From Desk to Changing Destinies

As Director of Social Welfare Institute in Raiganj, I was working directly with communities, toughing the lives of over 200,000 children, and thousands of families. One of the most important part of satisfaction was the employment I was able to generate for hundreds of families through various interventions and programs. In India, if one can do a great service, it is giving employment to another person. Many of those staff moved into better positions, and good number of them joined various low level government positions in health sector. 

In Kolkata, when I worked as State Inter Agency Coordinator (2009-2010) in the post-Cyclone Aila response, though not much of controls were with me in the response days, the information I processed and provided enabled reaching out to several deserving communities. I also focused on state level capacity building of humanitarian agencies. So, number of partnerships were developed to strengthen human capacity to respond to disasters. As State Emergency Response Coordinator with Core Group Polio Project, (2011-2013) again I got the opportunity to work in the thick of things, with services reaching out to the unreached children, specially those denied of vaccination by those who are supposed to protect the children: their own families. Managing partnerships, reaching out to over 200,000 children, with more than 300 staff engaged in the process was an amazing experience. 

The Uttarakhand experience in a sense was desk based work, leading a small team of highly qualified humanitarian workers who had lot more experience than I did. However, soon I knew why the UN Disaster Management Team (UNDMT) had placed me there. It was a whole lot of negotiations that were conducted patiently with various levels of government officials, designing and setting the course of action, clearing the paths for early recovery of communities through appropriate guidance, advice and advocacy in the Districts and State. Soon I found that we had achieved more than we had hoped for. We had built a new way of doing things! We had influenced the way services would be provided to hundreds and thousands of people who had been affected / impacted by the disaster of May 2013. It was an incredible experience. 

The experience of working on the Multi-Hazard Vulnerability Mapping (MHVM) project (2014-2015) was an unique experience in the seven months I was engaged with the project. Key outcomes: the name of the project had to be changed to increase acceptability at the government level, designed how the project needs to be implemented for better long term impact, and set the course of action through a government owned process. The Uttarakhand amd MHVM project experiences have increased my confidence in working with government, and my negotiation skills. I have learnt how to strike at the root without being too vocal in public. I have learned how to analyze systems and power structures, so that the interventions are truly owned by the stakeholders and give the maximum output.

Then I had the break from mid-Feb to mid-April break to welcome our son Rajarshi. I began working from 15 April at UNICEF India Country Office as Consultant - Disaster Risk Reduction. Highly desk based so far. If someone asks me what do I do, I say, " I am like the housemaid. I do whatever comes on my way, besides some regular tasks....". People laugh and wonder! As of now, the tasks are multi-fold. I prepare number of TORs for various positions and consultancies, attend some meetings, prepare several types of reports. Some of the key documents I reviewed and gave inputs on include: Government of India's policy document on Smart Cities (and prepared a brief and a presentation on the same); prepared a beautifully designed Risk Profile of Bihar State (albeit with limited data); and a document on School Safety.

Present tasks at hand besides making of TORs that don't seem to end, (a) preparation of a district level risk profile for all states of India along with two colleagues in UNDMT; (b) designing program on preventable disaster risks; and (c) planning for expanding program interventions in the country on DRR. One key problem: I am still not able to measure how many people would be positively impacted by what I do. It is only that information can satisfy my heart. 

2015 : Joys, Pains and Plans

2015 : The year started on hectic travels, unimaginably busy schedule wherever I was and the birth of Emmanuel Rajarshi on 23 March, besides the much needed house repairs that seem to be never ending. I also took a break from work from mid-Feb, to give some time to family and to manage other fronts. By the fact that I am sitting down to write a blog after six months since the last posting is an indicator of what I have been through. Leaving children and Shubhra back home has been the biggest pain, as I had to shift to Delhi in search of job in mid-April.

Somehow, my look for a job in Africa or elsewhere seem to be somehow eluding me. In spite of so much experience in disaster management, doesn't seem to get me far! Opportunity that came on the way to work in Nepal had to be sacrificed as I had just signed the contract a week before the massive earthquake struck the Himalayan country. 

