[sustran] Re: sustran-discuss V1 #634

[prema gopalan]

Dear Mr. Koirala,
I am encouraged by your campaignto educate people on safety.As eric
suggested that you involve school children,I would suggest you may include
community/local women's groups.In what follows are methods SSP (the
organisation I work with)used in the earthquake safety campaign in
maharashtra to reach out to over 2,00,000 households.
Target if possible --distribution of leaflets with stalls at religious
fairs(where large no:s of people gather)
Involve community  women's groups /Mahila Mandals in safety education(they
are likely to continue it)
Partner with the elected members to local govt.(which I am sure you must be
doing)
develop street plays which can be staged at schools and street corners.
Regular T>V and media clips
Starting with the traffic safety week I notice that you have planned many
events.It is best to have a year plan -as people take time to join in and
should be given many chances to do so.And I hope that the traffic week will
result in a Citizens for safety group which will support this work in the
city.
 If you need any more info --ssp2000 at vsnl.com or premag at bom5.vsnl.net.in

Best wishes,

Prema Gopalan
----- Original Message -----
From: sustran-discuss <owner-sustran-discuss at jca.ax.apc.org>
To: <sustran-discuss-digest at jca.apc.org>
Sent: Monday, May 01, 2000 12:00 PM
Subject: sustran-discuss V1 #634


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> sustran-discuss          Tuesday, May 2 2000          Volume 01 : Number
634
>
>
>
> In this issue:
>
>     [sustran] fwd: Kathmandu Traffic Week 2000
>     [sustran] FW: [fireflybrigade] online magazine articles
>     [sustran] fwd: Delhi news from CSE India
>     [sustran] Traffic Week- 2000
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Date: Mon, 01 May 2000 15:27:50 +0800
> From: SUSTRAN Resource Centre <sustran at po.jaring.my>
> Subject: [sustran] fwd: Kathmandu Traffic Week 2000
>
> Forwarding bounced message, Paul.
> - --------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 29 Apr 2000 09:10:36 -0700 (PDT)
> From: kumar koirala <kkkoirala at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Traffic Week- 2000
> To: Eric.Britton at ecoplan.org
> Cc: sustran-discuss at jca.ax.apc.org
> MIME-Version: 1.0
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
>
> Dear Eric,
>
>                Since longtime  I was thinking to
> contact you as I came to know about you through  Aryal
> Rajendra . As you know we are going to launch an
> traffic education and awareness campaign since 24 of
> May 2000 for a week in Kathmandu.Your safety Our
> concern will be the slogan of this week .Target group
> of this programme are the road users of Kathmandu
> which seems to be a vague one. However we will reach
> to the Padestrians , Public transport Drivers and the
> schoolbus drivers,students as well as parents,
> Motorcyclists, Bi-cyclists and the tourist sectors
> drivers. Altogether two hundred thousands leaflets
> will be distributed and classes will be conducted for
> different target groups.Posters , Banners will be
> displayed and distributed.Many other programmes will
> be conducted in that period.
>
>             This programme will be the begining of the
> education programme  but we will try to continue this
> programme for the whole year although may not be in
> this level.
>
>              Somany organisations are voluntarily
> participating in this programme.In this regard I would
> like to request for your valuable suggestions so that
> we will be able to launch an effective campaign.
> If you have any querries please feel free to contact
> me through this e-mail or "traffic at mail.com.np.
>
>            With warm regards
>
> Sincerely Yours
>
> Kumar Koirala
> Senior supt. of Police
> Valley Traffic Police
> Ramshah path , Kathmandu
> Nepal.
> Tel. 977-1-227338
> Fax 977-1-227321
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Mon, 01 May 2000 17:01:54 +0800
> From: SUSTRAN Resource Centre <sustran at po.jaring.my>
> Subject: [sustran] FW: [fireflybrigade] online magazine articles
>
> News of yesterday's bicycle event in Manila - the Tour of the Fireflies. I
> just checked out their web site. very nice! I especially liked the
> beautiful drawings on promoting cycling, public transport and pedestrians
> under the "about us" section.
