Health care professionals across the globe are facing a serious scarcity of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). In fact, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has called upon industries and governments to scale manufacturing by at least 40 per cent to meet the increasing demand globally.

Access to PPEs ensures that doctors are safe while treating COVID-19 patients. The absence of safety gear increases their chances of catching the virus from exposure, endangering their family members and perhaps those patients who might not be positive cases in the first place.

In India, Maker’s Asylum, an innovation hub, based out of Mumbai is making such face shields for health workers and currently supplying them to 20 hospitals in Mumbai.

The community space launched its crowdfunding campaign for ‘M-19’ face shields on the online crowdfunding platform Ketto about 10 days back and started supplying it on 29 March.

Makers Space started out by supplying 15 face shields on the same day. Now, they have almost reached their half-way mark by supplying about 54,051 face shields out of their 1 lakh target in a matter of 11 days!

However, this feat has not been achieved by Maker’s Asylum alone. To ensure fast distribution and localised manufacturing, they are working with about 12 labs across 12 cities like Pune, Jaipur, Rajkot, and Bengaluru, among others.

This has ensured the timely provision of vital protection for healthcare professionals across 50 hospitals in the country and frontline workers like policemen working in these crucial times.

How The Campaign Began

Led by co-founder and Mechanical Engineer Vaibhav Chhabra, the workstation at Maker’s Asylum works with 10 volunteers in every shift till midnight. They have alone supplied 13,486 face shields available at Rs. 55 per piece.

The best part about these shields is that they can be sanitised and reused helping the substantial reduction of bio-medical waste.

The idea to manufacture PPEs came to the founders when they read up on its increasing demand for health care professionals. “We would regularly host educational programs and workshops at Maker’s space which had to be cancelled. We had the time so thought why not innovate and come up with a solution in our small way to meet the scarcity of PPEs among health workers,” informs the 30-year-old.

Vaibhav along with three other core team members started researching online, designing, testing and making these face shields. They came up with 20 prototypes before finally choosing the best working design.

So, why did they choose to make face shields and not face masks or goggles?

Vaibhav emphasises that face shields are perhaps the most effective way to avoid transmission especially if exposure levels are high. “If you look at the transmission routes, almost 90 per cent of it is through the mouth, nose and the eyes. This shield protects you from spit and mucus particles, while also ensuring you don’t touch your face easily,” he says.

In addition to health workers, Mumbai policemen too have received about 2,000 of these M-19 face shields. While half of them have paid for it, the other half has been given away for free by Maker’s Asylum.

“The best part about the M-19 face shields is the scalability of its design. If you have a laser cutter, you don’t need to wait for anything else. As for the materials, one can easily find them at a local stationery shop. In fact, we have an excellent DIY video by kids who have made these,” says an excited Vaibhav.

How to Make Face Shields:

The raw materials required to make the face shields are:

OHP Sheets 175 Microns, A4 Size – 1/face shield

Foam Board – 8ft x 4ft (produces 239 headgears)

Elastic Band : 30cm/face shield

Foam Sticker – 6ft x 1ft (produces 1000 face shields)

A video explaining the step-by-step procedure to make the face shields has also been put out by Maker’s Asylum on their website.

How it Spread as a Movement

When Vaibhav and his team started making these face shields, they did not anticipate the support and the scale of growth fo their idea.

“We started making these face shields on the 26th of March and put out our requirement of 10 volunteers to help us make them. Luckily, the support was tremendous,” says Vaibhav.

One factor that Maker’s Asylum fully needed to take care of is ensuring they take serious measures to avoid any kind of contamination while the volunteers make the shields.

Maker’s Asylum adheres to the following steps as a protocol for every volunteer entering their workspace.

1. Remove shoes and bags outside the lab
2. Volunteers go straight to the toilets to wash their hands (until the elbows) and face using soap.
3. Belongings like phones, water bottles and watches brought from outside need to be disinfected with sanitiser.
4. Each volunteer then uses a fresh mask. They also put on the M-19 shields to test and protect themselves.