Back in Delhi, I leave early - by 8.00 am to Unicef office, and I have my breakfast there in the canteen. Leaving early helps me beat the heat. My usual breakfast goes like this: either two idli or bread toast, along with a cup of coffee and half plate fruits (containing five or six types of cut fruits on a quarter plate). My lunch is around 1.00 pm, again at the canteen. If I can get out of the office by 4.30 pm, I leave office early to beat the traffic, and if I cannot, then I remain till 7.00 pm, by when autorickshaws are available back again. It is difficult to get autos on Lodhi road between 5.00 pm - 6.30 pm due to closing of offices in the area, and the autos come filled!

About my tasks in Delhi, I shall write in the next. For now, it is just the joy of working for a dream, pain of missing hearing "Appa" from Vasu, our daughter, and an eluding plan for a better legacy that I would like to leave behind.

Clean India Campaign - Problems and Lasting Solutions in Urban Areas

Another campaign of the government to make and look India cleaner seem to be going to dogs, literally. The campaign is blamed often as a photo-op event management than a genuine effort in cleaning up. Where do some of its problems lie and how should we overcome them?

Municipal workers dump garbage on street as animals and
rag pickers vie for it in Patna, India

1. Planning in Cleaning Up: Whereas it is easier to clean up a stretch or a road, it is much difficult to clean up a city or a town. This can only be done with micro-planning (as done for polio immunization). The point is to clean up to such a level that no one sees filth sooner or nearer. If one stretch is clean when the rest or not, the probability of cleaned up stretch getting filthier increases. Remember the "broken windows" theory, and how every sub-urban train in NY was cleaned up every night to ensure that the hooligans get fed up for writing on them. This might require high schools, colleges, non-governmental organizations, municipalities, other government officials and business bodies getting united and supporting the same. A detailed micro-plan on who would do what, where, when, and equipping them adequately with voluntary and paid-up support, where necessary. Most of this can come up through volunteerism, as for example, students and volunteers bringing in spades and brooms, businessmen supporting with trucks that can carry the garbage, municipalities and government officials supporting in additional resources, planning and monitoring. Do it in a single stretch, for dedicated hours and review it.

2. Sustain the Efforts: Cleanliness is not a one time event. It is related to daily life-cycle. First, if required, repeat the general cleaning after a month or two, plugging the loopholes. In fact, it would be easier this time as there would be less filth that what was in the first time. Sustaining the efforts means, ensuring that we generate less waste and improve processing. How can we do this:

a) Remove taxes on bio-digestors for two years: This should reduce the cost of installation of bio-digestors in all housing complexes and markets in cities and towns. Follow up with legal sanctions to ensure that every market in a town or city of more than 100,000 population, and a housing complex of more than 10 families has a bio-digestor.

b) Corporate and Educational Involvement in Drainage: Drainage in most towns and cities are done on unplanned or crudely planned engineering. Include all engineering colleges in the country to help plan drainage in cities and towns. Allow Corporates to spend the 2% of their CSR money on building drainage in the country. Remember, the too much attention on bathrooms can wait....because, it is only the filthy garbage filled areas and walls get the attention of people who go for open defecation or peeing in cities.

c) Public Partnership: Just as providing ambulances by corporates and private entrepreneurs is free from tax, give tax exemptions for public health spending by private donors. For example, providing truck to a government body to lift and carry garbage can be freed from taxes. Over a period this will get all poorer municipalities and Corporations to have adequate resources to manage.

d) Support Recycling Industry: The recycling industry is vastly unorganized till the segregation and terminal point from where materials go for recycling. Support this group by extending health benefits (as given to tea garden or mine workers), as they hand often toxic or other materials risking their health. 

e) Regularize garbage collection: In the town where I live, many families leave their garbage outside their house, not because they do not have the money to keep it with them till the garbage is collected, but because no one knows when will the garbage collectors would come! The garbage kept outside the houses fall into drains and fly in the air clogging the drain and polluting air. In Uttarakhand towns, trucks come every morning or in evenings, with a loudspeaker announcement inviting people to bring and dump the garbage. Why can't this be done across the country?

