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Double shock to the people of the state

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The people of the state who were literally in their own world busy discussing the possible poll outcome tomorrow were caught unawares on Monday.They had an experience of double shock as the prices of petrol and diesel were hiked after a gap of 19 days and the tariff for electricity consumption was raised with effect from 01 April.

The petrol prices per litre has been enhanced by 17 paisa while that of diesel has gone up by 21 paisa. On the other hand Karnataka electricity regulatory commission has revised the tariff from 01 April.According to MK Shankarlingegowda,Chairman of the commission, the tariff for domestic electricity consumers has been revised to increase it from 0.82 paisa to Rs. 1.62 per unit.The minimum hike announced is 0.20 paise and the maximum raise is 0.60 paise depending upon the region.

In BESCOM region comprising Bengaluru division there has been an increase of 13 percent with the tariff slab going to 0.82 paisa per unit while the tariff for other regions is as follows: Mescom-Rs. 1.23,Sesk-Rs. 1.13,Hescom-Rs. 1.23 and Jescom-Rs. 1.62.

On the whole the average hike has been assessed to be around 5.93 percent according to the sources of KERC.

Hindusthan Samachar/Manohar Yadavatti

Indu Malhotra sworn in as SC judge

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Senior lawyer Indu Malhotra was sworn in on Friday as Supreme Court judge, amid raging controversy over the Narendra Modi government returning recommendation on Justice K.M. Joseph.

She was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice Dipak Misra. She will have a tenure of a little over three years.

With her swearing in the strength of the top court judges rose to 25 — six still short of the actual sanctioned strength of 31.

It is for the first time that the apex court has two women judges — the other being Justice R. Banumathi. Justice Malhotra is the fifth woman judge of the top court.

Justice Fatima Bibi was the first woman judge of the Supreme Court. She was followed by Justice Ruma Pal, Justice Gyan Sudha Misra and Justice Banumathi.

(Ians)

‘Village Rockstars’ gets top prize at IFFLA

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Rima Das’ Assamese drama “Village Rockstars, which was adjudged Best Feature Film at the 65th National Film Awards in India, was also feted with the Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature at the 2018 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) here.
The Grand Jury Prize for the Best Short went to “The Caregiver”, directed by Ruthy Pribar.
The Audience Choice Awards went to Mahesh Narayanan’s Malayalam film “Take Off”, in the Best Feature (Narrative) category, to “Lovesick”, directed by Priya Giri Desai and Ann S. Kim, for Best Documentary, and to Nagraj Manjule’s “An Essay of the Rain” for Best Short.

The 16th edition of IFFLA concluded on April 15 with a red carpet and gala that featured the Los Angeles premiere and official Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) screening of “Village Rockstars”, read a statement.

While presenting the award, the narrative jury stated: “This film explores gender expectations in a gentle manner. It blends beautiful cinematography with naturalistic performances in a fun and uplifting coming-of-age story. Working as a one-woman army, this director created an unforgettable portrait of childhood.”

A special jury mention was made for Sushama Deshpande’s performance in “Ajji”.

“Taking on difficult characters is always a challenge for an actor. It takes courage to humanise and portray a role that breaks the stereotypes. This actress demonstrated undeniable talent and commitment to deliver an authentic and grounded performance,” the jury stated.

As for Ruthy Pribar’s short film “The Caregiver”, the jury found it endearing for “its elegant representation of the nuances between compassion and survival, and for its understated yet decisive storytelling”.

The narrative jury comprised film critic Carlos Aguilar, director Haifaa Al-mansour and actor Sujata Day, while the shorts jury included producer Giulia Caruso, director Aneesh Chaganty and screenwriter Guinevere Turner.

Solo Biking Expedition To Leh-Ladakh – A Dream Of Every Biker

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Travelling to Leh Ladakh has been a dream of today’s generation and biking is Indian Millennial’s choice. For Gen Y, latest Gadget and Biking has become a craze. Mohan, an IT professional’s dream came true when he realized the truth of renting a bike to achieve his distant dream. His dream turned into reality when he finally hired a 350cc Royal Enfield bike from Cruise and began his expedition to Ladakh. Leh Ladakh was meant to be a land like no other with a superabundance of attractions to visit with fabulous landscapes and is truly a heaven on Earth and it is a dream for every passionate rider across the mountains on a bike.

