gem

1. E-Newsletter-7/17
Green Earth Movement
An E-Newsletter for the cause of Environment, Peace, Harmony and Justice
Remember - “you and I can decide the future”
Meet the Man Who Is Single Handedly Rejuvenating
Salem’s Dying Lakes
January 13, 2017, THE BETTER INDIA
What does it mean to be responsible? Who and what are we responsible for? Are we only responsible for
ourselves? Our family? Our community? What about the mountains, the rivers, and the land? Who takes
responsibility for them? If you are Piyush Sethia, then you take responsibility for all of it. He single-
handedly decided to restore the barren hills and the dried up lakes in Salem at the tender age of 20 by
planting thousands of trees and digging trenches on hills around his hometown. Project Harithima – begun
in 1997 – was one of the many projects that this green entrepreneur has championed. Since then, he has
involved himself in activism, and has also gravitated towards constructive environmentalism with the
setting up of SEED (Socio-Economic Environmental Development), SCF (Salem’s Citizen Forum) for
outreach, and the Coop Forest for conducting nature camps and as an experimental co-operative space for
green entrepreneurs.
Piyush even took moral responsibility for not being able to save the picturesque Mookaneri Lake from
pollution by idols made of Plaster of Paris and toxic dyes. He had toiled to rejuvenate the lake with local
support and his SCF team, transforming it from a drought-parched barren land into a delicate, island-
strewn lake teeming with life.
Born and brought up in Salem, the reason why Piyush started out doing what he did seems perplexing, yet
simple. When asked about it, he says nonchalantly, “Common sense”. Probed again, he replies in an even
more casual tone, “Common sense.” Maybe that’s how it feels to someone who has ‘lived’ a place, and
not just lived ‘in’ one. A chance meeting with fellow activist Nithyanand Jayraman inspired him to
become an activist in Salem, a hotbed for bauxite and magnesite mining, with companies like Vedanta,
Jindal Steel Works, and Dalmia all being accused of violating environmental laws and regulations in the
region.

2. Taking responsibility requires one to ascertain who or what they identify with. It also requires one to
internalize who or what they do not represent and do not stand for. Piyush has refused to register any of
his forums as an NGO as he seeks no accreditation from the government in any form whatsoever. “Years
ago, a government official enlightened me on how registering SEED would put me at his mercy. How he
could make me jump through hoops for him. It struck me that he was right, and I haven’t registered any
organization with the government,” he clarifies.
Piyush’s vocal dissidence, and his insistence on not identifying himself with the institutions of power,
have put him in grave situations. In 2010, sedition charges were levelled against him for circulating a
pamphlet as part of the Campaign for Justice and Peace at a Republic Day function. The sedition charges
were later dropped after widespread criticism from civil society.
Work started on the Mookaneri Eco-restorationProject in 2010, with 150 local men, women, and children
gathering at 6 AM every Sunday to clean the lake and de-silt it. Once the excavators dug the soil and
created islands, people planted 25,000 saplings and prayed for rains. The sky gods complied, and soonthe
dried-up lake turned into a vibrant natural system. The secret behind the rejuvenation, Piyush explains,
has to do with the de-silting process, which NABARD has deemed as the best de-silting process for lakes.
So, in spite of 2011 and 2012 being below par years in terms of rainfall, Mookaneri hasn’t seen a drastic
decrease in water level.
What makes the restoration project a real peoples’ movement in Piyush’s eyes is the effort of the
community in raising funds, taking up awareness initiatives independently, and having a sense of
ownership over the lake. He cites the enthusiasm of the local youngsters in organizing massive funding
drives to keep the movement alive. The forum has been invited by many other communities and NGOs to
implement similar rejuvenation efforts in their communities.
All isn’t hunky dory though, as Piyush and his team have to ward off real estate sharks who constantly
eye the lake as nothing but valuable land ‘gone waste’. There have been frivolous petitions to stopthe
work, with the nexus of land grabbers, politicians, and governmental authorities to blame. He laments that
it’s not easy doing practical, grassroots work where many stakeholders may have ulterior motives. There
seems to be no other choice but to persist and resist.
Piyush heads to Kumaragiri lake, the fourth lake restoration project undertaken by SCF. On the way, one
wonders, “What makes one take the responsibility and burden of protecting common areas? Is it instinct?
Common sense? Experience?” Maybe it takes all of them. At the lake site, none of the three seem
relevant. Here, it’s sheer energy and optimism which seems to keep the local community involved in the
project. Projects include the diversion and purification of the lake’s sewage, and building islands and
planting trees on them. However, there is a sense of inevitability in Piyush’s tone. His work is no mean
feat, considering the frequent tussles with government authorities, political leaders, and the police. In the
mind of an environmental activist, there are no half measures.
One of Piyush’s long-term goals is to achieve sustainability in agriculture. He wants people to come back
to farming because of its viability, in a ‘reverse migration’, as he puts it. A major step in this regard was
setting up the ‘Coop Forest’. It is an experimental space for green entrepreneurs and their economically
beneficial green projects. The 180-acre cooperative forest, located about 60 kms. from Salem, is an oasis
in a desert at first glance.
The forest, which has 11 fresh water ponds, also has a biomass gasifier and a bio-gas unit. As Piyush says,
the sun’s soft energy should turn into gas, and the hard energy should return to the soil. So, kitchen waste
generates cooking gas, and the dried weeds, twigs, and grass return to the soil for moisture retention.
Piyush invites green entrepreneurs to start a project of their choice while residing in the forest. They get to
share the fruits of their projects with and within the community. Recent experiments with aloe vera and
guava juices, areca sheath plates, and bamboo plantations have been successful.