All labs collaborating with Maker’s Asylum are also following these steps while making these face shields.

“These labs heard about the work we were doing and got in touch with us for our design. In return, we have told them that they join our campaign and help us achieve our numbers and make our innovation accessible to those who need them,” informs Vaibhav.

Now, labs based in Italy, Australia, Kenya, and Boston have reached out to them for their design and ways they can scale up this innovation themselves. Vaibhav also informs that they are currently working on developing Powered Respirator Protective Suit (PRPS), a protective suit that can be used by medical professionals. They refused to divulge any more information beyond that.

With half-way through their targets of one lakh, Vaibhav says it’s a given that they are not going to stop at that. However, scaling up would require support from corporates and individuals alike. He adds that they also want to make these face shields accessible to ASHA workers in the rural areas as the need might emerge later.

“I did not think we would be able to even reach a target of 10k face shields. Now, we are hoping to collaborate with more labs and together, we can hopefully produce 40k to 50k face shields in a day. Aspirationally if you ask me, I hope we can manufacture 5 lakh face shields every day in the near future. We cannot stop now as it is time to fight the multiplying virus,” he says signing off.

To support the cause and make a contribution, please click in the link here.

Also Read: This Chennai Startup’s Drones Are Helping Sanitise COVID-19 Infection Hotspots!

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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Even though the official lockdown period that India is under will officially end in a few days; with the number of positive COVID-19 cases increasing steadily across the country, state governments are urging the centre to extend it.

In fact, a few states like Odisha and Punjab have already taken the step and informed residents that the lockdown will be effective until 30 April and 1 May, respectively. Meanwhile, other states have declared pockets within their state as ‘containment zones’, and are singling them out for more stringent measures.

In this article, we understand what that means and how it will impact you if you are in one of these areas.

1. What is a Containment Zone?

According to a health ministry document on containment zones, “it is a barrier erected around the focus of infection.”

Under a lockdown, one is allowed to step outside the house to buy groceries, vegetables and for other essential services like visiting an ATM etc. while maintaining adequate social distancing measures.

However, the introduction of containment zones adds more stringent restrictions on movement. Once the area you live in or your apartment falls under the containment zone, you will not be allowed to step out of your house for anything, which includes buying groceries and essentials as well.

In these zones, the police, including special response team of armed commandos, maintain around-the-clock watch, assisted with CCTV cameras and drones.

2. What is a Hotspot?

A hotspot is a potential threat area that has been identified by the authorities after a comparatively higher number of cases emerge from the place.

The people detected positive might not be family members, increasing the possibility of community transmission. To prevent the same, the governments have identified and sealed off such areas to stop people from stepping out at all.

Once an area is declared a coronavirus hotspot, it will be sealed off, and no person will be permitted inside the localities or be allowed to leave them.

3. How long will these restrictions stay in place?

If the place of your residence has been identified as a containment zone, you will be informed by the local authorities about it. There is no time limit specified by the government on when the restrictions will be reversed.

4. What to expect if your residential area has been declared a containment zone?

• Be prepared to stay indoors all the time.
• Multiple screenings for COVID-19 symptoms might take place.
• Be receptive and accommodative of all the sanitising measures the local authorities undertake.
• Do not socialise or leave the house for anything, even your regular walk. This is applicable even if you are living within a gated community or apartment complex with its own inner roads and parks.

5. What are the measures being taken to sanitise these zones?

Any area that is declared to be a containment area will be disinfected thoroughly by the local municipal corporation. The steps that will be taken towards that effect include—massive sanitisation drives, door-to-door screening, spraying disinfectants at regular intervals, cleaning the doors of individual homes, followed by health workers screening all individuals.

6. How do I know if my house falls in a containment zone?

State governments have issued a list of areas that were identified as containment zones. For example, the areas in Mumbai can be seen here, while the places in Andhra Pradesh can be accessed here.