Traveling solo on a Royal Enfield to Leh-Ladakh felt like trance especially along the magnificent mountain terrain which mesmerized him. It was beautiful, dangerous and quiet. A scenic landscape covered with rugged roads, lush hilly mountains, and extreme climatic conditions is fascinating for any adventurer to go on a trip to Ladakh. It’s a faraway trip for the young and adventurous hearted person seeking solace for the body, mind, and soul, which is proving to be an exhilarating and offbeat experience for many.

“I decided to prep for an epic journey to conquest the two highest motorable peaks in the world, ensuring for the expedition received a list of itinerary required. As per our plan, I reached Delhi and then took a ride to Manali from where my trip to Ladakh began. On the way, I got a glance of high altitudes with narrow roadways and overwhelming scenery. Upon my arrival in the morning, Cruise escorted us to a Himalayan hotel, which was surrounded by a high plateau and a beautiful view of the tall mountains covered with a little bit of silver lining by the clouds. Sarchu was one of our first destinations, followed by Taglang La pass, Tatsumori Lake, Pangong lake and Khardung La pass. ” Said Mohan Kumar, an IT professional from Bangalore.

Khardung La pass at an altitude of 5359 meters is one of the highest motorable peaks in the world. The journey to that height was epic and one of the most adventurous journeys ever. Cruise team along with Mohan rode towards, the beautiful Pangong Lake where they were welcomed with lush greenery in the middle of a hilly terrain. The huge glassed lake with clear transparent water was something anyone should not miss. He came across many military camps and trucks filled with army personals. This was because Pangong Lake extends from India to Tibet and sixty percent of the lake lies in China. Mohan’s next destination was Tatsumori Lake, which is about 160 km and is known for serving the ground for migratory birds.

After they reached Manali, they went to the café where they assembled on day 1. They rested for a while so that we let the engine can cool off, the journey was nearly to completion after traveling for 1,995 Km. Mohan celebrated the final moments of his journey with the Cruise team where they have arranged a small party with a huge cake and other things to mark the amazing journey. Mohan thanked the team for all the arrangement and his safe return back. Later in the evening, we boarded his flight back to Bangalore.

“I am overwhelmed with the response we got from such solo travelers who chose Cruise for their dream destination. We are happy that we were able to provide an incredible experience, with perfect planning and impeccable hospitality. Besides making arrangements for food and stay, we also updated on the altitude and oxygen levels at the places the bikers explored. We try to support each rider with utmost care and hospitality. It was a pleasure for Cruise to host Mr. Mohan for his solo trip to the Himalayas”, said Mr. Mithu Nahak, Operation Coordinator, Cruise.

About Cruise
Cruise is an experiential tour operator which ensures an adventurous journey healthy and safe. The concept initiated by Orca Sail Boats Private Limited in the year 2012, finally took shape in 2017. Cruise ensures smooth access to best for cars, bikes; cruises around India, their expert team will provide the perfect package for your individual needs with a motive of thrilling experience.

How will the Ramganga flow?

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Ramganga

by Chicu Lokgariwar, India Water Portal

Since the 1970s, the Ramganga has been governed by dam releases. Now an ambitious project seeks to restore environmental flows in the river.

We sat on a charpoy in Agwaanpur and talked of flood warning systems for the Ramganga. Of all the places I had visited, Agwaanpur, probably due to its urban nature, was the only one which boasted a rudimentary system. The police would inform the Maulvi that a flood release was expected, and he would repeat the warning using the loudspeaker normally used to summon people to prayer.

Mohammed Rahiz seemed unimpressed. “What’s the point of a warning”?, asked the handsome grey-bearded farmer. And his next sentence convinced me that he was right. “Theek hain, If we are within earshot, we get up from our work on the farms and come here. What about our fields? They can’t get up and run away, can they”? And then he went on to explain why these floods were so very devastating.

This is due to a change in what are known as ‘environmental flows’. Environmental flows are the varying levels of water in a river that are needed to maintain the river ecosystem. This means year-round deep water pools for dolphins, shallows during the time fish spawn, and floods to inundate wetlands and floodplains and to bless the farmers.

The farmers are well-used to floods during the four months of monsoon. The Chaumasa, as it’s called, is when farmers allow themselves the luxury of slowing down. This is their time to take stock, plan and gear up for the all-important Rabi or winter crop. The farmers that live the Gangetic basin do not approach any river at this time. As soon as the floods recede, exposing their fields covered by a coating of  fresh silt, they begin to till their land. It is here that the Ramganga deals with them unfairly. Frequently, floods occur after the seed has been sown, wiping out their investment.

But let’s not blame the Ramganga.

