MEGHALAYA'S LIVING ROOT BRIDGES UNDER PMGSY

Efforts are on to bring Meghalaya’s bio-engineering wonders, the living root bridges, under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY).


The living root bridges are built by connecting local rubber tree (Ficus elastica) roots over betel-nut tree trunks, till they fasten to become bridges over gushing stream. These bridges scattered near Sohra (Cherrapunjee) have been live-savers for remote villagers.

However, the villagers’ hard toil has so far not received government attention; although, the PMGSY gives special importance to eco-friendly engineering works. “These bridges are bio-engineering wonders and extremely durable,” MM Sun, Chief Engineer and PMGSY nodal officer said.

A key to rural development is to have all weather connectivity in the rural sector. The objective of PMGSY is therefore to provide all weather road, culvert and bridges to uplift the socio-economic condition of the rural sector through better connectivity.

Under the PMGSY scheme, an unconnected habitation with 500 people is to be connected. For hilly and desert terrain the population limit is 250. The centre funds the scheme and the state distributes 80 percent of the fund for building roads and bridges and the rest is earmarked for maintaining existing ones.

In this context, the state government is brainstorming how the villages with living root bridges can be brought under the PMGSY, so that villagers can be rewarded for their hard labour, as there is virtually no maintenance cost of the root bridges.

A major hurdle in this direction, Sun said, is villages where the root bridges are found are sparsely populated without the requisite PMGSY population limit of even 250. Therefore, project reports are being worked out to get adjoining villages so that they can be clubbed together and accommodated under the scheme.

“We would see how these living root bridges can be brought under the scheme by clubbing adjacent village with sparse population,” he added.




One of the most well known living root bridge is the Umshiang double-decker bridge in the village of bee-keepers in Nongthymmai near Nongriat. It is 30 meter long and can take the load of 50 people at a time, villagers claim.

Another such bridge, near Laitkynsew village, the Umnnoi living Root Bridge is a 53 ft long and is locally known as “Jingkieng Deingjri” meaning “bridge of the rubber tree.” It is said that the bridge is more than 100 years old.

The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1844 by a Lieutenant H Yule first mentioned about these bio-engineering wonders. Not much interest was taken in them until recently with wide media coverage these have become major tourist attractions.




Meghalaya, meanwhile, is one of the seven states in the country along with Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab to receive funded from the World Bank this year for implementing the VI phase of PMGSY.

An amount of $ 1500 has been earmarked to be divided amongst these seven states, out of which Meghalaya’s share would be Rs. 315 crore.

So far, the state has built 348 roads out of a targeted 399, constructing a total road length of 867.4 km. In the next phase, the state has targeted construction of 483 roads to connect 570 habitations with a total road length of 2440 kms.

SAVE THE HOUSE SPARROW

“Eat fast or else the sparrows would nibble from your plate,” Mohammad E Dilawar recalled his grandma cajoling him as a toddler, with cute House Sparrows – plenty of them – listening, chirping and hopping gleefully in the courtyard.

This is not just Dilawar’s boyhood story. It’s also similar to many of ours filled with myth, folklore and love. Such occasional memories, of chiding grandmas cleaning Rice in courtyards watched by our emotionally-attached family of birds and animals, come fluttering back.

But now courtyards are a luxury. In their place “designer gardens” and exotic plants, with little ecological role, have taken space. Foliages and flowers washed squeaky clean with chemicals.

The urban space has turned grotesque with “match-box buildings.” Almost everyone trying to cocoon into one’s individual space.

“The web of life is so intricately connected that nobody can say I can survive alone,” Dilawar says philosophically. “From the biggest whale to the smallest worm, everyone needs everybody.”For Dilawar, time has changed since he was spoon-fed by his grandma, watched by hundreds of mocking House Sparrows. He has grown up. No longer needs to be cajoled by his grandma to eat and there are less of the brown plumaged friends staring with their dark meaningful eyes.

“My mission is to bring the House Sparrows’ (Passer Domesticus) song back into our homes,” the environmentalist and a member of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) vowed. Dilawar is heading a three-year project sponsored by the Ministry for Environment and Forest to save sparrows in India.