3. Coop Forest also attracts children, who come there to admire nature and get into the thick of things. They
build mud houses, plant trees, dig trenches, learn about organic farming, or simply trek through the
terrain. It is a place where nothing is abstract, and everything is experiential. Children splash into the
freshwater pond, and come out on to an island of hope.
SAVE PONDS AND LAKES
For an educational and awareness PowerPoint Presentation,
click the following link
http://infantjesusjogeshwari.in/gem-ppt-22-save-ponds-and-
lakes/
Perfect pen drive
By Cithara Paul | January 22, 2017
courtesy: THE WEEK
Kerala is witnessing an ambitious drive to replace plastic ball-point pens with ink pens. Yes, the good old
ink pen, the one which needed to be filled with ink every day; the one, which, at times, stained your hands
and shirt pockets with ink. Initiated by the state government, the move has caught the imagination of civil
societygroups, artists, schools, colleges and individuals. The ink pen has found a proud place in the
government’s ambitious Haritha Keralam Mission (Green Kerala Mission), which promotes environment-
friendly way of living. The education department has issued orders encouraging the use of ink pens
instead of cheap plastic ball-point pens, which are causing huge damage to the environment.
“Our move is not just against ball-point pens. At a deeper level, it is a fight against the use and throw
culture, which corrupts our environment and our mind,” said Education Minister C. Raveendranath. The
government has not banned ball-point pens. “We have only exhorted the children to use ink pens instead
of ball-point pens. The response is beyond our expectations,” he said.
The government’s call has found resonance across the state with many groups, institutions and individuals
extending support. “It is a big movement with multidimensional impact,” said Achuthsankar S. Nair, a
professor at Kerala University. Nair, an active force in the campaign against ball-point pens, said the use
of ink pen was a great lesson on life. “While a ball-point pen teaches a child to throw away everything
once the use is over, an ink pen makes him more careful and sensitive,” he said. “One has to really take
care of an ink pen and remember to fill ink every morning. But, if the ink gets over, one can borrow it
from a friend and can give it back the next day. Through all these, children are learning big lessons about
life,” said Nair.
There are 45 lakh school students in Kerala and most of them use at least two ball-point pens a month.
Once used, they are simply thrown away. “The ball pen companies also encourage the use and throw
culture as it suits them. Since the Chinese pens come dirt cheap, it has become a habit to buy them in bulk

4. and most of them do not last beyond a few days. They are dumped and are replaced by the next set,” Nair
said. Jessy Narayanan of Malayalam Pallikoodam, an initiative to encourage Malayalam learning and
culture, said although ink pens came with some inconveniences, their long-term benefits were greater. In
her school, students use only ink pens. “Bringing children closer to nature is the core of our initiative and
replacing ball-point pens with ink pens is one such step,” she said.
Several panchayats and schools across the state have similarly responded to the movement. “We have
decided to distribute ink pens to all school children in our panchayat with the help of sponsors,” said
Anila M.S., president of Karakulam panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram district. Other educational
institutions are initiating similar moves. The drive in favour of ink pens has found support from the field
of art as well, including the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. Well-known artist Lakshmi Menon is making an
installation with discarded ball-point pens. “The volume of plastic pens getting discarded is scary. Nearly
three crore pens get discarded every month,” she said. According to Lakshmi, plastic pens are very high
on pollution quotient. “Though plastic covers and bottles come to our mind when we talk of plastic
pollution, the real villains are ball-point pens. They are the least recycled ones as it is tough to segregate
the metal nib and ink from these pens. So they are left in the soil,” she said.
Her initial plan was to collect 10,000 pens for her installation. But now it has touched seven lakh and she
is still getting calls offering more. “People from faraway districts have come with all these discarded pens
collectedfrom schools and other public places. I was so touched by the response and the level of
awareness of common people,” she said. Lakshmi is planning the installation to be a permanent one. “Let
it be a permanent reminder of the damage caused by ball-point pens,” she said. The Biennale Foundation
has decided to create an 'immini ballya onnu' (a bigger one), inspired by writer Vaikom Muhammad
Basheer, with the 7 lakh pens collectedas part of the Pen Drive. Lakshmi, who is a designer at an art
gallery in San Francisco, recently got a call from London, evincing interest in a similar project. “Ball-
point pens are an international threat. Any global citizen can relate to it,” she said.
The ink pen versus ball-point pen theme has found its way to films, too. Hafeezul Haque P., a college
student from Malappuram district, who made a short film on the subject, said the theme struck him when
he saw many ball-point pens being thrown around in the school where he studied. “Using an ink pen is a
silent revolt against the use and throw culture. It is a small step, but a significant one,” said Haque, whose
short film Mashi (Ink) was released on YouTube recently.
Sensing the success of the move against ball-point pens, the government now plans to extend the drive to
all private schools and offices. “That will be the next step,” said Raveendranath, who himself has stopped
using ball-point pens since the drive started. “I am a proud owner of an ink pen now,” he said. “If we are
able to sustain this enthusiasm, it will lead to bigger things.”
Air pollution kills over a million every year in
India
Environmental degradation is now at crisis levels, a new Greenpeace report says.
courtesy: ucannews

