accidental but intentional. During the high flood season, dolphins migrate to tributaries and return to
the main river when the water recedes. Fishermen take advantage of this pattern by blocking the mouth of tributaries with gill nets entangling
dolphins. These creatures are of high market value because of the use as bait and medicinal value of dolphin oil. The remoteness of killing areas
makes it difficult to take legal action against offenders. A large number of dolphins also died during the great earthquake in 1950 and building of
dams has led to further habitat degradation.
Work and Achievements:

· Aaranyak's Gangetic Dolphin Research & Conservation Programme (GDRCP) conducted its main population status survey in the Brahmaputra
Valley (Kulsi River, Subansiri River and Brahmaputra mainstream), in 2005, recording 250 dolphins.
· In 2006-07, the GDRCP conducted intensive study on the habitat ecology of the dolphins in Kulsi and Subansiri River and also organised
conservation training camps in Nimatighat (Jorhat district) and Jogighopa (Bongaigaon district). 70 youngsters from 10 different districts of
Eastern, Central and Western Assam were trained on basic ecology, biology, behaviour, threats to Ganges dolphins and techniques for
minimising the threat in the nearest dolphin habitats.
· A National level Dolphin Conservation Workshop in collaboration with the Department of Environment & Forest, Govt. of Assam was also
conducted in Guwahati in 2006. Participants included managers, biologists, conservationists and journalist from 15 different organisations.
· Another survey was conducted in 2008 by Dr. Abdul Wakid and Gill Braulik for IUCN, which recorded 264 dolphins. The credit goes to the
extensive, community-based conservation initiatives of GDRCP.
· The surveys also helped in identifying eight dolphin hot spots, ideal habitats for the species that should be conserved.
Halting Oil India Limited's seismic survey planned for Brahmaputra with the intent to drill for oil is one of Aaranyak's greatest achievements. A
multi-disciplinary advisory committee has been formed and the project can't commence till there is better clarity and proof that the methods and
equipments used will not be harmful.
34
GOVERNMENT EFFORTS is disappointed that fishermen's after thorough research of its impact on
AND IMPLICATION OF A interests have not been paid attention to nature and conservationists should be
SPECIES BECOMING and says, “No provisions have been consulted so that there is sustainable
AN EMBLEM made for the fishermen in any of the development.
action plans, they are not even
· The government has included benefitting from tourism yet as they
Gangetic River Dolphins in Schedule I haven't been made an integral part of it.
of Wild Life Act of 1972. This falsifies the very concept of eco
· It has declared Ganges River Dolphin tourism. Moreover, there is no clarity on
the National Aquatic Animal and rights of the fishermen. On one hand the
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh Wild Life Act prohibits the use of motor
during his recent trip to Patna boats in the sanctuary area and on the
confirmed that besides conservation other the Bihar court has passed a
of Ganges dolphins, Rs. 3000 crores judgement in favour of those who want
will be allotted to Mission Clean Ganga. to use it for tourism. This is harmful for
This will be implemented by the species and confusing for the
developing areas on the riverbanks and people. Better regulation is required.”
setting up sewage treatment plants. Nachiket Kelkar, a marine biologist who
has worked at the sanctuary believes
Though conservationists are hoping for that there will be a lot of pressure on the
the better, their opinions of the species now that it has been declared
government's efforts differ. Prof R.K NAA. He says “They are expected to
Sinha considers the NAA declaration respond in a certain way but we are not
and Mission Clean Ganga a positive sure if they will. I have more faith in the
move in the right direction. “There are adaptability of dolphins, which will play
problems, more changes are required a major role in their revival.”
but we have to do something.” Dr.
Sandeep Behera of WWF also The Dolphin Conservation Action Plan
welcomes these initiatives. He says does not mention a single solid
“We do not have the kind of capacity recommendation that can guarantee its
and funds that the government can success. But it has been historically
provide and organisations like WWF will proven that in a conflict between
be helping the State Forest Department conservation of nature and livelihood of
at every point, which is also mentioned people, the success rate is higher when
in the action plan, this will balance out people have alternatives to fall back on.
their inexperience.” Dr. Sunil Choudhary Any step to modernise should be taken
35
TO LET
To advertise here please contact
Chetna at adsales@bubblewrapped.asia
36
ENDANGERED
SPECIES
Author: Ridhnika Nepaul
Illustrations: Ahmed Sikander
Super Stripey!
These regal predators once ruled the planet. But today of the nine sub-
species, three have already gone extinct and the remaining six are either
endangered or critically endangered. The main reason for their decline is the
hunting and poaching activities carried out by the so called 'Brave' humans!
Today they are restricted to certain pockets of South and East Asia with India
being home to the world's largest population of tigers in the wild. One of the
most exotic sub-species is the white tiger. These are actually colour morphs
of any sub-species caused by a recessive gene. Unfortunately, these
gorgeous creatures have been wiped out from the wild and can only be
found in captivity across the world.
Brother Bear!
Say hello to the world's most beautiful non-vegetarian. Polar bears are the
largest carnivores living on land. They are also the largest of the bear species
and the most endangered one as well. There is rising fear that the Polar Bear
is going the Mammoth way. Sea ice provides these white-furred bears with a
home and their main food source, seals. But climatic changes are stealing
their habitat. The rising heat especially in summer when they are most active
causes the sea ice to melt faster making them have to swim farther to find a
suitable place and much longer to find food. In our daily lives these
boisterous creatures may be out of sight but that does not justify putting
their plight out of mind.
37
The Pacific Flippers!