Why House Sparrows? “House Sparrows follow human beings and nest near human settlement. Any decline in their number is an indicator of things going wrong in the space we live,” Dilawar recognized as a “hero” by the august Time magazine in 2008 said.

At present, he explains, all the wrong things are working against the sparrow at the same time contributing to their declining numbers.

The young ones of sparrows feed on an exclusive diet of worms and insects. But many of these are perishing due to pollution. Chemicals like Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether formed due to combustion of unleaded petrol kills small insects and worms, the diet of sparrow chicks, the young ornithologists in his 20’s said.Vanishing courtyards, cramped match-box buildings in smoky unfriendly cities with no tenancy are moreover driving out House Sparrows. Besides, in India with 1.5 million cellular phone subscribers being added every month, mobile companies are hoisting n-number of towers. These are killers with their microwaves emission.

“The microwaves from mobile towers not only kill small worms and insects it also inhibits hatching of sparrow eggs,” he points out.

Dilawar who was in Assam some years back on a study tour says tea gardens also have replaced traditional hedges with exotic ones. “Traditionally in tea gardens of Assam Adulsa and Heena was planted. Now these are being replaced by exotic ones such as Duranta which does not support many insects and worms and the sparrows are left with no cleaning-up job to do.”

If the sparrows and other common birds that feed on small worms and insects are lost, a time may come when pesticide -insecticide-resistant variant worms and insects would colonise our farms and gardens, Dilawar cautions.

Sadly, in India like in many parts of the world there has been no documentation on the declining numbers of House Sparrows. “When I first told my professors five years back about sparrows and their declining number after going through research papers from UK, everyone was in a state of denial. But after giving it a second thought almost everyone came back and said ‘yes I do see a lot less sparrows these days,’” he said.

With his emotional attachment to save these small, humble birds, Dilawar with friends and colleagues has also started a social organization – Nature Forever Society (NFS,) http://www.natureforever.org/– in Nashik Maharastra, his hometown.

On March 20 this year, NFS together with BNHS, Avon wildlife (UK), Cornel Lab of Ornithology (USA), Eco-Sys Action Foundation ( France) and other organisations worldwide celebrated the first World House Sparrow Day.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit inaugurate the event in India. Similar events was also organised in Rajasthan, Gujarat, South India and other parts of the country.

“School children would participate in drawing, elocution and other events. The idea is to reach out to the younger generation to be part of the conservation effort,” Dilawar added.

Undeterred by fund constraints, Dilawar adds his objective is to start a Common Bird Monitoring System (CBMS) in India. Such a system would inform in advance on threats posed to the feathered-friend.

“CBMS would be an Internet-based system. The common men can report about the common birds’ sightings, numbers and locations by logging in the data on the Internet for further compilation by experts,” he added.

Years back, vultures were being wiped out in India almost to extinction after eating cattle cadavers administered with Diclofenac Sodium. The inflammatory drug was given as painkillers to cattle. Nobody knew about it. CBMS would ensure that such a situation never recurs.

For now Dilawar wants everyone to extend a helping grain-full of hands to the cute sparrow, which in turn would help save other birds, animals and even human beings.

“It’s a myth that only animals and birds in the forest need protection and not common birds and animals that live close to us,” he says.

Presently, NFS has been producing “Nest-boxes” and distributing these to people who care about the environment. “Many sparrows take residence in these nest-boxes readily and people call me up and say ‘there are newborns in the nest-boxes’…these developments are the biggest reward for me,” he says.

“The time is to act now for every one of us before it is too late,” he suggests.

Although he does not give much thought about the future, but believes people would certainly get emotionally attached to save their helpless and dependent “co-tenant.”

Perhaps the best way to sum up Dilawar’s and our story is to take a cue from Alexander Pope’s “An Essay on Man” which philosophises…

Oh blindness to the future! Kindly giv’n/That each may fill the circle mark’d by heav’n/Who sees with equal eye, as God of all/A hero perish, or a sparrow fall.

Durga Maer aagomon Nowka tey - 2017

DURGA PUJO 2017

Durga Maa Nowka tey aagomon. Ghatak-e gomon...” Life is a journey. A reminder of our scheduled arrival and departure. In between is Durga Puja – the festival that celebrates the victory of good over evil.