5. New Delhi: Over 3000 people die of air pollution every day in India, said environmental group
Greenpeace International in a new report, even as church environmental groups and others urge
the government to act fast. The report, Airpocalypse, released Jan. 12, said that India's air
pollution kills 1.2 million people every year with the national capital New Delhi topping the list
of the most blighted cities. None of the 168 cities assessed for the report complied with the air
quality standards prescribed by the World Health Organization.
"If the country's development is important, fighting air pollution must be a priority," the report
said. "There are increasing numbers of people who die prematurely every year with increasing
pollution levels. Deaths due to air pollution are only a fraction less than the number of deaths
caused by tobacco usage." The report added that the burning of coal and oil were major
contributors to air contamination and that it was now a public health and economic crisis. Jesuit
Father Robert Athickal, founder of Tarumitra (friends of trees), a nationwide organization of
some 200,000 students promoting ecological sensitivity, told ucanews.com that measures must
be taken on governmental, community and individual levels.
"This is unprecedented and it has no easy solution," he said, adding that India is the third largest
emitter of carbon dioxide used to produce electricity. "The problem lies with us. But whatever we
have, we can manage provided everybody uses it efficiently." "India needs to take collective
responsibility and make a common effort," said Anil Joshi, founder of the Himalayan
Environmental Studies and Conservation Organization. "If we don't improve, we will kill
ourselves and leave nothing for the next generation." Joshi suggested that the government start
publishing periodic reports about their efforts to improve the quality of soil, water and air.
Pope Francis in his 2015 encyclical, Laudato si' called for people across the world to try and save
the environment prompting Catholic organizations to start programs to improve things. Father
Frederic D'Souza, executive director of Caritas India, the social arm of the Catholic Church in
India, told ucanews.com that the problem "is very large" and the work by Christian organizations
and other NGOs "is very limited."
"People are not speaking about it because the impact is not felt immediately. They don't see it as
a life and death issue touching them so they are ignoring it," he said.
Source: UCAN
THINK GREEN ACT GREEN
The Infant Jesus Church (IJC), Jogeshwari SCC Eco Kids Clubs have 2
projects in a year at the parish level, one in July (inaugural day- beginning of
the academic year), and another in January (New Year/Christmas party
combined with Poster drawing contest). The January Eco Kids gathering was

6. held yesterday, 15th January, 2017. Following are brief highlights of
yesterday’s gathering:
BRIEF HIGHLIGHTS:
• Nearly 150 Eco Kids attended
• About 80% kids participated were of other faiths
• ECO KIDS from 7 SCCs participated
• PPC team and SCC animators were actively involved
• The theme for the poster/slogan contest was SAVE AAREY COLONY
• Special attraction for the kids was GREEN SANTA
• GREEN SANTA advised the Eco Kids to THINK GREEN AND ACT GREEN
• There were games and half an hour dance session for kids
• Refreshments were distributed to all kids and animators teams.
Visit the GEM FACEBOOK link to see the photographs of SCC ECO KIDS PARTY
https://www.facebook.com/gem.enewsletter
If you would like to start the well structured and sustainable SCC ECO KIDS CLUBS
in your parish, please click the following link on FAQs on IJC, Jogeshwari, SCC ECO
KIDS CLUBS
http://infantjesusjogeshwari.in/scc-eco-kids-club-faqs/
Mumbai's Minara Masjid goes green, not just in
colour
By Aparna Shukla | Posted 06-Jan-2017, Mid-day
Mumbai's iconic Minara Masjid, which is usually bedecked in bright green lights during the
Ramzan and Eid festivities, is all set to go greener. Trustees of the mosque have installed a 15
KWP solar power plant on its terrace, which is expected to help them save electricity and reduce
the bill by at least Rs 3.5 lakh per year. During the month of Ramzan alone, the mosque, which
sees thousands of visitors from all over the city, generates a bill of Rs 1 lakh. At present, the
mosque consumes 35 KW electricity annually. With the 15 KW solar plant, the electricity
consumption will drop by 40 per cent.