The Pacific Walrus are facing the same fate as its predator, the Polar Bear.
These gentle giants of the Pacific Ocean will eventually have no place to rest,
procreate or nurse their young, all thanks to global warming. September 2010
witnessed the death of 200 of these flippered friends on the Shore of
Chukchi Sea on the northwest coast of Alaska. So it's not just the great white
bear that these creatures have to fear.
Happy Feet!
Happy Feet and his mates succeeded in getting humans on their side in the
fictional realm. But their counterparts in the real world haven't been that
lucky. The Magellanic Penguins are of South American origin and are native
to Strait of Magellan in the cool climate of southern Chile. Once upon a time,
these penguins were severely threatened by oil spills. But that's not what's
ailing them now. Let's just say they are having little trouble fishing. The
displacement of fish due to the warming of ocean currents has caused them
to swim an extra 25 miles for food. This means they must swim an extra 50
miles before they can feed their mates that are sitting on a nest and starving.
We have all heard tales about the sea washing up pearls on to its shore, but
how many stories include the washing up of penguins on to its shore?
38
Leatherback!
The Leatherback Sea Turtle is the fourth largest modern reptile. But that may
not be the case for long. Only 2300 adult females dot the oceans with their
'teardrop' shaped, bony shells. This makes the Pacific Leatherback the world's
most endangered marine turtle population. It is these turtles that control the
Jellyfish population as they subsist almost entirely on jellyfish. Imagine if the
leatherbacks weren't there then what would happen to the jellyfish
population. But theirs is a case of complete carelessness on the part of us,
human beings. Many of us have heard or read about the not disposing plastic
bags in rivers, seas or oceans. Well the fact is these plastic bags have
resulted in the endangerment of these leatherback turtles as they mistake
the floating bags for jellyfish. Global warming is obviously another cause. In
the case of turtles the temperature decides whether the turtle is a boy or a
girl and the rising temperatures are warming the nests leading to a decrease
in the number of male turtles. Here is a case of male foeticide!
39
VOICE FOR
THE VOICELESS
Author: Giresh Nair
Photography: SPCA, Thane
http://www.thanespca.org
Office: +91 93 2227 1966 Hospital: +91 22 3261 2344)
In the last couple of months, while we

were going about our daily lives, a
couple of elephants lost their lives in TN
and Kerala, supposedly due to ill
treatment or lack of any treatment at all;
a few puppies were drowned by
security guards of a residential colony in
Mutilated Cat- She was burned by someone whose kitchen she had entered. Neighbors got her
to the hospital. Released sucessfully. Chennai; dogs were beheaded and sold
as meat in Kerala. While you are reading
this, thousands of chickens, goats,
bulls, pigs are being mercilessly
slaughtered for our consumption, dogs
are run over by speeding cars, elephants
are beaten and abused by mahouts and
elephant calves are beaten to death in
Assam, newborn kittens and puppies
are being abandoned at places that are
miles away from where they rightfully
belong and numerous other animals and
birds are undergoing torture and pain at
the hands of mankind, without any
provocation whatsoever, from their end.
Thanks to social networking sites, we

are aware of such atrocities and are able
From an animal testing lab-these rabbits spend their whole lives in these single hutches lonely to participate in forums and interact with
and no space to move.
like minded animal lovers / rights
40
activists. Barely an hour ago, I stumbled

upon a rant by a friend on Facebook. She
Here are some of the many punishable offences as per the “Prevention of Cruelty to Animas Act,
was apparently upset after having
1960” that I have borrowed from literature provided by a few animal welfare
noticed the sorry state of affairs at a
organisations / activists:
meat-stall. A young goat, she says, was
found innocently staring at the hanging
Offences under Section 11:
carcass of an older goat that was
1.Beating, kicking, overriding, torturing or causing any animal pain or suffering by the owner or any
slaughtered just some time back, barely
other person (tanga-wallas and cart-owners). Using any animal for work when it is wounded or
aware that its fate is going to be no
unfit.
different from that.
2.Overloading (there are specifications of numbers and weight that vary according to the animal
and the vehicle).
As much as we get agitated, it would
3.Carrying or transporting animals in such a manner that it causes suffering. Carrying of chickens
only be prudent that we become more
upside down on cycles, carrying of goats, pigs, cattle with their legs tied in small vehicles.
aware of the legal aspects of animal
4.Failing to provide pet animals with sufficient food, water or shelter. Abandoning an animal when
rights and animal welfare in India.
old or diseased, keeping it on a short leash and insufficient exercise. Pet owners are covered
Although killing of animals for food is
under this Act.
(unfortunately) legally allowed in our
5.Mutilating an animal.
country, there are several specifications
6.Organising or offering an area for animal fights or baiting of animals (Cock or ram fighting, snake
that need to be followed when it comes
and mongoose fights).
to their treatment and accommodation
Penalty: All these offences are punishable with a fine or with imprisonment for a term, which may
till the moment they are 'relieved' from
extend to three months or with both.
man-made torture in the name of
food consumption.
Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 Under Section 38 (J):
Offence: Teasing, injuring or causing disturbance in the zoo.
Penalty: The offender shall be punishable with imprisonment for six months or with fine, which
may extend to Two Thousand Rupees or with both.
The Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860 is a powerful tool that can be used to protect animal rights.
Under Section 428, 429:
Offence: Mischief of killing or maiming of an animal of any value above ten rupees this includes
bulls, oxen, horses, mules, camels etc.
Penalty: The offender shall be punishable with imprisonment, which may extend to two / five years
Lion in a circus inside this ridiculous small cage. He or with a fine or with both.
could not even stand up. All animals were later
relscued by us and sent to sanctuary
41
Well this is only a tip of the iceberg. The More than a reluctant police force that
more we read through the more aware doesn't seem to take animal cases
we become. Being aware of these legal seriously, what defeats our very concern
aspects will empower the animal lovers for animals is our reluctance to take time
and animal welfare activists. While out and speak up. Animals are voiceless
many of us empathise with our animal and there's no way they deserve such
friends, most of us tend to turn a blind pain and suffering just because they are
eye instead of stopping by and lending a unable to speak for themselves.
Hit and run case
helping hand or standing up for their
rights. As I see it, the reason why most The most common grievance amongst
of us shy away from taking the initiative animal lovers is that the police fail to
is 'consequence'. take their cases seriously. Here's what
you can do if your FIR (First Information
We are worried about the consequence: Report) is not registered:
“What if the cops ridicule me!”, “Will
this require me to visit the courts or the · You can meet the Superintendent of
police station frequently?” Police or other higher officers like
Deputy Inspector General of Police or Battered by some drug addicts
Well, if you truly care for them, I ask, Inspector General of Police and bring
'Why not face ridicule with pride and your complaint to their notice.
why not take time out for such a noble
cause?' If not us, then who do you think
will stand up for the animals?
Horse abandoned after being hit by truck. Died in