Also, the local administration is informing the residents of these areas using the public address systems and by approaching the RWA’s. In all likelihood, if you see that the entry and exit points to your area are cordoned off and the deployment of police personnel, your house falls in a containment zone.

7. But what about supplies?

In case you are within a declared containment cone, the local administration will ensure that all essential commodities are brought to your doorstep.

To make this a smooth process, the local administration has tied up with Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) and market associations to provide door-to-door supply of essential items.

8. Will banks and pharmacies in the zone stay open?

No. Shops, banks and pharmacies in these areas will remain shut. Medicines and other such essentials will be home delivered, to ensure that no intermingling takes place.

9. Is there an exemption to this rule?

While in the lockdown phase, there was still some leeway being given to citizens, those areas that fall in the containment zone are following rigorous protocols to ensure that the curve is flattened.

If there is a serious medical case, the same will be exempt, after due verification is carried out. Every authorised person who enters and exits the hotspot area will have to be registered.

Media, which falls under the essential services bracket, will also not be allowed entry into these containment zones.

However, journalists and others involved in essential services like medical professionals or other emergency service staff members staying in these areas will be allowed to go to their workplaces but will have to undergo screening for COVID-19 symptoms each time they enter or exit the area.

10. What happens if one violates the rules?

The consequences of violating the order of staying home might land you in jail for a period of up to two years and/or a fine decided by the enforcing agencies may be levied on you under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, as well as the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.

Stay safe, stay indoors!

Also Read: #CoronaLockdown: 6.7 Lakh Needy Fed So Far & You Could Help Feed More

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As someone who was born and raised in Mumbai, I have seen an inverse relationship between the spread of green cover and buildings. Where one burgeons, the other dies out to free up space. Furthermore, even if there is some green space, people manage to quickly turn it into a garbage pit.

But, where on one end, hope is lost each time a tree is cut or someone defaces a green spot by littering, it is kindled with the conservation efforts by eco-conscious people.

In the case of City of Dreams, a motley group in Bandra made up of young and old have been busy trying to create a pocket of greenery in 800 square metres of MCGM D’Monte Park which had become a dumping ground for people living in the area.

In their two year initiative, the citizen-led group called Dream Grove (DG) has completely revamped the place and now grows close to 200 vegetables and fruits.

“We integrated the concept of natural-eco farming that completes the life cycle of plants. We make biomass (nutrient-rich soil) from fallen leaves, coconut husk, garden and vegetable waste to grow the forest,” Premila Martis, an environmentalist and a core member of the group informs The Better India (TBI).

Swinging into Action

Almost a decade ago, the park that is now blooming with greenery and butterflies, was a dumpyard. A few years ago, Marie Paul, co-founder of the DG group, had collaborated with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and converted the place into a beautiful garden.

However, Marie noticed how the garden had started to deteriorate as people switched back to their dumping habits. Meanwhile, Premila was frequently coming across instances where residents were burning leaves polluting the environs.

The duo ended up discussing these problems at a social gathering and decided to clean up the mess, soliciting help from the BMC and people living in the vicinity of the Park.

Three Kilos of Organic Food Per Week

The transformation drive began with the mulching process where they covered the ground with dry leaves, cow dung and urine. They also added wet food waste and coconut husks to the soil. The results showed within a month with a surprise sprouting.

“We were surprised to see a mulberry tree. Something we had not seen for 15 years! It not only gave us a validation that our efforts have been successful but also encouraged us to plant more trees. From kids to the elderly, everyone was excited to see if the garden could give more edibles,” says Permila.

Today, more than 20 DG volunteers visit the park on weekends to participate in sowing, planting, harvesting and watering activities. The enthusiasm and efforts of the group has transformed the garden completely and the group harvests around three kilos of veggies and fruits weekly which includes radishes, beans, drumsticks, spinach, neem leaves, lemon grass, chili, capsicum, tomato, cucumber, brinjal, mint, turmeric, ginger, pineapple, bananas and papaya, among many others.