7. Abdul Wahab, a trustee of the Minara Masjid Trust, who is also the man behind the initiative,
said, “We are hopeful that our efforts will help contribute towards a greener society. When
everyone is making an effort, why should religious shrines stay behind?” According to Wahab,
the trust researched about various green technologies, before installing the panels, which cost
them Rs 14 lakh. “It’s the most recent and efficient German Technology and hence, we have no
doubt that the mosque is in good hands,” Wahab said, adding, “It is different from the usual
solar panels that you see. It has a ‘metering’ system, instead of a battery.
Under the metering system, the power generated during the peak hours of the day, if not
consumed will be stored in the grid and monitored by a meter.” The 15 KWP Solar Unit installed
by a Bandra-based company Green Power is expected to generate 22,500 KW of electricity
annually for 25 years. Trust manager Sufiyaan, who has been closely monitoring the project,
said, “Setting up the panel has been a real task. We wanted to be 100 per cent sure about
everything because it’s a religious place.”
“We are taking a step in the right direction. It’s just been two days since we installed the panels,
and we are already getting calls from other shrines, trusts and associations. Hopefully, more
people will know about this and adapt accordingly,” said Wahab. When contacted, Sohail
Sheikh, head of Green Power Pvt Ltd, said, “Until now, we haven’t seen religious shrines take
interest in green projects. However, after we installed the solar panels at Minara Masjid, we have
been getting orders from Haji Ali, and ISCKON temple.”
From: Team RUR <rur.share@gmail.com>
Dear Friends,
Warm greetings from RUR!
RUR Greenlife - Are you Reducing, Reusing, Recycling? (RUR) is an environment organization founded
in 2009 with a vision to create eco-conscious citizens who make their waste worthwhile for the planet.
RUR has been actively working on sustainable waste management solutions. From home composting to
large scale recycling of bio degradable waste and dry non degradable, RUR works on designing, training,
sensitizing and educating citizens to set up a suitable system to reduce the waste impact on the landfill and
cut down carbon and ecological footprints.
'Go Green with Tetra Pak Recycling' is the flagship program of RUR. For over five years now, RUR
together with cooperative retail chains Sahakari Bhandar & Reliance Fresh stores and the world's leading
food processing and packaging solutions company Tetra Pak has been spreading the word of Go Green
Program to maximize the rate of recycling consumed Tetra Pak Cartons in Mumbai. Tetra Pak cartons are
100% recyclable. The recycled Tetra Pak Cartons are converted into useful paper products and composite
recycled sheets to make furniture.
For every 4500 recycled Tetra Pak cartons, a recycled school desk is donated to an underprivileged
school.
For a society joining the initiative, for every 4500 cartons a garden bench made from 100% recycled
Tetra Pak cartons is donated to the society.
Since its initiation in 2010, Go Green with Tetra Pak Recycling has far reaching impact:
> collected over 13,00,000 Tetra Pak cartons
> 82 corporate, educational institutions and restaurants, societies are

8. > donated 35 garden benches, 140 school desks and 200 recycling bins.
In the year 2013, 'Go Green with Tetra Pak Recycling' has been recognized in the
Limca Book of Records.
Please find attached the RUR profile, Go Green with Tetra Pak Recycling brochure, Registration Form for
your perusal.
Should you have any queries, get in touch with us on info@rur.co.in or rur.share@gmail.com/ 022
66540957; Rekha 9594477957.
Together we can make a change for a greener and cleaner tomorrow.
Warm Regards,
Team Go Green
RUR Greenlife Pvt Ltd,
Sustainable Waste Management Solutions
https://www.facebook.com/RUR.AreYouReducingReusingRecycling/?fref=ts
www.rur.co.in
Concrete chokes 20 trees in Mumbai’s green
lung, authorities pass the buck
Badri Chatterjee
Hindustan Times
The Mumbai civic body’s apathy towards freeing trees from concrete at their base continues as
a city-based non-profit organisation identified 20 trees that have been fully concretised at their
base along the Aarey check naka road to Marol check naka, Aarey Colony, Goregaon
(East).(HT FILE)
The Mumbai civic body’s apathy towards freeing trees from concrete at their base continues as a city-
based non-profit organisation identified 20 trees that have been fully concretisedat their base along the
Aarey check naka road to Marol check naka, Aarey Colony, Goregaon (East). NGO Watchdog
Foundation filed complaints with the garden department of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)
and Aarey authorities that the trees may die because of concretisation or may get uprooted by the next
monsoon.
“The ongoing road repair work has led to mindless concretisationby cementing trees and limiting the
space for them to grow. This will lead to these 20 trees drying up and their subsequent death,” said
Godfrey Pimenta, trustee, Watchdog Foundation. “According to the guidelines laid down by the ministry

