Swajal- A step towards making clean drinking water accessible to all.

Swajal- A step towards making clean drinking water accessible to all.

Water is one of the most basic necessities of life. Clean drinking water is not only a person’s need, but his basic right. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford it. Every Indian is well aware of the issue of water scarcity in our country. We manage to fulfill our need of drinking water by buying bottled water or installing water purifiers, but that is not the case with everyone. A huge unprivileged part of our country suffers seriously from the lack of clean drinking water.

Every minute 4 people die because of the inaccessibility of clean drinking water. 5000 people die everyday because of dirty drinking water. 1600 people die everyday due to diarrhea alone. 21% of all the communicable diseases are water related. 69% people don’t have access to improved sanitation. These indeed are very depressing facts and the situation needs to be changed sooner rather than later.

Several start-ups are beginning to tackle problems relating to water. One such start-up is ‘Swajal’, initiated by Saurya EnerTech. The word ‘Swajal’ in Sanskrit means ‘Clean Water’. Swajal is a purifier which uses solar energy to purify water at a reasonable rate. It aims to make clean drinking water accessible to everyone. Swajal’s objective is to provide the rural areas with sustainable health and hygiene benefits and improved water supply systems supplying clean water.

Five out of the 900 villages in the area that comprises Delhi and NCR have been picked to test this solar water purifier. Swajal has also installed two 5000 litres per day purifiers in Chandankhera and Karinabaugh villages where the fluoride content in water is very high. A fixed amount of clean water is auto-dispensed to each consumer via a smartcard issued by non-profit organization which commissioned the solar purifiers. The purifier also has the feature of dispensing both hot and cold water.

The company has decided to supply the water at 30 paise per litre when the capital expenses are paid for. Even when the capital expenses are self sponsored, Swajal dispenses the purified ground water at Rs 1 per litre. They plan on beginning to help the schools and hospitals in rural areas. "Water is the most basic resource that all of us share. We want it to be free for everyone," says Vibha Tripathi, one of the co-founders of Saurya EnerTech.

Swajal surely has the potential to change the current scenario of water scarcity. It is a vital step towards the development of rural sections of India, and ultimately the development of the country itself.

 Source: The Economic Times-The Times of India.

PUNISHMENT OR MURDER

Punishment or Murder

A terrifying tragedy unfolds in Virar’s Vagad Gurukul International School as three students of class 9  Prahul Patel, Kushal Dhada and Meet Chadwa, who went missing on the night of August 25, were found dead and floating in a stream behind the school campus in what could be a shocking, mysterious and unbelievable case of triple suicide. The boys according to their friends were brutally beaten up by a teacher with a leather belt and shoes after scoring fewer marks. The three had a plan to escape the brutal, stentorian, monastic atmosphere of the hostel which was made much earlier. Getting beaten up with a leather belt seems to have been the last straw for the young kids. The heartbroken parents of the three 14-year old students allege they would have been murdered and the bodies were dumped in the stream which is too shallow for the three boys to drown together. It is not known if the students planned to commit suicide nor were any other students aware of this. The police have arrested two teachers-Ripusdan Garg, a Sanskrit teacher and Sandeep, a PT teacher.

Was it right on the teachers’ part to severely punish the students?

As per the law of Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, corporal punishment is banned across the country.

Why are schools failing to implement the law?

Disciplining a child is not about beating and insulting, but it can be instilled through exercises and better understanding of the reasons as to why the child behaves unruly. Unruly kids needs care, and love.

Teachers and parents don’t realize that such children may suffer from ADHD or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It is a psychiatric disorder in which one behaves restless and will not obey or cannot focus on studies. The symptoms of which begin between six to 12 years of age and persist till diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

Severely punishing a child is in itself a murder of his/her mental health and future. It does no good to students.

Implementing stricter laws and policies to curb corporal punishment is the need of the hour.

lightning victory strikes us again!

After the boys of BBPS clinched the U-19 DSO title, how can the girls set back. The girl's of BBPS have always been in action on the ground by bringing glory to the school for the fourth time in a row in the U-19 District Sports Office's inter school competition. In the semifinals against Apeejay school of Kharghar, BBPS finished the match goalless and the match had to be decided by a penalty shootout.