Interestingly, the project that was started in March 2018, is now coming to the rescue of the garden’s maintenance staff amidst the nation-wide lockdown. The gardener and watchman are able to procure fresh harvest for their daily needs.

Usually, the fresh produce is distributed among all the volunteers and caretakers.

“People new to the farm often go home with a handful of fresh leaves or a few tomatoes, chillies. Meanwhile edibles like bananas and bilimbis are always in demand. Those with an interest in nutrition, take home medicinal or herbal plants like drumsticks, insulin leaves, hibiscus flowers. Some even take seeds or cuttings for their personal garden. No one leaves empty handed,” shares Premila.

Such simple, community-led, pro-environment measures, sustained enthusiasm of people and a conscious need to bring a change are the perfect prerequisites to save the planet. Go team Dream Grove!

Also Read: After Friend’s Son Gets Cancer, Mumbai Lady Grows Food Forest in 3×6 Ft Balcony!

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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“Ever since the spike in COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, there have been strict rules of wearing masks for anybody out in public places. In fact, they say that you should wear masks even while travelling in your own vehicles. And in areas like Colaba, where I stay, there’s a shortage of ready-made masks available in stores or pharmacies,” says Manju Ojha, a member of the Navy Wives Welfare Association (NWWA).

Wanting to help out in these dire times, the proactive lady volunteered to stitch masks for free soon after it was announced by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) that it’s mandatory for anybody in public places to wear a 3 ply mask or cloth mask.

Talking to The Better India (TBI), Ojha’s son, Anjanish Kumar (24) Third Navigating Officer of the Merchant Navy says, “My mother has the spirit of a warrior. The moment she got 10 metres of cloth from NWWA for the masks, she stitched about 200 of them in 24 hours. She would only get up for her meals or to use the washroom.”

Passion For Work

While Ojha lives in Mumbai currently, she’s lived in various cities over the years as her husband worked in the Indian Navy and retired earlier this year.

However, she never let go of her passion to stay active and productive. Ojha worked as a tailoring teacher with the NWWA, teaching the wives of the navy personnel wherever her husband got posted.

Hailing from a town called Gopalganj in Bihar, Ojha is quite an altruist. “She’s one of the most selfless people I know in life. As soon as the corona outbreak happened in India, my mom started looking for ways to help the society. She’s a member of NWWA, which is an institution run by the wives of naval officers. She willingly took up the task of making masks,” informs her son.

A graduate, who had a full-blown teaching career in the late 80s, Ojha gave it all up eventually to look after her three kids after marriage.

Helping in Times of COVID-19

Once Ojha swung into action, she stopped counting the hours in her will to make masks for people’s safety. Her dedication and prompt action made NWWA sanction another 10 metres of cloth to her, soon after. She gladly burned the midnight oil while making the next set of 200 masks as well. Ojha has another set in the pipeline; and doesn’t mind the hours of incessant hard-work one bit.

“It makes me very happy to know that the masks are being distributed on the war ships, the naval officers’ offices, Colaba police station, the local market and inside our community complex,” smiles Ojha.

Her strong mettle is what binds them together as a family, says her son. And Ojha is using the same indomitable spirit to help people in her own little way during trying times like these.

Also Read: #RiseAgainstCOVID19: Join IAS, IRS Officers to Help Lakhs of Daily Wagers, Labourers & More

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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“I have a 3.5-yr-old child suffering from autism and severe food allergies. He survives on camel milk and has a limited quantity of pulses. When lockdown started, I didn’t have enough camel milk to last this long. Help me get Camel Milk or its powder from Sadri (Rajasthan)” –

– tweeted Neha Kumari on 4 April whose child is allergic to goat, cow and buffalo milk. And six days later, the Indian Railways delivered 20 litres of camel milk and 20 kilos of camel powder to Mumbai-based Neha all the way from Rajasthan.