9. of urban development and poverty alleviation, a minimum area of 6 x 6 feet around trees must be
deconcretised while carpeting of pavements or roads. The concrete needs to be removed from the tree
basins with immediate effect.” According to experts, concrete affects the development of roots and
weakens the tree base. Anchorage of the root gets compromised as the tree does not get enough nutrients.
On January 16, 2015, the National Green Tribunal (NGT), western bench, directed the BMC to remove
concrete within a radius of one metre (1mX1mX1m) around tree trunks and ensure that no construction or
repair work is done in that space for all trees in the city after city NGO Vanashakti filed an application
after surveying more than 2,000 trees, which were on the verge of dying.
Both departments responsible to rectify the issue at Aarey blamed each other for the inefficiency. “We
have received the complaint, but the area falls under the jurisdiction of the Aarey administration. We will
still sent our officer to the site to check and report back to us,” said a senior civic official from the garden
department. “We handed over this main road passing through Aarey to the BMC last year for road repair
purposes. There is an NGT order that clearly directs the garden department to leave space for the roots to
get water and nutrition and it is a violation by BMC to overlook this,” said NV Rathod, chief executive
officer, Aarey Milk Colony. “We will be raising the issue from our end with BMC as well.”
HT reported on January 5 that NGO GreenLine, along with 120 students from St Xavier’s College,
Mumbai, carried out a survey across 19 municipal wards in Mumbai and found 2,081 trees choked with
concrete and rubble at the base, without any tree basins. Officials from BMC’s garden department said
more than 50,000 tree bases were deconcretised since the NGT order. However, activists rubbished their
claims.
Why you should care?
“Cement restricts the growth of tissues in the lower half of the tree bark and there is no scope for the
expansion of cells, which ultimately leads to trees getting damaged and uprooted during monsoons owing
to their contracted base.” Marselin Almeida, botanist.
NGO to file executionapplicationagainst BMC at NGT
As the civic body failed to meet their target of deconcretising the base of all trees in Mumbai, NGO
Vanashakti that had filed the original application in 2014 highlighting the issue, will be filing an
execution application against the civic body for failing to comply with the orders of the National Green
Tribunal, western bench.
“We will be reporting to the Tribunal about the shoddy work done by Brihanmumbai Municipal
Corporation,” said Stalin Dayanand, project director, Vanashakti. “They bought time and did not do
anything to safeguard Mumbai’s green cover.”
Gurgaon NGO will move green tribunal to remove
concrete around trees
Ipsita Pati, Hindustan Times
Even a year after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered removal of concrete around trees across
Gurgaon, nothing much has moved on the ground, alleged a city-based NGO. The environment activists
claimed that the district administration had also failed to remove high tension cables encircling trees.

10. The NGO will move an affidavit at the tribunal on Tuesday detailing how the administration flouted the
NGT directive. Responding to a petition filed in July 2015, the green tribunal, in February 2016, directed
the district administration to have concrete and high tension cables around trees removed at the earliest.
However, there has not been a hint of compliance so far.
“It is shocking to note that in a city, which has been losing its green cover bit by bit every year, the district
authorities have failed to protect the existing trees as well,” Vivek Kamboj, the petitioner and member of
Hariyali Welfare Society, a city-based NGO, said. In February last year, an NGT bench, headed by Justice
Swatanter Kumar had ordered the district agencies to clear concrete piled up around trees on a radius of
up to 1.25 metres and submit a compliance report.
Kamboj said at all major locations across the city, the trees are literally found buried under a pile of
concrete. He said scores of trees across Civil Lines, near the forest department and residences of the
police commissioner and his deputy are trapped in a heap of concrete. Yet, the authorities are unmoved.
According to the petitioner, as many as 15,000 trees in the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Hdua
) and the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) areas need to be de-concretedimmediately.
“Now, new trees have been added to this ever-burgeoning list. We’ll move the NGT again as there has
been no compliance as yet,” Kamboj said. However, a senior forest official claimed his department isn’t
responsible for clearing concrete around trees.
The NGT took serious objection to high tension wires still found circling around trees and directed
authorities concerned to have them removed at the earliest. In March 2016, a bench headed by justice UD
Salvi issued an order saying power utilities should coordinate with civic authorities in trimming branches
of trees entangled with overhead wires. “The cables around trees are weakening them at the root and are
leading to their demise by preventing mutation,” Kamboj said.
An official of the Huda said the authority is looking into the matter. “We are working on a plan to have
concrete and wires around trees removed,” VK Nirala, Huda official, said.
Panchayat polls: Odisha’s Niyamgiri adivasis
pick their nominees for development
Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Rayagada, Jan 7, 2017
The residents of Parsali panchayat – inhabited by particularly vulnerable tribal
group (PVTG) Dongaria Kondhs – under Kalyansinghpur block near Niyamgiri in
Odisha’s Rayagada district have unanimously decided to select their candidates
instead of electing their representatives in the upcoming three-tier panchayat polls
scheduled to begin from February 13 across the state. While majority of the welfare