> http://www.fireflybrigade.org/html/aboutus.html
>
> Paul
> - -------------------------------------
>
> >Reply-To: <heckler at quickweb.com.ph>
> >From: "Heckler" <heckler at quickweb.com.ph>
> >Subject: FW: [fireflybrigade] online magazine articles
> >Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 14:52:42 +0800
> >
> >FYI. Please check out the other sites, too. The Tour went very well with
the
> >Inquirer reporting some 2000 participants, a record for this kind of
event.
> >Thanks to everyone who supported us.
> >
> >Ramon
> >
> >Check out these articles about the Fireflies tour.
> >
> >Also check out our site. www.fireflybrigade.org
> ><http://www.fireflybrigade.org>  There are news updates.
> >http://www.localvibe.com/sports/042000/FireFlies/
> >
> >http://www.inquirer.net/mags/apr2000wk4/mag_7.htm
> >
> >http://www.pinoycentral.com/img/Events.nsf/EFeatureIDLookup/2000042711414
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Mon, 01 May 2000 17:05:10 +0800
> From: SUSTRAN Resource Centre <sustran at po.jaring.my>
> Subject: [sustran] fwd: Delhi news from CSE India
>
> Some transport-relevant news from CSE India. Includes comments on the
Delhi
> bus events of  recent weeks.
>
> - ----------------------------------------
> From: "webadmin" <webadmin at cseindia.org>
> Organization: Centre for Science and Environment
> To: <CSE-LIST at cse.org>
> Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 13:08:13 +530
> Subject: What's new at CSE, India
>
> *****************************************************************
> A fortnightly electronic news bulletin from CSE, India, to a network of=20
> friends and professionals interested in environmental issues. We send
this=
> =20
> to people who we believe are involved in sustainable development=20
> initiatives. You are welcome to unsubscribe yourself, if you so choose,=20
> just scroll down to the bottom of this page.
> *****************************************************************
>
> What's new at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi,=20
> India
>
>
> A cycle rally of hundreds of school children from Delhi culminated at
the=20
> Prime Minister's Residence on Earth Day, April 22nd as a part of CSE's=20
> Right to Clean Air campaign.
>
> On behalf of all the children of India, a delegation of 22 children=20
> presented the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India , Shri Atal Bihari
Vajpayee,=
> =20
> a Children's Manifesto on Clean Air , that expressed their concerns on
the=
> =20
> growing problem of air pollution in Indian cities and their right to
clean=
> =20
> air. This manifesto was an appeal from children for a more secure and=20
> sustainable future. It drew the attention of government and the
automobile=
> =20
> manufacturers to the serious issue of deteriorating air quality in
towns=20
> and cities of India. A gallery of pictures at=20
>
> http://www.oneworld.org/cse/html/earthday/cleanair.htm
> - -------------------------------------------------
>
> .................
>
>
> A message from the Director, Anil Agarwal:
>
> Hammer of Thor
>
> WHEN it comes to pollution control, it is only the hammer of the=20
> honourable judges of the Supreme Court (SC) that seems to push the=20
> government to do anything. Without creating a crisis, first for the
auto=20
> industry last year and now for the government, it seems that no action=20
> gets taken. Almost, as if the government has abdicated its=20
> responsibilities for pollution control and public health.
>
> The manner in which both the state and Central governments wasted the
long=
> =20
> lead time of 22 months, that the SC had given them is truly a murky
story=20
> of how politicians and bureaucrats consistently give in to industrial=20
> lobbies. The SC order dates back to July 1998 with a clear deadline -
to=20
> convert all eight-year-old buses (both private and of the Delhi
Transport=20
> Corporation (DTC) to compressed natural gas (CNG). Forget public
interest.=
> =20
> It is also sad that the media has failed to draw public attention to
the=20
> totally non-cooperative and obstructionist role that the Central=20
> government has played in this entire drama. The Court, too,
unfortunately,=
> =20
> tends to overlook the latter's role because the prime responsibility
for=20
> carrying out the Court's instructions rightly lie with the state=20
> government.