The fault lies with the dams and barrages constructed upstream of it. Simply put, there are three major changes that the dams do to the flow regime:

  1. Change in time: Water is impounded in the dam and released when it reaches the danger level. This means that rather than a steady stream of high flows throughout the Chaumasa, water flows in a series of unexpected pulses.
  2. Change in amount: This storage and release means that the water reaching a point is not just the runoff at that point for that period, but accumulated runoff for many days or weeks. Floods are thus noticeably higher than they were pre-dam.
  3. Lack of connectivity: Dams quite literally set up walls across rivers. Most famously, they impact the migration of fish and create isolated populations which die out due to inbreeding. However, this damming also impedes the movement of silt and sand. Decreasing the amount of silt in the river, also known as its silt load, changes the way in which a river behaves. A decreased silt load makes it more likely to erode banks, which is bad news for farmers.

This is made even worse because there is nothing that the farmers can do to counteract the god-like powers of the dam authorities.

The impact of dams on small farmers

Consider Razia, a landless farmers in Agwaanpur who is doing the best she can to make the most of her limited resources. With a blind father-in-law and a deceased husband, Razia is the head of her household. Every year, she pays Rs.10,000 to lease a bigha of land. Earlier, she would do Paalej farming- the planting of cucurbits. When unpredictable fluctuations in both river flows and market prices made this too much of a gamble, Razia changed her strategy. She saw that planting eucalyptus and poplar for sale was the new big craze in the area.

However, she cannot afford to wait for 5-10 years before securing a return on her investment. Instead, she went to the Forest Department and obtained eucalyptus seeds for free. She has now planted a nursery, and will sell 1 year-old saplings to the farmers.

A seemingly smart plan with a sure income, low investment, quick returns, and a ready market but one that isn’t certain by any means. No matter how hard she works and how intelligently she plans, Razia cannot predict when the floods will come and if they will wash away her carefully tended seedlings.

The technocrats’ point of view

The impacts of a river development scheme on the farmers of the same river basin seem to be secondary to those of far-off command areas as far as planners are concerned. The Ramganga is said to fulfil its objectives since it supplies adequate water to the Upper Ganga Canal command system. The devastation to the farmers who have traditionally lived along its banks is ‘the price of progress.’

Climate change is playing a role here too. Er. Ravindra Kumar, retired official of the UP Irrigation Department confirms that since 2010, increasingly erratic rainfall has led to unplanned releases. Regrettably, this has not inspired the UP Irrigation Department o reassess the value of the dam or look for alternate means of functioning. Instead, Er.Kumar says that the adopted strategy to deal with a future of more intense rainfall is the building of embankments at vulnerable places. Unfortunately, we have seen time and again that embankments only worsen flood situations but our state irrigation departments seem to have missed reading those same reports.

To restore the Ramganga

There is some help on the way. The World Wildlife Fund for India has begun an ambitious plan of demonstrating on the Ramganga that environmental flow releases are possible on a dammed river.  This entails working on several strategies at once.

  • We need to quantify what we are speaking of when we say ‘environmental flow releases for the Ramganga’. This means looking at historical flows, at the flows (amount and time) needed for fulfilling the river’s various functions including landforming, sustaining ecosystems, and sustaining riparian communities. This is a multi-disciplinary and participatory research exercise, which is being carried out now using a modified version of the Building Block Methodology. While intricate, the process is fairly straightforward.
  • The truly difficult part of it is what happens next. Somehow, WWF needs to talk with two state governments and get them to sanction releases as per this environmental flow requirement. Now, India is notoriously difficult when it comes to river-based data. It seems almost naive to enter into a dialogue over modifying dam releases so as to suit a flow regime determined upon by a motley bunch of academics and environmentalists. This, incredibly, is being done by means of sustained dialogue and negotiations.
  • And finally, comes the issue of ‘freeing up’ more water for the river. To do this, the organisation is promoting and demonstrating efficient water use for agriculture within the Ramganga basin. This choice of location appears to be for the purpose of confining activities within the basin. However, since the water abstracted from the river by the dam is fed into the Upper Ganga Canal network and so out of the basin, water-use efficiency should logically be demonstrated in the canal command area. This is a minor point, however. Both the command area and the Ramganga basin are part of the larger Ganga basin, and lessons from one are easily transferable to the other.

This does raise an important question, however.

How will this effort change the perception of agricultural water demand? In other words, how will assessing the environmental flow requirements of the Ramganga convince the dam authorities that less water needs to be abstracted from the river for the canal system?

That depends on WWF’s capacity for negotiation.

Mohammed Rahiz, Razia Begum and countless other farmers are likely waiting for the results of this with bated breath.

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