hospital with broken spine
Parakeets seized from Bombay Central station. 135 of them were stuffed in these 2 cages, only 23 of them were alive Attacked in fight between shopkeepers
42
· You can send your complaint in writing As I conclude, I wish to share with you two most recent success stories.
and by post to the Superintendent of
Po l i c e concerned. If the 1. Maker of Lipton and Brooke Bond Tea Brands Ends Cruel Animal Tests:
Superintendent of Police is satisfied PETA announced: “… after more than 40,000 supporters of PETA and its affiliates around
with your complaint, he/she shall the world sent e-mails to the world's largest tea maker, Unilever (and its Indian subsidiary
either investigate the case Hindustan Unilever Ltd), urging the company to stop testing tea on animals, Unilever
himself/herself or order an agreed to halt all such tests. Unilever sells Lipton and Brooke Bond brand teas through
investigation to be made. Hindustan Unilever in India. In a message just posted on its website, the company states,
'Unilever is committing to no animal testing for our tea and tea-based beverages,
· You can file a private complaint before with immediate effect'.”
the court having jurisdiction.
2. We will not kill strays' - More than 600 citizens force the animal husbandry department
Having said that, at the initial stage, to clarify its suggestion of culling stray dogs:
while filing an FIR at the local police On 12th January 2011, it was reported that an 18 month-old baby was found dead in
station, it is advisable to file it in writing, Bagalur near Bengaluru. As most fingers pointed to the stray dogs in the neighbourhood,
retaining a copy, duly stamped the BBMP officials came out with several options to control the situation and that included
(acknowledgement of receipt) by the 'culling of 50% of the stray dogs in the area. However, upon receiving over 600 online
police authorities. petitions in protest from animal lovers, the BBMP has clarified that the dogs will
not be killed.
Immaterial of how powerful the law of
the land may be, the success or failure Speak up, Stand up for our voiceless friends. Spread the love.
of any such campaign for the protection
of animal rights will largely depend on
the conviction of the people driving Above and Beyond the Call of Dogs (ABCD) is a group that is managed by Giresh with the
such causes. While there are several help of a few like-minded friends. ABCD has more of an online presence in order to provide
lacunae in the implementation of the information to on dogs (Indian dogs in particular) that are available for adoption and assists
law, being cautious and strategic will animal lovers in the process of fostering and adopting dogs (cats too) that are orphaned,
help us go a long way in protecting the abandoned or hurt. ABCD is striving at educating and sensitizing society at large on the
rights of our voiceless friends.As I need to care for our stray dogs and is campaigning for the adoption of the Indian dog as
conclude, I wish to share with you two against supporting the insensitive pet-trade.
most recent success stories.