11. schemes are yet to reach them, the aboriginal tribals have formed a committee so
as to pick their representatives who will act as an intermediary in bridging the gap
between them and the government.
Scores of Dongaria Kondhs belonging to 36 villages under the panchayat held a
huge gathering to select their sarpanch, ward members and samiti members. The
villagers univocally selected Paika Sikaka from Lamba village as the sarpanch
candidate and Sanari Sikaka from Parsali village as panchayat samiti member
nominee. “The villagers of Parsali panchayat have selected me as sarpanch
candidate. I thank them for nominating me,” sarpanch candidate Paika Sikaka
expressed.
Notably, Lado Sikaka, president of Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti (NSS) had launched
an awareness campaign to nominate their candidates rather than electing
candidates, as they feel that they haven’t reaped the benefits of electoral politics.
“If we won’t unite, we won’t be able to avail any benefit from government. If we
select our candidates, then we will get the benefits. For this, we have selected two
representatives,” Lado Sikaka said today.
NSS, a resistant group, had been spearheading agitation against Niyamgiri mining
to feed Vedanta’s alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district.
Worth mentioning, the Dongaria Kondhs have been vehemently opposing Vedanta’s
bauxite mining plans in Niyamgiri hills which they consider sacred as they worship
Niyam Raja.
Hyd’s polluting industries to be moved to 19
villages
By Express News Service | Published: 17th January 2017 03:11 AM |
Last Updated: 17th January 2017
HYDERABAD: As part of its efforts to make Hyderabad a city with ‘zero industrial pollution’,
the state government has identified 19 prime locations outside the Outer Ring Road (ORR) for
moving polluting industries out of the state capital. The state government identified that as
many as 1,545 industries, which are in the city, are emitting hazardous pollutants. Majority of
them are pharmaceutical industries such as manufacturers of bulk drugs and chemical units.
Of them, 385 industries have been already shifted outside ORR. The remaining 1,160
industries are likely to be shifted by December 2017.

12. “Pharmaceutical industries are major among the polluting industries that are to be shifted
outside ORR. Hence, the government has begun taking steps to shift these industries to areas
outside ORR. The government has identified 3,104.10 acres of land in 19 locations for shifting
such industries,” official sources said. The villages identified for shifting are located in Medak,
Nalgonda, Ranga Reddy and Mahbubnagar districts. All the 1,160 industries located inside the
Outer Ring Road would be shifted to villages in the mentioned four districts, sources added.
Industries already certified for complying with ‘zero liquid discharge’ will not be shifted. Only
those who are not compliant, will be relocated in a phased manner.
In fact, Urban Development minister KT Rama Rao had announced an action plan a few
months ago to shift polluting industries out of the city. However, he had made it clear that the
relocation does not mean shifting of the pollution from the city to its nearby villages.
According to the minister, when the industries are shifted to the newly identified villages,
managements of these units would have to ensure that these industries are 100 per cent
pollution-free. Apart from this, common affluent treatment plants will be set up at these
villages in order to avoid pollution.
Delay in marking pvt forests leads to degradation of
green cover
Paul Fernandes| TNN | Updated: Jan 17, 2017
PANAJI: A lengthy, two-decade long process of identifying private forests and a delay in
demarcating and mapping the identified patches in Regional Plan (RP) 2021 has led to
irreversible diversion of green cover and degradation of unidentified patches in Goa.
Environmentalists allege that Goa's rich natural heritage, estimated to be 250 sq km in private
forests itself, has suffered massive damage, as two government-appointed committees; the
Sawant committee managed to identify only 46.89 sq km by December 1999 and the Karapurkar
committee, an additional 20.18 sq km by 2002.
Two more committees for North and South Goa have carried forward the process of classifying
more areas through field visits. But a few factors, including lack of surveyors to carry out the
ground verification and mapping the areas, has sabotaged and delayed the whole process,
activists alleged. "The two committees only identified the forests more than a decade ago, but
surveying and mapping was not done. This even prompted property owners to resort to illegal
felling and attempts to change land use," environmentalist Ramesh Gauns said.
Goa is one of the country's few states to have pursued the apex court's direction in identifying
private forest cover. "The state showed good initiative, but delay in marking boundaries on the
ground has led to degradation of private forests," an activist said. The government is trying to
engage the services of more surveyors to complete the work after national green tribunal
directed it to appoint more technical hands. "The two committees have identified more areas, in
addition to 67 sq km earlier, including at least 80 sq km in north Goa," a source said.