The title encounter was tough for BBPS, which faced Ryan International School, Kharghar.Both teams were tied at regular time. This match too went to the penalties. Gayatri Chaudhary struck the winning goal during penalty strikes.

"Chaudhary played the role of a perfect captain to win against a formidable side. we will have the opportunity to battle out with all other district level champions under the mumbai zone" said BBPS coach Nilesh Kajle.

This article was published in TOI of Monday 16th August 2014, which was celebrated as Gokulashtami all over the country.

CHILLING PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD

The Ice Bucket Challenge, sometimes called the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, is an activity involving dumping a bucket of ice water on one's head to promote awareness of the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and encourage donations to research. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation popularized the then called “Cold Water Challenge’’ in early 2014 to raise funds for the widely used Special Olympics as a fundraiser.

In this challenge a bucket full of ice is to be lifted and poured over the participant's head. Then the participant can call out a challenge to other people.

On 20^th May, 2014 they posted a video on YouTube but were later punished for using fire department equipment without permission. By 30^th June, the video received media attention in the United States and televised the live performance of the on-air Ice Bucket Challenge.

The social media is also playing an immense role in spreading the message. It has not only gained attention from international celebrities like LeBron James and Ethel Kennedy but also from former US president George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Bollywood is quickly catching up with this viral activity of dumping a bucket full of ice cold water. Film stars like Sonakshi Sinha, Sunny Leone, Ritesh Deshmukh, Siddharth Malhotra and many more have enthusiastically taken the challenge.

PM’s Quest for Development Rages Fire Amongst Developers

After a massive win in the 2014 elections, people have high hopes with our new Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi has been successful enough in becoming that leader on which the masses can actually trust and be sure that he won’t repeat what has been happening in the country from the past 10 years. People had been frustrated with the scenario of the nation where a nation which was once known as, ‘’Sone ki chidiya’’  was now known as ‘’Scam India’’ where corruption was very usual. After bearing this for almost a decade, Modi came as fresh wave of hope to the people. He emerged as that one leader who spoke about the development of all, and not about the religion of all. And this has been the reason people used their power of Vote and made Modi, our new PM. With power comes responsibility and Modi is one those few leaders who is able enough to understand this. People have their hopes held high and it’s time for the PM to act. For this, Modi Government has it’s 11 Point Agenda. The 11  point agenda is:

1.Agriculture & Food

2. Transport

3. Jobs

4. Energy

5. External Affairs

6. Infrastructure

7. Tourism

8. Defence

9. Minorities & Women

10. Internal Security

11. Centre State Relations

From Modi’s 11 point agenda clearly states that PM has his way clear, and his goal clearer- DEVELOPMENT.

But our New PM has faced a lot of criticism, and that too this time the criticism is not from the people of the nation but the developers themselves …Politicians, Leaders, Socialists, Central State Govt. Employees.. these people are considered as developers or the ‘’Service men’’ of the nation. The unhappiest of all by the Modi Govt. are the central Govt. employees because with the new Government, new leadership has emerged with new discipline. Modi Govt. has a biometric attendance for all the Govt. Employees so that they reach office at time and do their work, other thing which is a cause of worry to these ‘’Service-men’’ is that now their relatives won’t be able to come as their assistants or so, in order to prevent corruption.

But the Modi Government seems to be least affected as they have their agenda clear. Time will show how the Government achieves it’s goals.

Till that time, I will conclude by saying what our PM has always said, ‘’Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’’.

       

                                                                                

EDUCATION SYSTEM OF INDIA

The present day education system in India has come a long way and the age old traditions have undergone a makeover to produce an ecosystem that is evolving every single day. Initiatives like the Right to Education Act have provided an impetus to growth and progress by laying special emphasis on elementary education in India. Combined with policy changes like making child labor illegal the being government is working ensure that the seeds of education are planted in both the rural and less privileged sub-urban areas of the country though there are a number of pressing challenges at hand that hamper the proliferation.

