Showing posts with label Mamata Banerjee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mamata Banerjee. Show all posts

Friday, May 15, 2015

Earthquake Proof Homes Made With Local Material

Bamboo is magic. Check out this video.

This is where the Madhesh, Bihar, UP and West Bengal could chip in in a major way.

Instead of well to do Nepalis in Kathmandu organizing #GoHomeIndianMedia campaigns, there should be an effort to rope in the Chief Ministers of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal to put together a Donate A Bamboo For Nepal campaign in their villages.

I am not aware of the ground situation in terms of land rights and all, but would it be possible to create new towns along highways where the construction can happen much faster? All the needed reconstruction might not happen in time. And moving people will also have to be thought of as an option. New towns built along the highways, Chitwan, and the Terai have to be thought of as options.




Outside help will come, but only if Nepalis roll up their sleeves to help themselves first. Using local material would be a good start. This is the best video I have come across so far on the topic.

Another one that I came across and like a lot is here. The advantage here is that you can build the foundation using local material. And for the roof part you can use all those tents and tarpaulins that have come into the country from outside. This might be the quickest way to put roof over heads before the monsoon strikes. And these roofs are lighter than most, if not all. Chinooks could fly them to the remotest parts. Just drop them and trust the locals with them. Drop them in the valleys, drop them some distance from the villages.

These roofs, and water tablets: I'd think these have got to be top priority for now.


#GoHomeIndianMedia (2)

English: Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Baner...
English: Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee attends a news conference in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata September 7, 2008. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
ठमेल: Mini India?
#GoHomeIndianMedia

Even since the #GoHomeIndianMedia Twitter trend, I have been on a lookout for video clips that were supposedly offensive. Let's look at this one. My first observation was a racist hatred of Indians is the primary ideology of the elite in Kathmandu, with the Madhesis of the Terai plains bearing the full brunt of it, and this Twitter trend was that same vitriol surfacing onto social media.

भारतीय मिडियालाई नेपालबाट लखेट्नु पर्छ #GoHomeIndianMedia भनेर त्यसै भनेको होइन रहेछ... हेर्नुहोस् भिडियो...

I am not offended. I see a few inaccuracies here and there, but I don't see any malice.

India is a democracy. China is not. India is close to Nepal, China is not, geographically speaking. Ordinary Indians were much more interested in the earthquake. The Chinese in Beijing and Shanghai were less interested. Not because they are less human and less caring, but because they are too far. The US media gave major coverage to Haiti in 2010, and that is why $13 billion was raised for Haiti. The US media did not give the same kind of coverage to Nepal, and so Nepal raised less than 50 million in America. The Indian media's 24/7 coverage was good for relief and reconstruction. That is what prompted Mamata Banerjee to send 100,000 tents, the most needed item at the time. The Indian media is Indian. They cater to an Indian audience. Why are you offended that the Indian media is interested in Baba Ramdev and in Narendra Modi. Modi, FYI, is a duly elected Prime Minister of India who got a majority after a long break of 30 years. The India media is interested in Modi because the Indian people, the Indian audiences, are interested in Modi. Several European countries thanked Modi for what he did in Yemen. I have not heard any Nepali politician or organization thank Modi. For both India and China, this has been the largest relief operation they ever carried out outside their own countries. There is no need to minus the Chinese work. But you have to be really cynical (and racist) to try to play China against India at this time of tragedy, especially at a time when China and India themselves are not interested in that. They realize this is a time of tragedy. Even at a time of peace they both just want Nepal to develop. This China-India game is the smokescreen of the corrupt elite in Kathmandu. It is used to distract the Nepali people from corruption, mafia raj, and sheer incompetence.

Stung by its neighbour's reaction, India plays it cool after 2nd quake hit Nepal

नेपाली मीडिया नेपाल और नेपाली के बारे में बात करती है, किसी नेपाली को बुरा नहीं लगता।  इंडियन मीडिया इंडिया और इंडियन के बारे में बात करती है तो इस बात का किसी नेपाली को बुरा लगता है तो वो नेपाली बेबकुफ़ है।