13. Goa's 3,702-sq km geographical area comprises 543 sq km of very dense forest (VDF), 585 sq
km of moderately dense forest (MDF) and 1,102 of open forest, as per the latest 2012-15 report
of forest survey of India (FSI). But, this fact has induced destructive tendencies among
successive governments on the grounds that Goa has a large forest cover. "The government
has allowed even access to mining companies in its forest and that, too, in the catchment of
Selaulim dam for transportation of ore," Gauns said.
Goa Foundation (GF) and other activists have been engaged in a legal battle to ensure marking
of physical limits of these forests at the earliest and to prevent large-scale destruction in one of
India's greenest states. "The exercise of identification of private forests needs to be completed
urgently, so as not to allow its degradation, on the grounds that the relevant survey numbers are
not officially identified as 'forest', as such, in expert committee reports. The complete
identification of private forests in Goa will also fulfill the directions of the Supreme Court order
dated December 12, 1996," a GF plea stated.
Nature lovers assert that mapping of identified forest areas should be a top priority. "These
forest areas should be consolidated and their protection should be made a top priority, as
forests are vital ecosensitive areas, which store water and help sustain populations through its
produce and food, including fish," said environmental activist, Siddharth Karapurkar.
From addiction to ordination: a homeless man's
journey to priesthood
Montreal, Canada, Jan 17, 2017 / 03:55 am (CNA/EWTN News).-
Claude Paradis was impoverished and homeless, living on the streets of Montreal, Canada. He struggled
with addiction to both alcohol and drugs, with a future so bleak, he considered ending his own life. He did
not end his life, however, and today he is a priest who dedicates his time to serving the physical and
spiritual needs of those trapped in poverty, prison and prostitution. “The street brought me to the Church
and the Church in the end brought me back to the street,” the priest told the Journal Metro.
This past December, as a sign of his closeness and solidarity with the homeless, Fr. Paradis decided to
sleep on the street for the whole month, to care for the homeless people there with solidarity and charity.
His hope was that he could accompany people in a difficult situation while also making the citizens of
Montreal aware of the harsh reality faced by those living on the street. Fr. Paradi founded an institution
called Notre-Dame-de-la-rue (Our Lady of the Street). Each night, he goes out to bring food and shelter to
those living on the streets. He also administers the sacraments, celebrates the Eucharist and even presides
at funerals.
The priest is accompanied by one of his co-workers, Kevin Cardin, who also was addicted to drugs, but
found help, changed his life and now has a family. Notre-Dame-de-la-rue has the support of the
Archbishop Christian Lépine of Montreal, who has described the initiative as “a presence of the Church to

14. give encouragement.” It also has the support of the city. “Our mission is especially to give
encouragement. Unlike the shelters, we go out to the people, a bit like a door-to-door service. We talk to
them, sometimes we pray together before they go back to face the harshness of the street.”
Fr. Paradis knows how hard life on the street is. After growing up in the Gaspé region and working in
Cowansville as a nurse, he came to Montreal 25 years ago. However, he was unable to find a job.
“Isolation and despair took hold of me,” he said. Living on the street, he thought about committing
suicide. “I started doing cocaine and then crack,” he recalled. In a letter posted on the website of La
Victoire de l'Amour (the Victory of Love), Fr. Paradis tells how he met the Lord.
“I had the privilege of meeting God just at the moment I was doubting Him. On a little back street in
Montreal, abandoned by people, there was nobody there. Passing by the old church, impelled by I don't
know what instinct, I turned back in there.” At that moment, he had a deep and intense encounter with
God. He realized he did not want to die, but rather wanted to become “a man of the Church.”
Fr. Paradis went on to fight his addictions and now ministers to many people who face the same
challenges he struggled with years ago.
The 57-year-old priest has dedicated the rest of his life to serving the poor, saying “on the street is where I
want to be, until I die.”
Marry before you are 25, a bishop in Kerala tells his
flock
It comes at a time when the church in the state has expressed
worry on the declining percentage of Christian population.
Posted on January 18, 2017, courtesy: Ucannews
Thiruvananthapuram: The bishop of the Thamarassery diocese in north Kerala has
come out with a prescription for a better family life - marry young.
Bishop Mar Remigiose Inchananiyil issued a circular saying late marriages, now
quite common in their diocese, are having a negative impact on relations between
partners and between parents and children. The circular was issued after a meeting
of the parish assembly. The bishop said in the circular that he is conveying the
suggestions of the "assembly". The circular said the age at which people get
married in their diocese- 28 for men and 25 for women - is quite late. It comes at a
time when the church in the state has expressed worry on the declining percentage
of Christian population.
"Our suggestion is that women should marry at the age of 23 and men by 25. If
they think of settling in their career first and marrying they will not find a suitable
partner. In our diocese itself there are about 1000 youngsters who waited and are
not able to find a suitable partner," Bishop Mar Remigiose Inchananiyil said. The