>
> The diesel lobby has long been opposing the Court's order to get buses=20
> converted to CNG presumably because it means entering a new line of=20
> technology and the 'cascade effect' of SC orders for Delhi which then
get=20
> endorsed by the High Courts for other metros. Both DTC officials and=20
> officials of certain companies which manufacture buses have been saying=20
> for long that the CNG conversion option is too expensive and that buses=20
> with Euro II emissions standards running on 0.05 per cent sulphur
diesel=20
> should be considered clean enough for Delhi. DTC wasted away the time=20
> given to it without doing anything and then filed an affidavit a few
days=20
> before the deadline asking for a five-year extension in the hope that
the=20
> Court would agree the Euro II diesel option, which the DTC actually=20
> proposed in its affidavit. The collusion between the DTC and the diesel=20
> lobby could not be more self-evident. The argument in favour of moving
to=20
> CNG is very simple. The biggest pollutant in Delhi's air is small=20
> particulates and diesel buses contribute to as much as 20-25 per cent
of=20
> all particulate pollution from vehicles. Moving buses to CNG that has=20
> negligible particulate emissions, would mean a drastic reduction in
this=20
> pollutant.
>
> The diesel lobby's influence has been so powerful with the Delhi=20
> government that it has not been able to take any decision on another SC=20
> order of July 1998 which instructs it to augment its bus fleet to
10,000=20
> by April 1, 2001. As the court had also ordered that all buses in Delhi=20
> must run on CNG by April 1, 2001, the implication of the court orders
was=20
> clear. The Delhi government had to ensure that all new buses it ordered=20
> had to be running on CNG. It would be an absolute waste of money to
order=20
> diesel buses and then convert them to CNG within a year or so. But the=20
> state government could not come to grips with the matter lost in its=20
> dilemma whether it should order diesel or CNG buses. At the least, the=20
> state government could have notified private bus operators that all eight-
> year old buses have to run on CNG by April 1, 2000, but this much too
was=20
> not done. What we see today is the result of a total disregard for
court=20
> orders and amicus curiae Harish Salve rightly pointed out in court that=20
> the DTC affidavit amounts to a 'contempt of court'.
>
> Central government agencies have also tried their best to be as=20
> obstructionist as possible. Let us begin with the ministry of
petroleum.=20
> It was only around this time last year that the ministry had told the
SC=20
> that it is not possible for it to supply any better than diesel with
0.25=20
> per cent sulphur content. And yet within a year the ministry has=20
> backtracked and minister Ram Naik is proudly taking out public=20
> advertisements that both petrol and diesel with 0.05 per cent sulphur=20
> content will be supplied from April 1, 2000. How does a ministry change=20
> its mind so quickly? All this has happened not just because of the
growing=
> =20
> pressure from the SC now that only Euro II cars are to be allowed from=20
> April 1, 2000 a court order in improvement in fuel quality was becoming=20
> inevitable. But the real pressure came with the entry of the private=20
> sector Reliance refineries who are waiting to capture the large Delhi=20
> market by offering the desired quality of fuel. A move which put the
cat=20
> amongst the coy public sector pigeons.
>
> Improvements in both petrol and diesel quality are vital for
controlling=20
> emissions. In 1996, the SC had ordered that all new petrol cars must
have=20
> cat convertors and asked for the introduction of unleaded petrol. But=20
> sulphur in petrol also destroys the catalyst. A cat convertor is
supposed=20
> to last for 80,000 km but no manufacturer knows whether this is true or=20
> not. This is because of the poor fuel quality supplied to Indian=20
> consumers, making a mockery of SC orders. In the case of diesel, even
if=20
> particulate pollution from all buses is reduced to negligible levels by=20
> moving them to CNG, there will still be many uses of diesel. Goods=20
> vehicles are heavy polluters and here the CNG option is limited because
of=
> =20
> the large volume of inter-state traffic.