Key Challenges for the Indian Education System

Only 7% of the population that goes to school managed to graduate and only 15% of those who enroll manage to make it to high school and achieve a place in the higher education system. A few reasons why education in India is given less importance in some areas are as follows:

• 80% of schools are managed by the government. Private schools are expensive and out of reach of the poor.
• More hands to earn remains the mentality amongst many families and therefore little kids are set out to fend for the family over going to school, in the most literal sense of the word.
• Infrastructure facilities at schools across rural areas and in slums dispense very poor quality of education.
• The teachers are not well qualified and therefore not well paid and therefore are not willing to work hard enough. This has been a classical Catch-22 problem that the government has been trying hard to fight against.

While there are a number of drawbacks of the education system in India, a number of efforts are being made to create awareness and action for education in India. Efforts like the Sarva Shisksha Abhiyan aim at making education and good quality of life for today’s children possible by providing community owned school systems. Another indicator of a brighter tomorrow is the Right of Children to free and compulsory education. Large investments in the education system truly make us believe that the children of India will get off the streets and start making education their mainstay for a successful life. Like with most things we are exposed to today, there are two sides to the education system in India – both good & bad which has made it a subject of many essays and a lot many discourses.

                   

                                                                                                               -TEHZEEN MOOSA

                                                              MOVIE REVIEW

MOVIE: Mardaani      

CAST: Rani Mukerji, Tahir Bhasin, Anil George, Jisshu Sengupta, Mona 

DIRECTOR: Pradeep Sarkar

As movie cops go, Mardaani’s Shivani Shivaji Roy, played by Rani Mukerji, feels closer in spirit to Aamir Khan’s straight-talking Ajay Rathod from Sarfarosh over larger-than-life supermen Chulbul Pandey or Bajirao Singham. This mostly gritty thriller directed by Pradeep Sarkar opens nicely and coasts along smoothly until it threatens to come undone in its final act.

When we’re introduced to our protagonist, a senior Mumbai Crime Branch officer, she’s on her way to nab an elusive criminal. As the police jeep navigates the streets, Shivani makes a quick call to her niece to remind her to finish her homework. Its throwaway moments like these that give the film a believable texture and Sarkar creates a fully authentic flesh-and-blood character in Shivani, who comfortably balances her job with her home like most working Indian women.

The real plot kicks in when Shivani starts probing into the disappearance of a poor girl from a homeless shelter…an investigation that leads her to uncover an organized sex trafficking racket. Soon she’s involved in a cat-and-mouse chase with a mysterious drugs-and-prostitution kingpin (Tahir Bhasin), but to reach him she must get through a maze of accomplices.

There is much to admire in Sarkar’s film, from its crisp pacing to the performances of its supporting cast. Anil George is suitably creepy as the villain’s main man Vakil, but Bhasin is the real find. He’s perfectly cast as the English-speaking, videogame-addicted Breaking Bad fan Karan, who addresses Shivani as “Ma’am” when he speaks to her on the phone. This is not your typical Hindi-movie pimp, and Bhasin plays the part with sly menace.

The camaraderie and the banter between Shivani and the officers in her team ring true, and her lingo – peppered liberally with cusswords – never feels out of step. The film doesn’t linger too much on her marriage, but in one devastating scene we watch as her husband, a doctor becomes a pawn in her clash with the villain.

But Sarkar opts for an entirely different tone in the second half, when Mardaani adopts many of the typical clichés of Bollywood films. And Shivani has emerged into a one-woman crime-fighter by the time we reach the overblown clunky climax. She’s pretty much Lady Singham at this point. Surprisingly, despite these problems, the film is consistently watchable, and keeps you glued to your seat. Much credit for that must go to Rani Mukerji, who is in terrific form. Investing Shivani with both physical strength and emotional courage, she gives us a hero that’s hard not to root for.

Mardaani is not a perfect film, but it’s better than many of the blockbusters Bollywood churns out regularly. It’s a well-made commercial Hindi film – reasonably short and minus songs – that’s trying to say something. For that I’m going with three out of five. Whatever else, you won’t be bored.

                                                                                                                    -EVA DANIELS