National Highway 58 links Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh with Badrinath in Uttarakhand. This Highway passes through Meerut, Hardwar and Rishikesh.Recently I had a journey through this road during day time as well as night. The journey was through both villages and towns. Even though I took all possible care to select the vehicle, it developed a snag, and had to break my journey at a couple of occasions.
My cab driver seems consider it his birthright to drive and the road belongs to us! Throughout the journey, he had been using mobile phone while driving and never compromised on speed. When I asked him to stop either the vehicle or the use of mobile, he politely showed me another driver, of a passenger bus using mobile, while driving!!. He was least bothered about the speed breaker, which soon landed up us in a highway workshop.
He that is born to be hanged shall never be drowned
To drive safely, one must follow many rules and laws. To follow these rules, you must know what traffic lights and signs mean. , understand "right-of-way" laws and how to use traffic lanes. The driver must know where and when you can park. In absence of laws, use courtesy guidelines and common sense. (But common sense is not common!!)Be smart, aware and enjoy the drive rather than endure it! And never become a nuisance to the flow of traffic.
As the mechanic and driver were busy with repair, I had a coffee from nearby shop .I soon found Power theft in the cafeteria and in the work shop also. Soon I realized that my mechanic is using the light for repairing the vehicle in the unauthorized way. I had a glance of inside the workshop; a number of truck batteries are put to charge. Needless to say, pilfered energy is being used there.
Roof top of Cafeteria
Top of Workshop
To my surprise, pilferage of electricity is found at as many as nine locations just between three electric posts, in a township. As I ‘m venturing into that place for the first time and it being odd time, I stopped my investigation there. Many of the shops are outlets of nationally and internationally famous Brands. With much care, I took the snap of a Power theft, and verified whether I’m under surveillance or not .People are busy with their jobs. This gives me an impression that stealing electricity is a way of life and right of a person of this locality.
Soon I contacted my colleagues with whom I detected a lot of power theft. It surprised them also that nobody is caring a stranger taking snaps of power theft. During our mission of detecting power theft at another part of the country, people either make trouble or try to remove the evidence of power theft, once they realize that they are under the surveillance of an inspection team.
It is wrong to say that nobody is watching me!
The return journey was during day time .I made a stock of the situation. The vehicle moved slowly for one kilometer distance so that I could count the number of Power theft. Since it was a 6 way- road, I could count it only on one side. I found as many as 121 odd power thefts along the road side only and that itself on one side!!!.There was no technical skill involved, and all the works have been done in a dangerous manner.
The duty of obeying the laws of one 's country arises from the duty of gratitude for the benefits one has received from it and the laws are potent instruments for the general good.
Obeying the law is the greatest good for the greatest number of people and is a general moral obligation. Let revolution begin in our minds to obey rules.
Engineer does a James Bond Act
It was a James Bond-like impersonation that helped Kerala State Electricity Board engineer, Mr G. Srinivasan, to bust the secrets of a major power theft gang in 2004.
Encouraged by the then power minister, Mr Aryadan Mohammed, Mr Sreenivasan, a member of the KSEB’s power theft squad, pretended to be the CEO of a private firm and met the kingpin of the gang secretly seeking help to ‘steal’ power.
“We only had his mobile number and so we had to undertake this impersonation. I even worked in the private firm’s office for a few days to give it a real feel,” Mr Sreenivasan told Deccan Chronicle.
“It was a dangerous exercise as he was a hardcore criminal. But we drove together and he told me the modus operandi.”
With the tips inadvertently given by the gang, the KSEB squad took out raids and detected power theft worth `150 crore across the state.
These and similar adventures pepper the book ‘Power Theft’ penned by Mr Srinivasan, now resident engineer of the KSEB in New Delhi. According to Mr Srinivasan, power theft causes a loss of thousands of crores of rupees in the country every year. (Deccan Chroicle)
“Of the 800 billion units of power we produce, 10 per cent is thieved in various ways,” he said. In his well-researched book brought out by Prentice Hall, Mr Sreenivasan details around 54 ways of stealing power.
Naturally, the state electricity minister, Mr A.K. Balan, had some trepidation while releasing the book here on Friday. “I hope it does not turn out to be an inspiration for amateur power thieves as all the methods are described in detail,” said Mr Balan.
Jaipur is the first planned city of India located in the desert of Rajastan. In 1853, when the Prince of Wales visited Jaipur; the whole city was painted Pink and hence giving the nickname “Pink City”. The city is clean compared to many other north Indian cities.
I hired a car and by mistake give driver a tip of Rs.100.Taken by surprise of this, he thought myself as a rich man and carried me to only posh Hotels, which drained my pocket quickly. Because of his compulsion only, I made a journey to Pushkar. This is a small village near Jaipur. Lord Brahma the creator of the universe, brought forth Pushkar Lake, so goes the Hindu Mythology. This is the only place for Lord Brahma in the world. Ever since then, Pushkar trade is celebrated annually, devotees think that on the day of Karthik Poornima,all Hindu deities come to the lake and therefore taking a dip is divine. Originally the trade fair was started in a simply way, where villagers traded only donkeys etc, now the scope of business increased largely. The livestock traders decorate the animals very creatively especially the camels. The camel‘s hair is beautifully designed and further embroidered with vibrant paints and Rangolli colors.
Amber Fort is the capital of a clan; till Jaipur was made the official capital in 1757.The Amber Fort looks stunning, all-built in white marble and red sand stone. To add to its charm is the lake makes it foreground. Night life in Jaipur is certainly as regal as this pink city of Rajasthan .Though the guides at this place look harmless, they’ll made us purchase things we not require at all!