Follow ABCD on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-B-C-D/126626004060979
Follow ABCD on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/Dogs_Inc
43
B+
44
45
CLEANING UP
CITIES
India's big cities are trying to expand
their borders by developing areas on
their outskirts. But they only seem to be
shrinking with the number of people
migrating to them every day. One major
concern for most residents is
cleanliness. However, these are the
same people who walk past heaps of
garbage or overflowing drains with a
'what can we do?' look on their faces.
We can complain, we can express
disgust, we can crib. But we can't get
our hands dirty and clean up our own
surroundings; we can't change our
habits to ensure a cleaner environment.
While a majority of us continue ignore
this problem, a few individuals and
organisations have taken up the cause
with determination and enthusiasm for
a cleaner future. Four of our writers do
the rounds of their respective cities to
see the change and we at Bubble
Wrapped would like to congratulate and
salute them for their efforts.
46
WILL TO
CHANGE MUMBAI
Author: Chitra Kalyani
Social change begins when a single would replicate the conditions of “green ups” in the area, the group also
person commits to a shared need. At Versova beach, another one of documented areas designated as public
least, such has been the case with Mumbai's suburban beaches which has spaces. If an area is reserved to be built
Hansel D'Souza, who founded one of been ruined by residents and squatters as a park or a playground, then the
the founders of the Juhu Citizen's over time. group also collects private funds to try
Welfare Group in 2000, starting with the and ensure that it is used for the
desire to rid Juhu, a popular suburb of First, Hansel and others approached the intended purpose. Besides activism,
Mumbai of garbage. “I was sick of living Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) the Juhu group also engages people
in a dirty city,” says Hansel adding that with a model to eradicate garbage through cultural festivals, such as the
he was “miserable” to see the city of his dumps in Juhu. The group requested annual Juhu Hamara Fest where
birth not living up to its potential. the BMC to provide pick-up trucks classical music is served alongside
Mumbai has sufficient funds, he said, to instead of allowing garbage to community-oriented seminars.
line its pavements with gold. It also does aggregate. When the BMC agreed to
not take an expert to improve one's arrange for vans on the condition that Following the success in dealing with
environment, as exemplified by him, a the garbage would be separated, the the garbage problem, the citizens felt
professor of management, and a brand group went back to citizens informing empowered to take on other regional
consultant by profession. All it takes is and educating them on garbage issues. Cleaning 2.5 lakh sq. ft of beach
“people with the will to change.” separation. “Now, Juhu Chowpatty is land, six parks have also been built on
Cleaning Juhu was a shared need. “Tens one of the cleanest stretches of sand,” the greener parts. Another park is due to
of thousands of people congregate at says Hansel, “and the Juhu garbage- be inaugurated in February. The Juhu
Juhu for fresh air every day,” says collection model is supported and airport project, which would have
Hansel. Unsanitary conditions and adopted by BMC in other parts concretised part of the beach, was
garbage as well as hawkers, stalls, and of Mumbai.” stalled and scrapped through the
slums made for both an eyesore and a group's petitions.
health hazard at the beach. Allowed to The group is not only concerned with
continue, Hansel foresaw that Juhu too the proper disposal of garbage, it also In order to bypass bureaucratic
implements projects ensuring the procedures, and almost organically out
garbage is composted and recycled. of a process of self-government, the
Besides organising “clean ups” and Juhu group elected a member Adolf
47
D'Souza as citizen corporator. Thus, “It has been a long haul, and a steep
starting with a model for garbage climb, and sometimes it seems
removal, the organisation has now impossible,” he admits. Next up on the
produced a model for governance list of projects where the Juhu group
based on Urban Panchayati Raj. Local wants to intervene is the extension of
bimonthly meetings are held to solve Bandra-Worli sea link to Khar. The
area problems, providing effective project would mean running a coastal
governance. Three factors are needed road through Juhu beach. Yet while
to bring about change says Hansel, facing its challenges and by the time
“ Pa r t i c i p a t i o n o f t h e p e o p l e , this issue of Bubble Wrapped goes live,
accountability of leaders and Juhu Citizen's Welfare Group will
transparency of procedure. There is no celebrate its successes, inaugurating a
dearth of intelligent leaders, but few are park on 12th February and also
willing to rock the boat.” celebrate Juhu Hamara Fest, 12th, 13th,
19th and 20th February.
Although successful in many of its
campaigns, Hansel notes that the
“victories have come at a huge cost.”
On a more personal note, and despite
the aforementioned successes, he
admits to feeling like a Don Quixote
deluded into chasing shadows. The
failure of some projects disheartens
him. A recent case involved protesting
against cutting a city forest. Of the 1,300
tress, around 1,000 have been hacked
down to build a private club “in active
collaboration with the BMC.” Many
battles need to be fought in court, and
despite pro-bono aid from lawyers,
costs run as high as 10 lakhs per case.
“Members are also not protected from
harassment,” says Hansel who has had
an FIR report filed against him.
48
CHALO
DELHI!
Author: Karanjeet Kaur
The Capital of the world's largest during the run up to the Commonwealth support – help comes in the form of
economy with the fabled 8% growth Games, Let's Do It Delhi (LDID) manpower as well as logistical
rate is like one of those nightmarish organised a massive clean-up drive, but assistance such as waste collection
video game monsters intent upon Anita clarifies that the association did bags and gloves for volunteers. The
consuming everything within its line of not take birth because of the CWG, as so Bhikaiji Cama Place clean-up, for
vision. In these cultures (and video many others did, in a bid to instance, was divided into different
games) the by-products of that grab headlines. areas and each area was shared by two
consumption often remain ignored – corporates. “We are always happy to let
and the dearth of cleanliness is only one Anita moved from California seven years them use their own banners and never
of them. That problem plagues almost ago, where she was heading PayPal's insist that they use ours – the purpose is
every strategic city in the world, but the data warehousing division. She says to just clean,” explains Anita. One of the
scale and magnitude that it hits in Delhi she was struck by the fact people here companies involved was the Radisson
and Mumbai is mind-boggling. Yet, it complained all the time about the dirt group of hotels, who brought their own
acts as a clarion call for a few and ugliness, but refused to do anything power cleaners. Meanwhile, KPMG
responsible citizens and organisations constructive about it. “LDID has no gave the organisation one person to
that decide to go out of their way and formal structure. But our motto is work with them full time.
rectify these problems, instead of 'Blame no one, inspire everyone',” says
simply turning up their noses in disgust Anita. Their first drive was undertaken at Now, Bhargava keeps busy adopting
at the sight of a garbage heap, much like the Rose Garden near IIT, with 100 areas with low-income residents and
the rest of us. people – a site Anita used to frequent for working with the RWAs or other
running. The volunteers gathered close associations, such as Mahila Mandal
One such person is Anita Bhargava, who to three tonnes of garbage in just two and the local youth club, at keeping the
founded and runs the collective Let's Do hours, from a seemingly clean park. “I areas clean. She also encourages
It Delhi (www.letsdoitdelhi.org). The initially wondered whether people schools to take up cleanliness drives
organisation, only a little more than a would turn up or enjoy their duty. But close to their locations. Her prime
year old, has organised 125 clean-up everyone had fun,” she says sanguinely. motivation however, is to ensure that
drives all over the city, where the All of LDID's drives, including the rather people do not get desensitised to the
number of volunteers could be anything famous one for Bhikaji Cama Place, filth around them. “When I first moved
between 200 and 2,000. Last year, have been organised with corporate back from California, I could feel the
49
grime on my fingertips whenever I used community to create garbage-free