f) Make Available Easy-to-use Public Toilets: Mobile easy to use public toilets can be one of the regular features added to improving municipal sanitation services. These can be self-sustaining at a minimum cost. Adequate light, water and ease of access to public toilets is essential for improving services. For example, take a look at the public toilet at Boring Road Chowraha in Patna city. It is on the one side surrounded by vendors, and on the other side is surrounded by garbage thrown by municipal workers. Expecting someone to use it of no use.

g) Punish the Offenders: It is important that there is a system to catch the offenders. Have plainclothes men and women to catch people and give tickets on spot. This must start with innocuously dirtying people who make every place a suitable one for what is known in India as "public nuisance" - those spitting paan. Look a the way the majestic pillars of Howrah bridge had to be hidden because of the bloody spitting from the pedestrians was damaging them! Just start catching people and fine them on spot. (By the way, the way of collecting fines has to improve in India. All fines must be payable online after 24 hours of issuing the ticket.) Or, go one step further: profile those peeing in public. Do not start a huge catch on a single day as most of the times things are done. That only stops behavior till the campaign is on. Catching 10 persons in a day in a city gets people to change their behaviour than catching 500 in a day. This is because, catching 500 in a day needs huge investment of human and material resources. But catching 10 in a day can be done through normal duty. The news spreads over a period. Sustain it.
3. Beautification: As the places get cleaner it is also important to beatify them. Involvement of citizen groups, corporates and collaboration of local government are key to success in this regards. Painting and planting are two activities that can be taken up beyond the mere task to the level of aesthetically appealing. Art on public walls and staircases can be one of the tasks that can be easily given to students and institutions of art!

The whole effort might take nearly a decade. But start moving now. Involve people who can coordinate institutions to establish and execute. Include experts in micro-planning to execute macro plans. The agenda is national, solutions are local.

Stampede - Can this Evil be Stopped?

Another stampede at a religious function in India (at Patna, Bihar state) has killed 33 people, mostly children and women. Religious places have remained notorious for stampedes in which simple faithful coming with piety and love for their deity have been crushed under human weight. There have been three reasons that have been the major causes of stampedes in religious places:

Structural damage - often a bridge or a stage collapses, following which people rush in concentrated directions, to save themselves. As this rush gets worse, stampede begins.

Lack of Security cover - when there are minor skirmishes that suddenly turn into major brawls, people begin to rush for cover.

Rumours arising from real / perceived / wrongly understood threats lead to excess reaction among people - The rumors may arise from events like a power failure, a sound that resembles to be like a bomb, information that some particular routes are blocked etc.

Both public and the media are making lot of noise on the Patna stampede issue. But, can someone do really something to prevent a disaster like this when such disasters happen even in a open maidan (large open ground) like the Gandhi Maidan in Patna where the disastrous event took place? Let us look at preventing stampedes from the other side around: What can stop or minimize stampedes?

ü Availability of space! Space is the key to avoid stampedes. But in a highly charged religious and political gatherings in a densely populated country like India, it is going to be an idea--only to aim at. So, spaces have to be created. The easiest logic for planning could be 3:1, where 3 is the area maximum used, and 1 being the additional space available. Thus, in case of a stampede when 20 - 30 % of the spaces become unusable, the additional space functions as the buffer to avoid or to minimize the damage caused by boisterous crowds. Planning for extra space is essential.

ü Structural Testing. Structures must be tested against pressures year after year. New structures must be put to pressure tests.

ü Educate people not to lose their cool! It is often in panic that people do such stupid things that they face Death head on. The reason why often people jump off buildings, (and die eventually) although there is help at hand is due to non-application of mind during emergencies. Presence of mind can help save many lives. Rumors and excess reaction can be avoided with education on the nature of hazard and presence of mind.

Home and Far Away

There was no plan to travel to Tamilnadu till 25 Sept. But, looking at the kind of work pressure expected in November, with too many holidays and festivals occupying the last week of September and several days in October, on 26th morning we thought on ways to resolve the issue. And so, we decided to leave on a break to Tamilnadu, and then we hurried with booking tickets etc the same day. 