The essence of Durga Puja is the celebration of this fight and victory of good over evil – not just in physical terms, but also spiritual. The festival is observed to celebrate Goddess Durga’s victory over Mahisasura the evil Asura (demon) king.

Interestingly, the arrival of Goddess to earth each year is on a specific mode of transportation, having significance amongst the Hindus.

“Nowka tey aagomon means Durga Maa would arrive on Earth this year on a Wednesday at on a boat. This mode of transportation is associated with flood,” the almanac said.

Maa Durga is returning to her heavenly abode after her four-day sojourn to Earth on the Ghatak or Horse – an animal associated with War.

The mode of transportation changes every year according to the almanac. These include Dola, Goj, Ghatak (horse) and Nawka (boat.) Arrival or departure on Ghatak signifies war and drought, whereas on Nawka flood and misery. It’s not known how these beliefs took root amongst, but are taken seriously by many devote Hindus.

Durga or Shakti is also the primordial cosmic feminine energy responsible for creation and destruction.

2012

“Durga Maa Dola tey aagomon. Goj-e gomon...” Life is a journey. A reminder of our scheduled arrival and departure. In between is Durga Puja – the fight of good against evil.
The essence of Durga Puja is the celebration of this fight and victory of good over evil – not just in physical terms, but also spiritual. The festival is observed to celebrate Goddess Durga’s victory over Mahisasura the evil Asura (demon) king.
Interestingly, the arrival of Goddess to earth each year is on a specific mode of transportation, having significance amongst the Hindus.
“Dola tey aagomon means Durga Maa would arrive on Earth this year on a Palanquin and her face would be hidden. This mode of transportation is associated with epidemics and natural calamities,” said a local temple priest here.
But, the good news is, she is returning to her heavenly abode after her four-day sojourn to Earth on the Goj or Elephant, which signifies bountiful harvest and prosperity, he added.
The mode of transportation changes every year according to the almanac. These include Dola, Goj, Ghatak (horse) and Nawka (boat.) Arrival or departure on Ghatak signifies war and drought, whereas on Nawka flood and misery. It’s not known how these beliefs took root amongst, but are taken seriously by many devote Hindus.
20-year-old engineering student, Tupai studying in Chandigarh is here on a Puja vacation. A youth who lost his mother before the Puja celebrations last year. “My mother comes to my memory a lot. She wanted me to be a good electronic engineer, she was my strongest support,” the youngster said.
Durga or Shakti is also the primordial cosmic feminine energy responsible for creation and destruction.
During the occasion, the festival is celebrated in different parts of the state with great love and gaiety. There are 175 Sarbojanin (for everyone) Durga Puja pandals in the state this year, each with its unique design, colour and lights.
“Hope the festival would be celebrated with a spirit of love, gaiety, fraternity and goodwill amongst all sections of the society to spread the message of harmony and peace,” Meghalaya Governor, RS Mooshahary greeted.
Tupai, meanwhile, has not booked his return ticket and unsure whether he would fly or go by train, but is confident of fulfilling his mother’s wish in the true spirit of the Durga Puja celebrations.

Majuli Island drifting away

Isolated by nature and neglected by administration, Majuli Island is slowly tearing apart with several young Islanders taking to distant jungles to sustain their poor families.
The Island on the River Brahmaputra is the seat of Assamese neo-Vaishnavit culture and the world’s largest fresh water Island. However, years of nature’s fury coupled with an indifferent government effort to help the Islanders has led several to take drastic steps and one being: taking up arms.
“My parents are poor farmers. We owned some cultivable land, but it was washed away by the River. There are few alternatives for a living,” Mahesh Bora, a former ULFA cadre and a Majuli Islander said.
Bora along with several others from the Island joined the ULFA about six years back. Bora may have seen the futility in hiding in the jungles of Myanmar and Bangladesh and preferred to surrender before the BSF today, but there are others who aren’t sure yet.
Not long ago, the total area of Majuli was 1250 square kilometer. Its area now stands half at 650 square kilometer. With agriculture being the mainstay of the Island and each hour the island being nibbled away by the River, the 150, 000 inhabitants of the Island remain hopelessly vulnerable to drift the wrong way.
Apart from agriculture, Majuli has a huge tourism potential with its ancient culture and geographical uniqueness. But, proper infrastructure and planning is yet to anchor on the Island.
“Its hard to even find manual labour jobs in Majuli what would one do,” questions Bora, who in his over-sized blue jeans and tight checkered T-shirt is a reflection of a confused villager. But, his eyebrows knits together when he speaks of his parents and younger siblings he abandoned years back.
“My mother cried all the time and asked me to return home through couriers, so I had to,” Bora says scratching his bullet pendent on his neck.
He also speaks of death, pain and strange diseases in the jungles of Papong Basti in Myanmar as a ULFA cadre trained in AK series assault rifles, pistols and grenades to kill.
“Bora was involved in extortion, killing and kidnapping cases in Jorhat district,” BSF (Assam-Meghalaya) frontier Chief, RC Saxena said during the surrender of Bora and another NDFB militant, Jadhav Boro.
Both the ULFA and NDFB cadre maybe rehabilitated with the government package and as Bora says, “start business,” but is this the way out for Majuli and its youth?