the computer – now I no longer feel it. It zones. RWAs or individuals can contact
is so easy to shut yourself to the NGO, and they send a research team
something,” she says. But thanks to to study the area. Rag pickers and other
initiatives like LDID, that won't be under-privileged youngsters are
happening anytime soon. enlisted to collect and segregate the
garbage for a nominal fee.
If Anita's winning formula includes Biodegradable waste is composted in a
working with corporates, Dr Iqbal patch of land within the colony, while
Malik's method involves staying away recyclable materials are discharged of
from them. The founder and director of appropriately.
Vatavaran (www.vatavaran.org), an
NGO that sets up cleaning brigades in So far, Vatavaran has “converted
several areas of the Capital (among Jawaharlal Nehru University into zero
other initiatives) recalls that the one garbage area” and has supervised
time the organisation tried associating waste management schemes at the
with a company, they realised that the Asian Games Village, Vasant Kunj,
company was only interested in getting Mahipalpur Complex and Sector 15A
their photographs clicked. Noida, among others. Apart from that,
Vatavaran also follows a pay-it-forward
Even so, Vatavaran, one of the oldest model by training NGOs and
and most consistent volunteer-driven educational institutions in managing
organisations in a city that sprouts a their waste.
new NGO every other day, has done
fairly well without any outside support.
It has been the recipient of the 'Best
Practices Award' by the United Nations
Cell on Human Settlements (UNCHS)
twice – in 2000 as well as 2006. Their
website describes their model of a 'Zero
Garbage Area' as a “decentralised,
employment generating, low
investment, resident friendly, labour
intensive” initiative “without any heavy
equipments or land fill sites”. The
organisation attempts to involve the
50
ON BEHALF OF
BENGALURU’S STREET
Author: Deepa Bhasti
You almost can never walk a certain peek into their interactive website generally considering a rather up-
distance on a street in Bangalore (or any (www.theuglyindian.com) and they tell market area. Go see the website for the
other Indian city for that matter) without you that they are a group of ugly Indians before and after pictures. It was ''a
skirting around trash, wrinkling your who feel strongly about the state of filth combination of espionage, persuasion,
nose at the stench of drying urine or in the cities. emotional blackmail and leading by
being disgusted at the sheer magnitude Cynics are not welcome, they warn you. example. And of course, dogged
of filth on the sides of the streets. What The group, spread across professions, persistence.'' That was all it took to
do most of us do? “We are like this only.” age groups and other demographics, change habits and instill a sense of civic
That one statement that almost defines identify a problem spot and descend on responsibility in businesses and
Indian attitude towards civic the area one fine morning to clean it up, individuals on Church Street.
responsibilities was what The Ugly paint the walls, remove the trash and The Group of people who start work on a
Indian started with. beautify it. If the problem persists, as it problem area do not sit around asking
The Ugly Indian is anonymous and takes sometimes does, they come back again each other's names or professions.
pains to remain so. He or she is one of and do the whole thing. Again. That is There are no tall speeches, no
us, or all of us. We are ugly for using the what happened on Church Street in pamphlets, and no advocacy of any
cute excuse of “we are like this only” Bangalore, one of their first projects. sorts. They arrive at a place, stop talking
and trying to shrink away from it. A Considering it is parallel to the famous and do the work. That is the essence of
group of young people decided one fine M G Road, you would expect it to be The Ugly Indian. There are cheap pots
day to not give that excuse anymore and clean, if not spic-and-span clean. But that are installed to lend a plain street an
thus started The Ugly Indian movement. what The Ugly Indian found was a street aesthetic appeal. A section of the
The group is not available for comment. with pan-stained walls, trash left to spill footpath that was popular for public
But in one mail they insist that they are out into the streets and open drains. urination was transformed and large
not an NGO and are keen not to be They write the Church Street story on blue footprints were painted on. For the
perceived as one. They claim that their their website, about how a few of them smokers, they designed a simple
approach is different from the 'archaic started cleaning up and soon, curious cigarette bin and installed it in cafes and
division of society and civic initiatives onlookers joined in to give them a hand. other youth hang outs.
into government and non-government Now Church Street has some fine The Ugly Indian does not believe in
organisations' and say that they are all restaurants, fashionable people talking or wasting time finding people to
about anonymity and secrecy. Take a strutting up and down its length and is blame for the state of Indian streets.
51
They get down on their haunches and

get their hands dirty to change habits.
There are skeptics who stop by to say
that what they are doing will not work.
But The Ugly Indian has proved them all
wrong. It does work. When you persist,
as they like to say, 'The Ugly Indian is not
that ugly after all.'
52
PICKING UP
AFTER CHENNAI
Author: Deepa Bhasti
I remember when Chennai was the they wanted to create this city as the to use their creativity to innovate and
black and white city called Madras, the first place to use eco friendly products invent various ways to work for the
pollution and dirt that infested this city and introduced eco friendly pens and nation and nature. H2O Exnora focuses
was larger than what it is today. pencils. on creating awareness among the
Traditional old dusty buildings are still a A buzz among people and three small public about water consumption, its
part of Chennai but that's where we ways that helped this city transform into quality and protection. Exnora's
came from. Today Chennai is ranked the a cleaner place were: objectives are to:
second cleanest city (with 118 points) in
over 18 state capitals and this has taken 1.Stop throwing garbage at streets; a) Generate ideas for building a better
a lot of hard work not by the government 2.Pick whatever garbage and find a bin living environment;
alone but also by the motivation and to throw it in; and b) Create civic and environmental
determination of its people who have 3.If you find someone dirtying the place, awareness among its citizens; and
learned to love their city and make it a go up to them and tell them otherwise. c) Help provide a service to public to
cleaner and greener place to live in. turn the 'excellent Novel Radical'
Exnora International (NGO) stands for ideas into practice.
Our government has taken measures to 'Excellent, Novel, Radical' and is a
reduce pollution and has placed the voluntary, non-governmental, non- Exnora began to develop a strategy and
heavy industries in places outside the political, non-profit, 'global head action plan in 1989 for Chennai to
city limits. It has improved forestation, in environmental service organisation' that ensure garbage was not dumped all
2010 the city experienced a proud has played a very important role in over the streets and 'Yes' they
moment when many colleges and their making this city a cleaner place. Some successfully made the change. Marina
students started a movement called of the events at Exnora are – voluntary beach, the world's second longest
' Va n a m o h o t s a v a ' a p r o c e s s o f sacrifice to save the planet from being beach had a beautification project. Five
forestation and planted trees in their sacrificed, 106 families were gifted with reverse osmosis plants capable of
campus and around the city in selected light as a part of Exnora's mission to light providing 30,000 litres of drinking water
areas. June 5th is World Environment one million homes with solar lamps, an hour, free of cost for its visitors. The
Day and every year over 350 students Women Exnora is of the women for the project was proposed in 2007 and is still
participate in the rallies held in Chennai women, 7th Sense Society is a teaching on-going. The future holds waterways
to promote a clean and green Chennai, program that educates people on how cleaning and restoration projects that
53
have already begun. The Cooum,

Chennai's most polluted river is being
cleaned as well. It's great news for the
city's people that the government has
finally decided to flush the river clean
using seawater.
Another noteworthy project is the