Choki Dhani is a village fair and restaurant. Live dance and music performance all through the evening is one of the major attractions at Choki Dhani, which was getting all but forgotten in these modern times. Royal dining is another speciality. Food is served in silverware but richly clothed staff with live performance by traditional dancers; ethnic dining with village ambience is worth seeing. The traditional Rajasthan food is served on a leaf platter of manuhaar.
Dry leaves in which food is served!!!
A Village man enjoying the traditional Food
Chokhi Dhani offers its visitors an opportunity to release all worries in the cottage dwellings that give a glimpse of the unique and splendid culture of Rajasthan. These cottages are semi rural dwelling that are small yet cozy , they represent the ethnic culture of Rajasthan as opposed to the majestic lifestyle of the Kings. The life in rural Rajasthan is all about humble living with purely traditional tastes
The display of traditional huts and workmanship will take you back to the times when splendor was unpretentious. Experience the rich warmth and rustic charm of a typical Rajasthani Village at Chokhi Dhani- the festivities never end here !!!
Live dance and music performance all through the evenings is one of the major attractions at Chokhi Dhani Village. The exposure that the local folk artistes have received has revived many of the arts and crafts that were getting all but forgotten in these modern times. Few visitors can resist the temptation to join the artistes and dance with the music.
The magic show, the puppet show, acrobatics on a bamboo without the protection of a safety net beneath, the astrologer, the fortune teller parrot all made the visitors spellbound.
The artificial forest with roar sounds of animals and tribes, boating, horse riding, camel riding, elephant riding and much more are here to rejuvenate you and your family.
Animal riders are great fun, be it camel or elephant, bullock cart or horse. The massage by the royal Masseurs is quite funny as they treat us as drum and perform art on our head and body making us feel pain, but soon released after the delicious dinner. But the way in which food is wasted cannot be accepted.
MAKING CLOTHING A MATTER OF CONCERN
I used to see an elderly woman resting near the foot path, on my way to office. There is always a dog beside her coat .She may be above 80 years old and sleeping in the winter climate of Delhi near path way. There are extravagant functions and celebrations at one end .Few students of Delhi enjoy pocket money of 6 figures a day. Another man has built a shelter for his family which is 27 storey and 4 helipads, a swimming pool etc. Another Indian spent few crores for marriage of his daughter. An IAS officer couple in Madhya Pradesh, India, thinks 3 crores liquid cash as small money to meet their daily paltry expense. Their unauthorized wealth comes to about 400 crores.A film star appeared in public without the adequate minimum clothing and boasted that she forgot it to put it in due to hectic schedule. Yes, India is incredible and a land of negations. Countless people suffer due to lack of warm clothing in winters. In some parts of India people dig a pit in the ground to make their children sleep. Women face major health hazards due to the lack of a clean piece of cloth for using during their periods and there are many who can’t even take a bath as they have nothing to change into. Clothing is therefore not just an issue at the time of disasters. You would agree that for people who ran around shivering in peak winters or die because of cold, winter s are a much bigger annual disaster than floods.
Make some effort, create awareness, and organize forums and gatherings. It will inevitably make a difference. Make clothing a matter of concern. If there is no avenue for you to donate your old but useful clothes, contact me.
He that is born to be hanged shall never be drowned
To drive safely, one must follow many rules and laws. To follow these rules, you must know what traffic lights and signs mean. , understand "right-of-way" laws and how to use traffic lanes. The driver must know where and when you can park. In absence of laws, use courtesy guidelines and common sense. (But common sense is not common!!)Be smart, aware and enjoy the drive rather than endure it! And never become a nuisance to the flow of traffic.
As the mechanic and driver were busy with repair, I had a coffee from nearby shop .I soon found Power theft in the cafeteria and in the work shop also. Soon I realized that my mechanic is using the light for repairing the vehicle in the unauthorized way. I had a glance of inside the workshop; a number of truck batteries are put to charge. Needless to say, pilfered energy is being used there.
Roof top of Cafeteria
Top of Workshop
To my surprise, pilferage of electricity is found at as many as nine locations just between three electric posts, in a township. As I ‘m venturing into that place for the first time and it being odd time, I stopped my investigation there. Many of the shops are outlets of nationally and internationally famous Brands. With much care, I took the snap of a Power theft, and verified whether I’m under surveillance or not .People are busy with their jobs. This gives me an impression that stealing electricity is a way of life and right of a person of this locality.
Soon I contacted my colleagues with whom I detected a lot of power theft. It surprised them also that nobody is caring a stranger taking snaps of power theft. During our mission of detecting power theft at another part of the country, people either make trouble or try to remove the evidence of power theft, once they realize that they are under the surveillance of an inspection team.
It is wrong to say that nobody is watching me!
The return journey was during day time .I made a stock of the situation. The vehicle moved slowly for one kilometer distance so that I could count the number of Power theft. Since it was a 6 way- road, I could count it only on one side. I found as many as 121 odd power thefts along the road side only and that itself on one side!!!.There was no technical skill involved, and all the works have been done in a dangerous manner.
The duty of obeying the laws of one 's country arises from the duty of gratitude for the benefits one has received from it and the laws are potent instruments for the general good.
Obeying the law is the greatest good for the greatest number of people and is a general moral obligation. Let revolution begin in our minds to obey rules.