"God is a great designer:" Kalam

Father of India’s nuclear programme and one of the country’s topmost scientists, APJ Abdul Kalam, on Friday, took school students through a unique journey of metaphysics, the Milky Way and a world of pure science, briefly interrupting to eulogize “God” for him being a “great designer”.

Interacting with school students here at the Raj Bhavan, Kalam while dwelling on the vastness of space, the mystery of the black hole and the Milky Way said: “God is a great designer… but some scientist may not agree”.

He added that while Venus was a hot boiling mass and Mars was cold uninhabitable planet, “ earth was put in a suitable orbit … and blessed” so that life could sustain here, while implicitly highlighting the divine intervention for such a unique creation.

Kalam also took direct questions from the school children and answered in his own candid manner, breaking conventions and security barricades to reach the children on several occasions.

“Indian minds are great” Kalam said, adding that an “ignited mind” is superior to all resources found on the earth and urged the school children to use it prudently for nation-building.(2005)

"The entire world is my family..."

In an increasingly materialistic world, her smile, grace and style might have been overlooked and abandoned, but otherwise these qualities should have been treasured.
Sabina Bareh, bejeweled with her million-dollar smile giggles, saying she is turning 100 years of age in the next two months and can’t hide her excitement as a child whose birthday is approaching. She and her friends are going to celebrate the occasion in a big way and Bareh can’t wait for that day.
Wearing a crochet wool scarp, Bareh’s wrinkled face speaks of the numerous journeys of life she has traveled. “I am very happy and satisfied now,” she says after spending close to 22 years at the Mercy Home, a centre for the elderly people here.
She gets pensive speaking about her family and why she turned up in the home for the elderly in the first place. “I have forgotten everything, now I am happy,” she repeats sitting on her bed and ironing her handkerchief softly with her hand, as though straightening the rough edges of life.
Bareh, there are scores of other elderly people abandoned by their loved ones lodged in the Home. None though wants to return and very few have complains about their past. They seem to have reconciled with their life and wants to move ahead.
In India, there are 81 million people over the age of 60 years. The figure is expected to rise to 113 million by 2016 and 179 million by 2026.
Back at the Mercy Home, as the petite Bareh speaks, resident inmates join in to interpret her somewhat stuttering speech. She however holds them back with her hand and her charismatic smile and grace. “Namdong…I come from Namdong village,” is what could be gathered.
“She still can cut betel nuts with a knife and she is one of the neatest inmates here. She is sweet,” another inmate and a government pensioner says in chaste English. This spinster inmate, who requested anonymity, worked for a renowned girls’ public school and taught them culinary and etiquette. But, she was left at the home by her relations a few months back.
Lala Singh Sonar, another resident inmate and a bachelor walks with a limp after an accident that left him jobless as a cowherd. “I don’t want to go to my brothers I would only be a burden. I am only sad that my employer did not help me with my job after serving for years,” he rues and walked away to witness a function organized for the elderly on occasion of International Day for the Elderly in the Home.
Everyday, the inmates at the 62-bedded Home chips in to help the staffs. “They do gardening, cut vegetables for the kitchen and do other minor works if their health permits,” Sister Ann, in-charge of the Home said.
While returning from the Home, Bareh once again invited to come for her birthday, she wanted the guest list to increase - probably wanting the entire world to be her family.