'Semmozhi Poonga' a botanical garden
spread over 20 acres in the heart of the
city. The garden holds more than 500
species of plants and 80 trees that are
over a 100 years old. Small gardens and
parks are also being built to help in and
around the city to help restore the lost
trees. This is our city and if every person
who walks through this place holds in
their mind that 'it's mine' then there
would only be growth towards
achieving a cleaner and greener
surrounding.
54
TO LET
55
A PICTURE
OF INDIA
Author: Karanjeet Kaur
Aham Bhumika's vision statement

consists of three simple lines – “No one
should die due to lack of proper
clothing. No one should sleep on an
empty stomach. The importance of
education should be spread far and
wide.” Anyone who keeps their eyes
and ears open, however, will realise just
how complex and challenging achieving
these objectives really is. Yet, the two-
year old, Bhopal-based NGO soldiers on
and their latest initiative is a
photography exhibition that draws two-
pronged attention to rural women.
Founded in 2007 by Subrat Goswami

and a few friends, Aham Bhumika
(www.ahambhumika.org) operates in a
few villages on the outskirts of Bhopal.
The NGO provides clothes and toys to
the needy in the village. One of their
main programmes is named Grain
School, aimed at making women,
mostly employed as stone crushers and
daily wage labourers in brick kilns,
literate. The women are taught basic
Hindi, but with the acknowledgement
that there has to be an incentive for
them to attend classes. The
56
either through CD or by emailing the file.

All the details are available on the
website.
The photographs will initially be

displayed on the website, in an e-gallery.
Dependent on whether the organisation
can find a sponsor, they will consider a
physical exhibition as well. The
proceeds from the exhibition will be
utilised to fund the Grain School. “We
need at least `12,000 per month to
smoothly run the Grain School. In fact,
the objective of the exhibition is to
create awareness of the programme
among the people of Bhopal, and elicit
organisation then, provides them with a further support from them,” says
little bit of grain at the end of the day. Subrat. He says he chose a photography
According to Subrat, whose day job is exhibition to meet this objective
with the Archaeological Survey of India, because “it is one of the strongest
the women no longer put down their mediums to influence and impress”.
thumb impressions at the ration shop,
instead they use their signature. The exhibition is being put together with
the help of Rahul Nayak, an electrical
The photography exhibition has three engineer working for IBM
themes – the first attempts to showcase Microelectronics, with a passion for
rural areas as 'India Shining' with photography. Rahul believes that the
examples of child nutrition, education exhibition will not only benefit the
and empowerment for women as well organisation, it will also provide an
as employment, health and sanitation. appropriate platform to amateur
The other one will be diametrically photographers to showcase their talent.
opposite, with instances of malnutrition So far, the exhibition has received 30
and Illiteracy, child labour and lack of entries from amateur as well as semi-
infrastructure among others. The last professional photographers, and are
one is the beauty of the countryside. expecting more in the coming few days.
Photographers can send in their entries The exhibition goes underway on
with the dimensions 1800 x 2700 pixel, February 18.
57
FIELDING FOR
CHILD RIGHTS
Author: Chetna
“We try to create platforms which are sustainable as

well as fun to participate in and using sports as a
social development tool,” says Pavan SK, CEO,
Project Crayons.
The recently organised Gully Cricket

tournament is a testament to their
motto and efforts with all resources that
were raised, being directed towards
building the Devikaben Charitable
Hospital Research Centre for Homeless
and the Young Women's Welfare
Centre, which would be set up at
58
Malwani, Malad. Project Crayons is a 12

year old NGO working to empower
marginalised communities through
Health, Education and Rights. The event
saw teams comprising of less privileged
children from the Ambujwadi, Malwani
and Mankhurd communities, and
corporate executives making a run or
shall we say few runs for the charitable
cause over a period of three weeks.
The grand finale was witnessed by an

enthusiastic crowd of 55,000 people at
the D.Y. Patil stadium on January 29th
making it a roaring success. The final
match was played between the Junior
Friends Cricket Club (JFCC) from the
Ambujwadi Community and a team
made up of corporate of RMP Infotec
Pvt. Ltd. Aftab Shivdasani played for the
JFCC, who won the match by 4 wickets.
Bollywood actors, local community-
based schools and corporate
executives cheered at every six and four
hit while screaming at every catch, to
create an atmosphere electric enough
for people to confuse it for a one-day
international match. As for the Project
Crayons team, their belief that long-term
improvements and change can only be
sustained if children and youth are
'development actors' – they participate,
voice their opinions, are heard and are
taken seriously – motivates them to
create innovative models through which
they can advocate and sensitise people
to child rights and human rights.
59
TO LET
60
THE CORPORATE P
61
PITCH
62 12
PAY BACK
WITH INTEREST
Author: Elle Reynolds
This is not the first time an international

athlete like Cathy Freeman, Olympic
champion for 400m in the 2000 Sydney
games, travelled across the world to run
through the streets of Mumbai. Hard to
believe? Well hardly. Various members
of the media present can easily verify
this fact by dipping into their
photographs of the recently conducted
8th edition of the Standard Chartered
Mumbai Marathon 2011 at which
Freeman along with Bollywood actor
John Abraham was an
event ambassador.
The concept of giving back to society is

not novel to the 21st century. What is
refreshing though, is that now, it isn’t
the sole responsibility of a small
segment of society who is willing to
stand up for a cause. Gucci clad
businessmen and track suit attired
celebrities have replaced the idealised
khadi clad notion of the community
service workforce. Large corporate
houses are now taking as much
responsibility for their role in society as
social workers and human
rights activists.
63
Among these is international financial Those who didn’t train or participate in