On 27th at about 11.00 pm, me, Shubhra and Vasudha left by car to Kolkata, and took an early morning Spice Jet flight to Chennai on Sunday, 28 Sep. We had some excellent dosa for the late breakfast and chilly-chicken along with number of other items for lunch at Seenuda’s (as we fondly call ) house. At 3.00 pm we left for Puducherry. We were asked to take the National Highway in stead of the East Coast Road that had seen some violent scenes on the previous day following the arrest of the State’s Chief Minister in a corruption case. 

On the way we had some excellently brewed coffee, witnessed a horrific accident just ahead of us when a fast moving van lost control and crashed on the road. Anyways, we reached safely at Park Guest House, where we had booked our room. We were given a room in the second floor with sea view! WOW!!!

Me and Vasu taking a walk!

After dinner and a brief walk, we took some good rest, and woke up early on 29th to witness the sunrise and chirping of birds. What a wonderful way to start the days! Usually in the morning, we took long walk for our breakfast (usually I had idli, Shubhra had dosa, and Vasu had a bit of everything, a banana and milk. We just relaxed, played and laughed....lots of fun with Vasu. In the evenings, just walked across to the beach, had snacks, dinner, and carried back loads of joy as Vasu would make everyday a memorable day with some new action of hers. 

On 1st at noon we left for Thanjavur to meet a niece of mine, and then traveled to Madurai, where the time flew so fast, in the company of my nieces, nephews, my sister and brother-in-law. Oh yes, the hotel Heritage Residency (Opp. Fathima College) was a perfect place for Vasu to have a lot more fun as she loved the atmosphere, and specially the bed, the bathtub, the Spa etc. Finally, we left on 4th morning, and reached back home on 4th Oct midnight -- full of energy and relaxed.

Where is Education Heading?

13 Sep - I was traveling from Patna to Santiniketan (Bolpur) in West Bengal, India. I had a train to change at Bardhamman, and I took a local train from Bardhamman to Bolpur. At  a rural station known as Jhapterdhal and then at Banpas, I found lot of students, good number of them girls in their teens got into the train. Since the train was already full, most of these students were standing. As they were talking to another lady passenger in the train, I joined in. The students were all scheduled to get down at Guskara (after three stations), and they were going for private tuition in English. So, I asked them why they do not pay the teacher to come to their place so that so many of them need not go to Guskara. They replied that the teacher was coming from a place called Bhedia which is closer to Bolpur, and so it was some kind of adjustment that the students from all sides can come to Guskara. I also found that all the students were studying in their 12th Grade (+2 as it is known in India), and if they pass this year they will be eligible to join the college next year for Under Graduate courses. I passingly asked if they would be returning from Guskara and then would go to school. They said, "No"! When I enquired about the reason I was shocked! The girls go for the classes on every Wednesday and Saturday, and then they return to their homes by when it is 11.00, and they take breakfast and that is it! Because by then the schools have started and they cannot go to school. So, every week they do not attend classes on two days. I encountered them with volley of questions to understand further, and then I motivated them that they should write to the education department requesting that special classes for learning English be arranged so that the girls and boys need not lose two days of classes. On an average nearly 40% of school days these students were losing only with the hope of passing in English and get off to fight it out in life.

I thought that total dependence on tuition was mostly in states like Bihar. But I never thought that the situation is changing in West Bengal as well, as children are fighting to stand on to their toes to ensure continuance of their education. I am thankful to Mr. Ganesan and the teachers in my school where I did my 12th grade. They gave special classes in the morning and evening so that, though we were studying in a Tamil medium school, we could pass without having to spend additional time and money to pass in the school final exams.

Governments must take efforts to streamline education, help find alternate solutions for rural children to pass out strongly, and not be dependent on the private tuition that has become the bane of society.

Coordination Lesson from Uttarakhand

27 Aug 2014 : Today I was in Delhi to attend the United Nations Disaster Management Team (UNDMT) organized workshop on Uttarakhand Recovery Action - Lessons Learned. Since I was the State team leader for UNDMT, I got to do a presentation. I made sure that the presentation is not a regular one with too many points or writings, but that it had ample pictures that explained the status of my own experience. So, for those who would view the presentation in PDF form, it may not make much sense...but as part of presentation, it was all fun and learning, and the presentation was appreciated by one and all. The total presentation was completed in 11 minutes. Some of the photos used in the presentation have been downloaded from the Google global search.

