Discipline..... What's that?

"Two wheeler rider thrown off the vehicle and dies of head injury"

"Youngsters performing stunts on bikes and bike racers on Marina Killed"

"None of the victims were wearing a helmet"

"Infant riding with parents falls from mother's lap , dies"

The stories are endless. The traffic police says "they do not have the numbers to control " - Times of India in its report of date.

Blatant violation of traffic rules, scant respect for police, law enforcers taking shelter under insufficient numbers and added to that some corrupt law enforcers... Where is the solution?? 

Is it going to be stopped or do we have to simply live with it? !

A visit to Marina walking path reveals more trash than the ones in your bin at your home - paper cups, water bottles, liquor bottles, tissue papers and plastic bags... All strewn over the place but not many trash cans in the vicinity. Even if there is one, it is not recognized !!

The Police booth  near the Gandhi statue has provided Drinking water , for summer .... laudable. But, better if they  provide some trash cans, too. Not a single trash on the walking path between Light House and Queen Marys College- the stretch where maximum handouts are issued and also thrown by the receivers.

Wonder what is preventing the corporation from providing trash cans in such highly visited places when the Tiruvannamalai Giri Valam stretch is lined up with more trash cans than the trash ?

Lack of resources or lack of will ?

Very disappointing and distressing scenes !

Walkers in the marina beach have to put up with the cattle also taking walk along with them multi tasking with their morning ablutions too ! Some walkers utter more out of disgust that the cattle belongs to the influential people of the neighborhood and nothing could be done about it !!

Our own 'self disciplined ' people who look for trash cans the moment they cross immigration point at the airports and demand tissue to wipe their hands clean before a meal, do not hesitate to throw litter wherever they feel like at public places, on the other side of airports !!

There were opinions that we need to educate people more on the need to keep the environment clean and that literacy is the main issue.

Last week, we were in the Kumaon jungle completing a safari in Nainital forest , after a two hour jeep ride through dense jungle and disappointed at not sighting any wild animal. When we pulled out a biscuit packet, the third standard 'educated' Gypsy jeep driver warned us immediately not to throw the wrapper anywhere as there is a trash can at the exit point !! Literacy, the issue  ???.....!!

In other countries, when the road users site a patrol vehicle or hear their wailing sirens, they shiver in their pants and push hard on the brakes, reducing speed. No amount of greasing the palm is going to help. Here, a couple of notes, could allow a driver without a proper license to even drive on the hills, risking passenger lives !!

Self discipline, more non corrupt police, stringent application of law and deterrent punishment could turn the tide and stem the rot.

Unfortunately , all seemed to be distant dreams , atleast for now !!

I am not going to be impressed by the special cleaning drives that could happen on June 5th, being the World Environment Day. Such stink and rot can only be cleared on a sustained drive and not for the camera flashes of a scheduled event!!

Sweeping, Seeping and Snooping

Of late, I find many voluntary and service minded organizations indulging in cleaning the surroundings , clearing the lakes of weeds etc., This is a laudable effort in that it shows the involvement and commitment of the individuals towards a better environment that promises a better tomorrow. On the flip side, I also feel whether this could be a solution for the problems littered around us. If some organizations and good hearted people clean the place for a day or two, what lasting benefits is it going to bring? Will this not lull the civic authorities also? I feel that instead of OR in addition to this, such organizations could join hands and pressurize the civic authorities to do do their jobs. It will be better for such organizations to play a supervisory role,  monitor and track their progress instead of taking the brooms themselves. This is with due respect to these organizations and individuals whose efforts I applaud and in no way this is meant to disrespect or degrade their efforts. This is only a thought viewed with a different hat.

It is pathetic to hear about the technical and civil glitches that is surrounding the  newly built  airport terminals at Chennai. It began with the faulty design of the ramp, then a section of the roof or its false ceiling caved in and the latest is the seepage of the  roof. What is surprising is that if the roof seeps for the rain which lashed Chennai for hardly an hour, how will it stand the real fury of the North east monsoon? What happened to the quality standards and controls that are more talked about than implemented? What about the ownership of such misses that could turn costly? It is pathetic because, we talk so much but in reality none of these is observed or implemented.

On to the snooping of the US governmental agencies of one's data through the Gmail, Skype etc., - Shocking to say the least. Particularly from a country which regards high the privacy and rights of individuals, this is the least expected. At the same time, I admire the US President in admitting openly about its attempted peep at others' data, which also show the intentions of the Govt that appears to be genuine.

But, from a layman's perspective I have always wondered as to how on giving your password all the mail, cloud data  etc., are retrieved. This means someone has access to all your data and he goes on to retrieve your personal data even if your security details are lost by you after checking with some personal and private questions. For a query as to why this org which is storing the data of millions of people across the world are not (mis)using them, my conceivable answer is he does not have time to look into all the mails. If this appears naive, remember, my earlier claim of 'layman' here. But, in the unfortunate event of some sensitive data getting into the wrong hands , then you are done and dusted.

But then, it could also be argued that no one pressurized you to store all these data in a public domain protected by private people. It was on your own volition, you chose to believe them as it is without any service charges and so one has to pay for the same. It will be prudent to park only  banal data in such sensitive areas and not your private data such as passwords, bank account details, credit/debit card details, online transaction passwords etc., Prudence is more required and it is the innocent and the gullible and at times even a careless scholar could become a victim here. So, use your discretion.

If you want unhindered services, accesible from across the world with few clicks but with no cost, then one needs to be cautious. You cannot have the cake and eat it too - right ??