>
> Given the extremely fractured state of the country's environmental=20
> governance, the Union ministry of environment and forests (MEF) has no=20
> powers to set standards for fuel quality from the pollution point of
view.=
> =20
> In fact, even the emissions standards for vehicles are notified by the=20
> ministry of surface transport (MOST) and not by the MEF. The latter is
a=20
> mere adviser. Since there were no standards for CNG buses, it was MOST=20
> that had to take the lead in this. But the ministry did nothing on its
own=
> =20
> despite the SC orders till almost a year had gone by taking the
specious=20
> plea that the state government had not asked it to do so. Meanwhile,
the=20
> Indian Institute of Petroleum refused to certify that a converted bus
was=20
> not meeting the standard because no standards had been specified nor
was=20
> the certification procedure. Instead of clarifying the certification=20
> procedure fast, MOST calmly took the position that the certification of=20
> converted buses was a special matter, different from the certification=20
> process for new vehicles, even though a few CNG buses were already
running=
> =20
> in Mumbai. Why couldn't the same procedure be applied to the buses for=20
> Delhi? MOST merely set up a committee to look into the matter with no=20
> deadline totally oblivious of the SC deadline. This obviously created=20
> problems and delays for the Delhi government.
>
> It became clear a few weeks ago where the loyalties of MOST have been
all=20
> the time when it publicly stated that the CNG option is too expensive
and=20
> the option of improved diesel buses should not be overlooked. Sure,
cost=20
> is important, but haven't auto manufacturers also invested a lot to=20
> improve their vehicles to Euro II standards? The Western experience=20
> clearly shows that a clean environment does not come together with
fancy=20
> modern technology without paying a cost or else people have to be
prepared=
> =20
> to pay the cost of death and illness in the form of doctor's fees,
costs=20
> of medicines and hospital charges. But protecting the environment is
not=20
> MOST responsibility so why should it care and it is not under the=20
> spotlight of the SC either.
>
> In an affidavit, filed before the SC, the ministry says, that it has=20
> discussed the recommendations of the Environment Pollution Control=20
> Authority (EPCA), for the National Capital Region, to ban private
diesel=20
> cars in order to stop new sources of particulate pollution with MOST
and=20
> the ministry of industry and disagrees with it. The EPCA is an agency
of=20
> the ministry itself but set up under the orders of the SC and which=20
> regularly provides advice to the court. The reason cited for
disagreement=20
> is that no vehicle that meets the specified emissions standards can be=20
> banned. For the MEF to disregard environmental concerns and hide behind
a=20
> legal provision is outrageous. Does the ministry have any information
to=20
> show that the public health effects of diesel and the actions being
taking=
> =20
> against its use from Tokyo to California can be disregarded?
>
> And just how valid is its argument? After all, vehicular emissions=20
> standards are secondary to and derivative of air quality standards. The=20
> ministry itself has not come up with any action plan to give us clean
air=20
> by controlling particulate pollution in Delhi which is its own=20
> responsibility. The Central Pollution Control Board has started
measuring=20
> respirable particles (PM10) which go deep into the lungs and are a
bigger=20
> threat to public health than all particles. Both in 1998 and 1999
winter,=20
> PM10 levels reached as high as 800 microgrammes per cubic meter
(=B5g/cum)=
> =20
> which are levels that we have not been able to find recorded in any
city=20
> of the world. Whereas the standard says that it should be below 100=20
> =B5g/cum. Let the ministry take up the challenge and tell the public
how=20
> this particulate pollution can be controlled without controlling the
use=20
> of diesel.
>
> Moreover, all over the world, from Zurich to California, it is
recognised=20
> that local situations can demand stricter standards than the national=20
> standards. Not surprisingly, the SC is imposing stricter standards for
a=20
> pollution hot spot like Delhi  both through stricter emissions
standards=20
> as in the case of cars and through alternative fuels in the case of
buses,=
> =20
> autos and taxis. In fact, the MEF affidavit can also be read as saying=20
> that the SC's orders are illegal.
