From tackling water shortage in Chennai to a family business using plastic waste, the top social stories this week
These feel-good stories will encourage you to become more environmentally conscious, save our natural resources, and lend a helping hand to those in need.
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This week, we bring you stories of how a community in Chennai came together to solve a pressing problem in their State – water shortage. We also spoke to Shri Phurpa, a medical trainee, who treks eight hours a day to deliver measles-rubella vaccination in an isolated village of Arunachal Pradesh.
How to manage plastic menace, family-business style
India generates around 25,940 tonnes of plastic waste a day, according to a report by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in 2017. Moreover, only 14 out of 35 regional pollution boards have filed information about plastic waste generation in 2017-18.
The plastic waste ends up accumulating in our environment and food chain, causing various health issues. The usage of plastic poses a challenge to solid waste management, and leads to other problems like groundwater pollution.
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EcoRight lunch bags
To address this issue, Ahmedabad-based startup EcoRight is selling eco-friendly bags for its customers. It claims each bag will replace the use of 50-100 plastic bags. Having sold over one lakh eco-friendly bags, EcoRight has prevented the use of at least 5,000,000 plastic bags.
This apartment in water-starved Chennai saved over 30,000 litres in an hour
Recently, Leonardo DiCaprio shared a picture of Chennai stating, “Only rain can save Chennai”. For a city which is in the grip of a severe water crisis, any solution that can resolve the issue is welcome. Recently, an apartment in Chennai made news by collecting over 30,000 litres of water in just an hour. It’s a feat that most city apartments must emulate to tackle severe water shortage.
Setting up the pipe line connection for rainwater harvesting (Image: Harsha Koda)
Sabari Terrace, located along the IT corridor, collected 30,000 litres of water through rain harvesting from its 25,000 square foot terrace. The complex, which houses 56 families, uses rainwater for three months a year, as it does not have a piped water supply in the building.
One man's 8-hour daily trek to deliver vaccines to a remote Arunachal Pradesh village
Bordering China and being the last border post in the district of Tawang, Mago, which is a remote village in Arunachal Pradesh, remains one of the most isolated areas in the State. It has neither primary healthcare facilities nor a market for daily necessities. One must trek at least 36 km to the nearby town of Jang to access even the most basic facilities.
Keen to do something good for his remote village, Phurpa decided to ensure that children in Mago were vaccinated against measles and rubella.
Since 2013, Shri Phurpa, a medical assistant, has been trekking various mountains and crossing streams every month to provide the children of Mago with vaccinations for Measles-Rubella. So far, he has vaccinated 35 children in the village, which houses 75 families. Recently, he has also started delivering polio vaccines in the area.
A clear-eyed view of creating employment in rural West Bengal
The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) along with Susrut Eye Foundation and Research Centre, in 2018, launched the Vision Technician training programme in an attempt to stop two gaps with one bush – unemployment and inaccessibility to eye care in the country.
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One of the trainees of the programme performing an eye check up.
The training programme basically aims to churn out eye care professionals. Anyone who is below 40 years, and has cleared Class X, is eligible for enrollment.
After completing 12 months of training, they are certified Vision Technicians. Later, the NSDC and Susrut provide them with all the necessary equipment and resources to set up an optical shop.
This man helps migrant labourers get PAN, Aadhaar, bank accounts, all for just Rs 40
Linking your Aadhaar card/PAN card, voter ID, or bank account details as an identification proof is mandatory at most places these days to get any work done. This might be easy for us, but for most migrant labourers, it's nothing short of a nightmare.
Naresh Sijapati (Image: The Logical Indian)
Realising the difficulty involved, 24-year-old Naresh Sijapati, aka Naresh Bhai, is helping many to get these important documents with ease. Naresh runs an office through a mobile van, also known as ‘Naresh bhaiya ki van’, and has till date registered over 600 members.
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