15. circular said people these days are prioritising career ahead of family and that they
should learn from older generations who put more importance on getting married
and planning a family life.
The bishop has called for the circular to be read out in all churches in the diocese
during Sunday mass. When pointed out that individuals are free to choose when to
marry, the bishop said it was only a suggestion from the parish assembly that was
conveyed in the circular.
Besides advice on the age of marriage the circular also prescribes that the bride
should wear an appropriate dress, that the wedding should be held in a pious and
traditional way. The circular also said while conducting festivals churches under
their diocese should not use fireworks display. The diocese has about 1.2 lakh
members.
IJMB (Infant Jesus Marriage Bureau), Jogeshwari,
Mumbai.
✍Personality Development series
Advantages of Early marriage as against late marriage
 Early Marriage means physically fit and easier to click a proposal as against
late marriage.
 Early marriage means, sexually more active and better sex life (as per church
teachings 2 purpose of marriage is physical union and to open to new life. So
enjoying sex at right time is in tune with God’s plan and Church teaching).
 In early marriage, more possibility of conceiving children (see the above
purpose 2 – open to new life) as against late marriage where less possibility of
conceiving a child.
 Getting kids earlier means, enjoying the company of kids for a longer time
(imagine you get kids after 40-45! Your time of playing and enjoying with kids
is already gone).
 Getting kids earlier also means, getting your kids married earlier. This means
you will able to see your children’s children (becoming grand mother/father, or
even perhaps great grand parents). In late marriage possibility of seeing grand
children is remote.
 Early marriage means, longer period to prepare for a well settled family life as
against late marriage where u have crossed the prime of your life.
 In Early marriage, both spouses work together at their early age to take care
of the material needs of the family (house etc). So less possibility of ego
clashes (Iike for example - this house is mine, I have invested money for this
flat/house etc etc!!).

16.  Marriage at young age means, you are flexible to learn and change. Even if
mistakes happen, you have time to learn and correct. Once you are old, you are
less open to learning as your mind and attitudes are already formed and
become rigid.
 Early marriage provides better family and social support as your relationships
base widens which includes in-laws.
✍Above analysis is purely based on my personal reflections. Whether you are happy
or unhappy, agree or disagree, I believe that there is some truth in what is said
above, as the Bible itself says, "there is time for everything".
WANTED HELPING HANDS- Courtesy: Daijiworld.com
For more appeals visit – www.daijiworld.com - charity
Ankith(14 yrs),'Amma',H No 5-59,Kodiyoor village,Udupi-576103
Ankith(14 yrs), S/o Ramesh Kotian, 'Amma', H No 5-59, Kodiyoor village, Udupi 576103 is impaired of
speech and hearing severely. He is studying in 9th standard with much difficulty in Saint Mary's
Kannada Medium School, Udupi. He is a very good drawing artist and has excellence even in academic
studies. Master Ankith has won Silver medal in 42 kg category in TAEKWONDO State level competition
held at Chikkamagaluru on April 24th and 26th, 2016. He is also a good skater.
The doctors in KMC have advised to fit a COCHLEAR IMPLANT to Ankith. The procedure costs Rs nine
lacs. As his father Ramesh Kotian is a poor auto driver, he can only dream of the medical treatment.
Therefore, he has humbly requested to donate generously to realize the dream of implant to Ankith.
Please send your kind donations to the following bank account:
Bank Account No.: 0630101059652
Name of the Account Holder: Ankith
Bank: Canara Bank, Udupi town branch,
Post Box 28, Kanakadasa Road, Udupi 576101
Bank IFSC Code: CNRB0000630
Telephone No.: 91 91649 12110

17. Rani Lidya Basto(50 yrs),4-85,Jappinamogaru,Permannur,Karnataka 575017
Rani Lidya Basto(50 ), who was operated for incisional hernia six times previously has pain in the
abdomen. She underwent Laprotomy and adhesiolysis with incisional hernia repair under spinal
anesthesia on September 14, 2016.She is a widow and her son is a daily wage worker in a bakery
earning Rs 300 per day. She has taken loan for her medical treatment. Staying in a rented house, she
finds it hard to manage her expenses. Therefore, she has requested for monetary help from kind
hearted individuals and philanthropists for her treatment.
Kindly remit your donations to her following bank account:
Bank Account No.: 34182053712
Name of the Account Holder: Rani Lidya Basto
Bank: State Bank of India, Kankanady, Mangaluru 575002
Bank IFSC Code: SBIN0003300
Telephone No.: 91 96865 62104
Published by Fr Felix Rebello
c/o Infant Jesus Church, Jogeshwari
Mob. 9819688630, Email:frfelixrebello@gmail.com, gemenewsletter@gmail.com
website: www.infantjesusjogeshwari.in
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