The presentation may be downloaded or viewed at Puthumai - Uttarakhand Presentation

Public Health : Not a Standard in Bihar

With my association with Multi Hazard Vulnerability Mapping Project supported by the UNICEF in the state of Bihar, for the first time I am staying the longest in that state. My previous stays here have been mostly for training purposes, which meant I had some clean place to stay and a bit of calmer environment on many occasions. But, now my stay in the suburban community has changed all that. I see piles of garbage all around, and people throwing out garbage with no remorse. On the other hand, I am yet to see a garbage van picking up garbage on any of the streets.  The Exhibition Road and Bailey road seem to be the only exceptions, with some level of cleanliness. Most others are stinking, in all its forms and essence. You also notice children and adults shitting all around, once you are not on main thoroughfares. 

And when it rains, I have seen the water turning into black and flooding the roads. I also noticed some of the ground floors of the high rise buildings remaining flooded. So, one needs to wade through filth to reach one's home, or God forbid, if one's house is in a low lying area in the city.

Unless the corporation wakes up to the perils of modernity, and takes up remedial measures immediately, soon the city will be gone. Public health is not a standard here. It is just a garbage to be thrown out on the street. Once the capital of ancient India is really gasping for breath, literally. 

N.B: When I go to buy milk or noodles, which are already packed in plastic, the shopkeepers warmly extend an additional plastic packet to carry even if I do not need them!  I have learned to take a bag with me. But why do the shopkeepers give away so much of useless plastic that is less than 40 micron thick, anyway?

Victims of Darkness

As the new Government in India, which had been elected so that policy paralysis can be removed and decisive action can be taken on various fronts is going about its task in full gun. The problem however seem to be is that decisive verdict given to the government seem to have been construed as handing over of power to take any decision. What is visible is very little attention to issues that go beyond the acts of government: governance, participation and protection of the vulnerable. With rise in political and gender violence across the country there has not been any credible action on that front. Several commissions have been removed or members asked to resign; but not much of alternative has been suggested. And recently, the expected judicial reforms has been hit by a plan to create judicial commissions with judiciary powers, and to be placed under the law ministry (thus curtailing the fundamentals of independence of judiciary). As this has been called into question, the Chief Justice of India has questioned the intentions based on which such decisions are being taken, as there is no supervisory control over such bodies, and thereby the perpetrator is often the supervisor. As a Tamil saying goes, it is the story of the fence eating up the crop.

In that context, the Chief Justice has quoted William O'Douglas, the longest serving judge in the US Supreme Court, "As nightfall does not come all at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged. And it is in such twilight that we all must be most aware of change in the air, however slight, lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness".

Vigilance to protect one's own freedom is essential, or we could soon have a honored form of the mid-seventies, when personal freedom was robbed of us from many fronts. This Prime Minister is for "less of government, more of governance". But the actions of the government seem to speak otherwise. The recent guidelines to the Secretaries (To Do List) is one step on the right direction.

Marking of a Milestone

The week starting from 17^th was really a busy one, as a UN team was scheduled to visit and understand how the UN Disaster Management Team (UNDMT) that I lead at the State of Uttarakhand has performed over the last eight months. Number of meetings had to be fixed with several senior officers and a separate larger meeting with NGO and Corporate representatives. The team arrived on 19 Feb noon and there were eight meetings scheduled for the day with the six member UN team divided into two sub-groups. When the day was over at 7.30 pm, it brought me so much of satisfaction as almost every officer, NGO and Corporate with whom the UN team interacted spoke about the great support they have received by way of coordination, information, quality and several additional supports. And doing it under a single umbrella  of UNDMT is again the biggest gain! The UN Team delightedly gave us a well laid out banquet at The Kalsang, a Tibetan restaurant on Rajpur road that gives some wonderful dishes from Tibet, Nepal, China, Japan and Korea. On 20^th morning, we had a totally internal meeting between the UN team and me along with all the team members. The meeting went off well and at the end everyone expressed satisfaction over the way the UNDMT support has moved forward, and the new benchmarks set by the team. The UNDMT mission in Uttarakhand is expected to be completed on 31 March 2014.

Kudos to all the team members!