>
> It is clear that several agencies of both the Central and Delhi
government=
> =20
> have been greatly under the influence of the diesel lobby. Even Prime=20
> Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has contributed his little bit to this
state=
> =20
> of affairs through his total inaction on the pollution front despite=20
> evidence of serious and growing air pollution in most Indian towns and=20
> cities. Despite the fractured state of environmental governance, as=20
> described above, there have been no reports of the cabinet having=20
> discussed this issue in its entirety. The entire story stinks of money,=20
> influence and of course, lack of concern.
>
> A strong SC has definitely increased the accountability of the Delhi=20
> government for air pollution but as of yet the Central government has=20
> escaped any accountability.=20
>
> - - Anil Agarwal
>
>
> Visit our website at www.cseindia.org or www.oneworld.org/cse and check=20
> out what's new. Our website carries our science and environment=20
> fortnightly Down To Earth, a weekly Feature Service of articles on=20
> environment and a daily environment news flash by subject categories.
We=20
> also give regular updates on all of our campaigns on topics like
vehicular=
> =20
> pollution, climate change, biodiversity, water resources, wildlife,=20
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is=20
> searchable through a thesaurus of environmental keywords at=20
> http://data.cseindia.org=20
>
> We are also looking for reciprocal linking to other websites in this
area.=
> =20
> Let us know your website address and we would be happy to link to you.=20
> Please feel=20
> free to forward this message to other interested individuals.=20
>
> .............
>
> Usha Sekhar=20
> Website Unit=20
> Centre for Science and Environment=20
>
>
>
>
> ****************************************************************
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> ****************************************************************
>          CENTRE FOR SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT  ( CSE )
>  41, TUGHLAKABAD INSTITUTIONAL AREA, NEW DELHI- 110 062
>             TELE:        608 1110, 608 1124 =20
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>  =20
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 18:25:15 +0200
> From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org
> Subject: [sustran] Traffic Week- 2000
>
> Dear Kumar Koirala,
>
> I was very pleased to receive your kind letter, and even more happy to
learn
> about "Your safety, Our concern" week which begins on the 24th of this
> month. I have looked at the activities that you are planning and find that
> they are very good. I do have two small suggestions, in the hope that they
> may be of some use to you and your city.
>
> First, have you considered the possibility of working with the schools to
> involve the school children directly in this important consciousness
raising
> effort? We have found them to be powerful actors in the move to better and
> more socially just transportation.  And of course when you and I are gone,
> they are tomorrow's leaders, so we might as well begin preparing them to
be
> better leaders than we were. You will find more on this approach in the
> Children on the Move site at http://www.ecoplan.org/children.
>
> Second, I would like to see what we all might be able to do to provide you
> with as much support and help as we possibly can. One very good step will
be
> for you to continue to keep us all informed by means of communications to
> the excellent SUSTRAN forum. You will find that they are very good friends
> and sources of wise counsel indeed. Also, we will send on all your
> information and requests to both the @ccess on the Web forum at
> http://www.ecoplan.org/access and the Politics of Sustainability program
at
> http://www.ecoplan.org/politics. Both may have some ideas and feedback for
> you.  And of course there is also the @World Car-Free Day Consortium at
> http://ecoplan.org/carfreeday/, which we shall also notify.
>
> I am assuming that this year it is perhaps too early to consider having a
> World Wide Web site to support your program, but when that becomes
possible
> we can highlight it in much the same manner that we did the very find
> car-free day in Bogotá on the 24th of February.
>
> My colleagues join me in sending our very best wishes for the success of
> your efforts.
>
>
> With all good wishes,
>
> Eric Britton
>
> ecopl at n ___  technology, economy, society  ___
> Le Frene, 8/10 rue Joseph Bara, 75006 Paris, France
> Eric.Britton at ecoplan.org     URL www.ecoplan.org
> Mobile: +336 80 96 78 79
> Voice/Videoconference +331.4441.6340 (1-4)
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> End of sustran-discuss V1 #634
> ******************************
>
>