We are back! Our Reporter has the complete recording of what happened in the Superheroes Social Conference Read on to know more about it all below. [We continue Superheroes Social Conference from where Super Commando Dhruva had given a Mask to Chacha Chaudhary and Doga had, as, usual mocked it.]
READ FIRST PART OF SUPERHEROS SOCIAL CONFERENCE HERE
Super Commando Dhruva: Here Chacha, this mask is specially made to stop all the harmful pollutants and filter them. This mask is specially designed by my Star Laboratory to ensure that the person breathing through this will get pure air and nothing else. This mask is one of a kind and quite advanced technologically. This will help you in preventing yourself from all the pollution related side-effects.
[Doga snickers again]
Super Commando Dhruva: [With a hint of Irritation in his voice] Doga Bhai, you are at it again! Kindly explain to us, why do you find this funny?
Doga: [With some anger in his voice] I will tell you why I find this so funny! Chacha Chaudhary lives in Delhi, which is the most polluted city in the country. This mask is completely useless against Delhi’s pollution. This mask is at best some kind of disguise.
Therefore, excuse me, if I happen to find this funny! I may be a cynic, but, at-least I am a realist. I am not a person who lives in a Dreamland.
Chacha Chaudhary: Beta, I agree 100% with you. This mask is at best just a “symptomatic” treatment; it is not a “systemic” treatment.
[In this Superheroes Social Conference Doga Just grunts. Nagraaj and Dhruva give him a cold look .They are about to give a severe tongue lashing to Doga, when Chacha Chaudhary signals them to maintain their peace]
Chacha Chaudhary: But Beta, you are young. Surely, you must have some ideas to tackle this menace. Don’t you feel, as a superhero and as a responsible citizen of India, you should propose ways to curb this menace?
Doga: I believe in eradicating the problem from the roots. I have a simple solution. People should not drive cars. They should use bicycles. Cars are the major source of Pollution. They spew out Carbon Monoxide plus people continuously honk their horns. If cars are banned, you will see pollution reduce automatically.
Nagraj: This is not so straightforward, Doga. You are missing a point or two in your argument.
[Doga gets angry on hearing this remark. After all, no one had the guts to challenge him earlier]
Doga: What the Hell do you mean?
Nagraj: Well, What I Mean, Muscle-Man, is if everyone in Delhi stopped driving their cars, what will people do? Not everyone has a bicycle, and surely, the transport system of Delhi, being as it is, will be over burdened, if all of Delhi made a bee-line for it.
Doga: Well, then do you have a solution, Naagenstein?
Nagraj: Well, I do not have a sure fix solution, but the current “Odd-Even” Strategy seems to be a step in that direction. What Say, Dhruva?
Super Commando Dhruva: [Super Commando Dhruva is listening Superheroes Social Conference to the discussion intently] It seems to be more of a knee-jerk reaction than a right step. Because, if you are asking 50% of the Delhi People to stop driving on one day, you are still over-loading the Public Transport. Besides, who will make sure that the plan is implemented properly?
Chacha Chaudhary: I feel that you should think keeping in mind not only today’s problem, but the future as well. The Odd-Even plan does not take into account the impact on the public transport, nor does it carry with it, a guarantee of future sustainability.
Nagraj: I think one solution is planting more trees in Delhi. The government should show some commitment to development of Green Spaces. [A hint of sadness creeps into his voice] Instead we see concrete trees mushrooming. So maybe, building permits should be controlled and not given away freely. Maybe the builder should be licensed and not any person who has land should be able to erect a structure on it.
I mean, that’s the way we do it in Mahanagar [Mahanagar, as we are aware is Nagraj’s native place]
Doga: I think I will simply make a list of all the corrupt builders in Mumbai and I will send them to the heavenly gates.
[Nagraj is compelled to face palm]
Super Commando Dhruva: You know what your problem is Doga Bhai? In spite of having a high level of intellect, you are not willing to apply it.
[For the first time in the Superheroes Social Conference, Doga appears to think over this and does not react]
Chacha Chaudhary: Come on! Do not be harsh on him. Doga, surely, you have a valuable opinion. Feel Free to share it with us. Do not be afraid.
Doga : I feel that we should approach this problem differently. Pollution is just a symptom. It’s telling us that we screwed up badly and we did things that we should not have done. For example, when all the multinationals set up their shop in the NCR region, they should have taken care to have put forth a strong “Work from Home” Policy. Knowing the notoriety of Delhi People to flaunt their cars, and their love for showing-off, a strong Work from Home Policy would have deterred the average Delhi person to bring his car to work.
Super Commando Dhruva: You have a point, but this is just one side of it. What about the millions of people, who just can’t afford to work from home? Delhi is a big place, I know of people having to commute 50 kilometers one way to work as their companies do not have a work from home policy.