This engagement goes well beyond the
institution Standard Chartered Bank. the event like Tina Ambani and Deepika
borders of metropolitan Mumbai. Aside
Over the past year alone, the bank has Padukone showed up to cheer
from the marathon, the company
won a number of accolades such as the participants on and draw some
initiates and supports a number of other
ET Great Place to Work CSR Excellence attention to some of their own causes.
programmes like Seeing is Believing
Award and the Financial Times Arcellor The attitude of people who participate
(SiB), Living with HIV (LwH), Goal and
Mittal Boldness in Business Award 2010 and the companies that initiate these
Access to Financial Services.
to name a few. “The marathon was a events have seen a dramatic overhaul
great platform to generate funds and over the past few decades. People now
It also encourages eco-friendly
increase awareness. In fact, the think of it as their contribution to a
programmes and provides all staff with
Mumbai marathon is India’s single worthy cause and if you gain a little
two days of paid leave apart from annual
largest fund raising platform with Rs 43 publicity in the process, that’s always an
leave to volunteer for causes that are
crores raised for charity in the first seven added perk. Maharashtra State Public
important to them. This has proved to
editions alone,” said Sreeram Iyer, Works Department Minister, Chhagan
be a positive step with staff totals for
Regional Chief Operating Officer - India Bhujbal flagged off this year’s Dream
volunteering totalling close to 8,000
& South Asia, Standard Run which included celebrity
days last year. Local teams have
Chartered Bank. participation from the likes of Indian film
conducted clinics for the visually
actresses Neha Dhupia and Mini
challenged, built schools in rural areas,
The scale, reach and infrastructure Mathur, members of the media like
set up water taps in areas facing water
would raise a few eyebrows in days Shobha De and business heads like Anil
shortages, recorded audio books for the
gone by. Now, it would hardly surprise Ambani and Anand Mahindra. Close to
blind and educated underprivileged girls
you to learn that participation for the 179 NGO’s and over 100 corporate
about financial matters to name a few.
marathon included over 1,00,000 houses participated in the event to raise
“We have a unique opportunity to reach
registrations with close to 38,500 funds for various causes.
out to people, in spite of a busy work
people actually running in the various
day. We use the extra days of leave to
categories, 1,800 senior citizens and A big question that looms over such a
volunteer the Premdan School in
even 300 wheelchair participants. With large event is what next? How is the
Colaba,” said Nileema Sequeira, Asst.
prize money of $325,000 and the added next one going to be bigger and better?
Manager – Pa y m e n t s , Cash
attraction of possibly running alongside Standard Chartered sponsors
Management Services, India. The
your favourite celebrity, few could resist marathons in key cities across the
school works towards nutrition and
the lure. Training for the event began globe. Said Sreeram, “For us, the
education of underprivileged children. A
months in advance and many Mumbai Marathon is just a small start in
group of close to 200 employees come
enthusiasts were often spotted our larger efforts to engage the broader
together to draw up a schedule to
stretching and jogging at popular parks community in active social service.”
ensure at least one member goes to the
and gyms around the city.
school for a few hours every day to work
with underprivileged children.
64
65
Facilitating employee volunteering is women and children weren’t walking of sending their children to school. They
the intranet helper ‘iVolunteer’, which miles to collect water. They now had even reached out to one of the existing
allows all staff to post interesting time to spare and could send their schools in the area. What they found
volunteering opportunities and invite children to school,” said Saurabh was that attendance in schools was
participation from other colleagues. It Kumar, Associate, Financial Markets, dismal as children needed to walk over
helps them share experiences and ideas Standard Chartered Bank, India who is three kilometres through hilly terrain to
across countries, and open up many part of the team spearheading the get to school. A school bus was recently
more ideas. The bank also tries to programme. The bank has tied up with organised at the cost of Rs 25,000 per
provide skill based volunteering the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Trust from the month and while attendance is still not
opportunities where staff can share area to re-build a dilapidated primary 100%, it has doubled since the
their knowledge and expertise with school and start a tutorial centre in service started.
others. This allows NGOs to add value to the area.
their programs without dipping into “As an individual, it gives you an
funds which may be utilised elsewhere. Phase one involved, supplementing and immense sense of satisfaction to solve
improving the infrastructure with inputs problems and enable an entire
Two of the bank’s key staff projects from the Government appointed community. Educating children is a long
include, the Financial Markets Burjwadi teachers. The curriculum was modified term plan, but it is also one that is most
Literacy Initiative and the Group to include subjects like Computer likely to be successful,” said Saurabh. “If
Technology and Operations’ Eye Science, English, Mathematics and a model is successful, it can be
Sight Camps. Science and additional teaching staff. A replicated in other areas and nothing is a
typical school day will begin with up to better motivator for me than the hope of
BURJEWADI LITERACY an hour of the specialised subjects improving the face of rural India.” The
INITIATIVE followed by the rest of the school’s team that visits the area almost every
A day’s wage and the willingness to curriculum. The bank has donated two week has seen tangible change in a
reach out is all it took for the Financial computers to the school and through an relatively short period. Enrolment at the
Markets (FM) team to start change in internal collection has also provided school is at an all time high and daily
Karjat, 90kms or an hour and a half sporting equipment for the children to attendance has improved. The
from Mumbai. Almost 100 employees use in their free time. programme puts together kits with
willingly offered a day’s wage to raise necessary school supplies, which are
the Rs 10 lakh necessary to kick start “But getting the community involved given to each student at the beginning
the project. Led by a five member proved to be the biggest challenge of all, of the academic year. But there is more
team, the project was undertaken as people did not feel like they had a to a community than its children.
because they heard about the area personal stake in the project,” added There is a large population of youth who
through another NGO that set up Saurabh. The team conducted a mini are illiterate and mostly farm for some
water supply facilities in the area. “This census in the area, visited every home, part of the year and are employed as
was an opportune moment, now that and spoke to parents about the benefits daily wage labourers for the remaining
66
months. In the course of the team’s services for millions more in multiple Tr a n s p o r t ( S T ) b u s s t a n d . I n
interaction with the youth, they cities across the country. The bank collaboration with a hospital nearby, the
expressed the need for vocational launched the Kolkata Urban centre provides the necessary eye care
training. The FC team approached one Comprehensive Eye care Project in facilities. Since its inception, almost 400
of the driving schools in the area, October 2010 under SiB and hopes to people have visited the clinic. The
explained the situation. 3 of the 10 raise close to USD one million for the centre will provide eye care services in
young men who wanted to learn to drive project by 2015. the area and will be funded largely by
now have licences and are employed as employee contributions for three years
drivers. Few have even applied to the The Group Technology & Operations’ from May 2010 to April 2013.
BEST to be employed as drivers. “I am (GTO) team is one of the bank’s largest,
inspired by the fact that the bank’s youngest and most energetic teams Goal is a community investment
brand values are in sync with the kind of who have conducted several initiative that works towards
projects we undertake. It makes me volunteering sessions for SiB. After empowering young women. The
proud to be part of something that I can these sessions at Bank-sponsored programme works to build confidence
see continuing my efforts even in the vision centres in Mumbai, the team by giving underprivileged women basic
future,” adds Saurabh. worked to start several similar projects skills. Education includes modules to
across the country. The Revdanda help them attain financial literacy,
SIB Project involved the purchase a improve communication skills, and
1.99% of Maharashtra’s population is refractometer at the Revdanda Vision explain the importance of health and
sightless. Partial or complete visual Centre being run by KB Bachooali hygiene. The programme has reached
impairment in adults is caused by Hospital and Sightsavers International. close to 1600 women across Mumbai,
cataract (63%), refractive error (20%) This was followed up with the adoption Delhi and Chennai with plans to reach an
and glaucoma (6%). While the state of a vision centre in Jawhar, 123 km from additional 100,000 young women
government provides some eye care Mumbai. While the area is not very far worldwide.
services in remote areas, the from the city, the community is largely
infrastructure and human resources tribal. “Money is a big constraint and The sluggish state of the country’s
necessary is sorely inadequate. As there while there are eye hospitals they are economy recovering from the pressures
is currently no private service available located almost 80 kilometres away from of recession didn’t stop 2010 from being
in the area, Standard Chartered’s SiB the area and are too expensive for a year of many achievements. Through
campaign came to people in the area to afford,” the Access to Finance initiative,
the rescue. said Nileema. Standard Chartered has committed to
Since its launch in 2003, the SiB USD 500 million to microfinance
programme has helped restore the The project is a work in progress and the institutions in Asia, Africa and the
eyesight of close to two million people team is constantly monitoring its Middle East. Being proactive isn’t
in India. The programme is also working viability. The centre has been set up at a always easy and the benefits are often
towards providing affordable eye care convenient location close to a State not easily visible. Even so, the bank is
67
one of India’s leading organisations in