Doga: I disagree here. It is up to the people who are in-charge of the facilities at these companies to come together to do their bit. Imagine, even if 10 companies are able to put together such a policy. Ten companies implementing this means 50,000 people less on the road. Imagine the resources which could be saved, Dhruv!
Chacha Chaudhary : OK, Work from Home could be a good solution. What about using natural gas in cars?
Super Commando Dhruva: Yes, in developed countries, if people use Natural Gas in their cars, then they are given tax rebates. This can be a good practice.
Nagraj : Conversely, people should also be penalized and given penalties if they use diesel/ petrol cars.
Doga : Let us take this a step further. Car companies should also be penalized if they use conventional engines. Now that demonetization is a reality, taxation can be tracked easily.
Super Commando Dhruva : Do you know that China has earmarked certain days of the year as a “ No Car day”? I think this can be done easily. We can implement a “No car day” on certain days of the year. We are talking not only about Delhi, but also about Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata and every other big city in the country. Imagine the clean air that these cities will get for the days when there are no cars on the roads? I agree that this is a logistical nightmare for all the municipal corporations, but the rewards are too huge to ignore it.
Nagraj: Good Suggestion. But what about banning crackers on Diwali? We can ban crackers that make loud noise and permit the rest.
Doga : I heard in the news that the level of pollution across the country had just shot up on Diwali day. I can imagine the reduction all across the country, if we reduce the bursting of crackers. Also, the noise, ah, we can do without the noise. I am especially concerned about the noise in Mumbai when it is festival time. It gets unbearable. I mean, I can only fight crime which is visible, but noise pollution is the unseen villain. How can I Fight it? [Doga becomes a bit morose, since he starts thinking about his beloved Mumbai]
Chacha Chaudhary: Are we overlooking water pollution and land pollution? Chemical companies often release mercury based effluents in our rivers, making them highly polluted. What can be done to control this?
Nagraj: Plastic is also a major source of pollution. A lot of our cities throw plastic in water-bodies as waste material. Plastic is toxic and it is non-biodegradable. We should avoid using plastic and try using bio-degradable cloth bags or paper bags wherever possible.
[For the First time, Billu shuffles, albeit a bit uncomfortably. Everyone looks up to him with some anticipation]
Chacha Chaudhary : Yes, Billu, go on, you too can contribute.
Billu : [With some nervousness] I really do not have any unique idea on how to reduce pollution, but I have read some good initiatives taken up by our government to reduce water pollution namely the Capacity Building for Industrial Pollution Management, CAMPA, National Green Tribunal etc . I think that these types of projects should be made more public than they really are. The Public should be asked to actively participate in such activities. [Billu appears to think about something in this Superheroes Social Conference. His voice chokes and his eyes swell with tears]
I am sad that we are not able to recognize the evils of pollution in our country. For instance, pollution in India can even be seen from the satellites hovering up above in the heavens!
In India we have more than 27 Crore Children, who are now at a risk of getting pollution induced diseases. What is frightening that they are the future of our country. Imagine, what type of a legacy we are leaving behind for them? They will all grow up to be sick and unable to work. Do we want this India for them? This is why I did not participate earlier. [All people are stunned, not by Billu’s monologue, but by his mention about children. He knows that all of them have a soft spot for children. Billu senses this and tries to calm the inner storm that is now raging inside everyone.]
However, there is a ray of hope – India has now signed the Paris Agreement. Through this agreement, India stands committed to reduce its Green House Gas Emissions by 2030. Credits to our PM who pursued this aggressively.
Doga: Well said, Billu! I also think that like the saying “ Charity begins at Home”, we should all look within and ensure that we use CNG wherever possible, throw garbage in the dustbins only, at-least try to plant one sapling wherever possible. I think it’s our responsibility as the citizens of this country to observe our surroundings continuously and do whatever’s necessary to reduce the menace of pollution.
Super Commando Dhruva: I agree, we can look towards the developed nations and enact several strict laws curbing water pollution and protecting our rivers. Let us send an open letter to all the citizens of our country signed be my, Nagraaj, Doga, Billu and Chacha imploring them to help in this noble cause.
Nagraj : Hey, what’s that noise? Doga, did you hear that? Like some-one just sneezed?
Doga: Who’s there? Come out!
[Unfortunately at this point, our camera man had a sudden urge to sneeze and he had to pretend that it was a cat and not he that had sneezed. Therefore, he had to stop recording of Superheroes Social Conference. However, he assures us that he did not miss much. Happily, he has told us that the super heroes will meet regularly to discuss more and more issues which are of national importance and take some action. As to what that action might be, we can’t tell, but as Indians, we will all feel very secure knowing that our super heroes are taking cognizance. So, till then… Jai Hind!, and if you see a plastic bag lying on the road, just pick it up and throw it in the dustbin. This is the least we can do]