terms of its CSR programmes. The
organisation leads by example and has
adopted a number of energy
conservation methods which include
installing LED based solar lights and
signboards, a sewage treatment plant in
Mumbai and a paper recycling initiative
that reuses almost 100 tons of paper
every year. The Bank’s commitment to
these processes has helped it earn the
LEED Gold certification for SCOPE
Chennai and the ISO14001 Certification
(Environment Management System) for
Standard Chartered Towers,
Goregaon, Mumbai.
While CSR might have its roots in the

West, the concept is being reinvented
routinely in India in some of the most
unlikely ways. A wonderful side-effect
of many of these programmes is an
increase in investors for the projects the
bank undertakes. With the company’s
reputation gaining favour in the public
domain, people want to be associated
with the brand and recruitment,
retention and brand loyalty becomes
easier. So the next time you see a bunch
of people planting saplings, reading for
the blind, or running for a cause, spare a
moment and pitch in, if only to
stop and cheer.
68
The response has been overwhelming. "Thank

you" to everyone who read the first issue, sent THE
me their valuable feedback and helped
spread the word. The February issue gave me
the opportunity to meet some wonderful
recycling we have also tried to highlight the
case of our river dolphins and their polluted
BEGINNING
habitat which needs urgent efforts from our end.
people and share my vision for Bubble
Kudos to Greenpeace for 10 years of
Wrapped with many like-minded individuals.
successful campaigns and we wish them all the
luck for their future endeavours. Last but not the
The photo-feature on Project Crayons' Gully
least I would personally like to salute all those
Cricket initiative and the piece on Bhopal-
individuals and organisations that are working
based NGO, Aham Bhumika's photography
to make our cities cleaner and are ensuring
exhibition are our first few steps in making this
residents change their ways for the better.
eMagazine a platform for communication and
information exchange for the social sector. We
On that note I'd like to sign off for this issue. Do
hope with every new issue individuals and
let me know what you think of this month's
organisations will use the magazine to create
Bubble Wrapped and I look forward to
awareness, garner support and elicit response
receiving updates on upcoming events so that
for their events and causes. We also hope to
we can extend our support and be a catalyst
share more event previews than reviews giving
to change.
our readers a chance to participate and be
more involved in the process of change.
Chetna
While we have touched upon topics like
editor@bubblewrapped.asia
organic foods in India and our outlook towards
69
TO LET
70

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VOLUME I, ISSUE II, FEBRUARY 2011, www.bubblewrapped.

Bubblewrapped February 2011

THE TIPPING POINT

Walk into a supermarket and ask for

Organic food products are slowly

Farmers' Market in Bandra

ASLI JANWAR KAUN?????

Don’t be silent. Report all such cases to Animals Matter to Me on

THE GREEN TONE

Most of us have noticed the little

inferior to virgin forests in several ways,

THE ROLE OF CORPORATE

“To ensure the ability of the Earth to

Greenpeace India, interestingly, has

On its official website, Greenpeace defines its mission as the following:

THE WILD TRUTH

Imagine you are a victim of ship wreck

The journey, for Indian scientists and

OTHER ORGANISATIONS INVOLVED, REGION CENTRIC PROBLEMS, AND ACHIEVEMENTS.

World Wildlife Fund – India (WWF)

Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary

Work and Achievements:

The Pacific Flippers!

In the last couple of months, while we

Thanks to social networking sites, we

activists. Barely an hour ago, I stumbled

Horse abandoned after being hit by truck. Died in

most recent success stories.

Follow ABCD on Twitter:

grime on my fingertips whenever I used community to create garbage-free

They get down on their haunches and

have already begun. The Cooum,

Another noteworthy project is the

Aham Bhumika's vision statement

Founded in 2007 by Subrat Goswami

either through CD or by emailing the file.

The photographs will initially be

“We try to create platforms which are sustainable as

The recently organised Gully Cricket

Malwani, Malad. Project Crayons is a 12

The grand finale was witnessed by an

This is not the first time an international

The concept of giving back to society is

Among these is international financial Those who didn’t train or participate in

one of India’s leading organisations in

While CSR might have its roots in the

The response has been overwhelming. "Thank

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