All thanks to Senior IPS officer Arun Bothra who is currently posted as CEO of Central Electricity Supply Utility of Odisha (CESU). The officer has a large number of followers on the social networking site and came to know about Neha’s plight when he was tagged in it by a follower.

“We will forever be obliged to you for your support (sic),” Neha later tweeted, expressing her gratitude to Bothra.

Calling in Friends and Colleagues for Help

Once Bothra learnt of the situation, he immediately retweeted Neha’s request and talked to his friends and colleagues over WhatsApp groups.

“When I reached out to Neha over a call to understand the situation she told me how camel milk is her child’s lifeline and their supply would not last beyond a week. This matter was about a child and so I did my bit,” Bothra, a native of Rajasthan, tells The Better India (TBI).

Minutes after the IPS retweeted, help poured in from all quarters including camel milk suppliers and Chief Passenger Transport Manager of North-West Railway, Tarun Jain in Jaipur. A Mumbai-based supplier immediately sent the last 400 grams of camel milk they had, providing temporary relief.

Meanwhile, Jain escalated the matter to his seniors and identified a goods’ train that was to run between Ludhiana and Bandra Terminus in Mumbai on 9 April. The railway team coordinated with Hanumanth Singh, a supplier in Sadri town, Pali district and requested him to reach Jodhpur station.

“Due to the lockdown, he was unable to cover the distance (148 kms). Since the nearest station was Falna, the train halted at the unscheduled stop and the next day it reached the family,” Jain informs TBI.

Confirming the same to NDTV, Jain said, “After taking permission from the appropriate authority, the train was stopped and the camel milk was delivered to the woman at Bandra. For us at the Indian Railways, this is not the time to look at commercial gains. We have been asked to help out wherever possible in whichever way we can. Our (NWR) trains run through 18 districts of the country and we will do whatever is needed to help people out.

In the meanwhile, another family in Mumbai made the same request. However, the train had left by then. But Neha has agreed to share a part of the supply with the family.

It Is Social Media’s Power, Not Mine

Ever since the news grabbed headlines, Bothra has been receiving praises and congratulatory messages from loved ones and strangers alike. However, he credits the near-impossible accomplishment to social media.

“I realised social media is a powerful mechanism for stimulating change in 2017 when I was monitoring the Odisha police’s tweets. I saw social media’s potential for bridging the communication gap between people and the government,” says Bothra. He also informs that he has solved many issues easily through social media that otherwise would require a tedious process.

“At senior level positions, it is not feasible to meet everyone and that makes us even less approachable. One post on social media from anywhere in India can help authorities identify more issues like in the case of Neha. Social media is powerful, not me. So I request people to use this medium responsibly and help each other in such crises,” he concludes.

The country-wide lockdown has disrupted the transportation services affecting many lives. However, authorities and officers in-charge like Bothra are going the extra mile to ease the difficulties being faced by people. It all comes down to the will to help. 

Also Read: Innovators in 12 Cities Make Face Shields By Hand, Supply 54000+ to Health Workers

Feature Image Source: Anurjay Dhal/Facebook

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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If you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, it’s natural that you will want to visit a hospital as soon as possible and get tested. Unfortunately, the long queues and crowds there also make them potential hotspots, making even the healthy at risk of catching infections.

As a result, several initiatives are being introduced to keep patients and healthcare providers safe, and one among them is in Mumbai, which is home to the maximum number of COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra.

SRL Diagnostics, a company, specialising in pathology and radiology has set up three drive-thru booths in various parts of Mumbai to make COVID-19 testing quicker and easier for the residents of the city. First developed in South Korea, such testing sites are gaining popularity all over the world!

Get COVID-19 tests done without stepping out of your car

Speaking to The Better India, Dr Prabal Deb, the director of lab operations and the chief histopathologist at SRL Diagnostics, said “The drive-thru facility has been conceptualised to collect the test sample without requiring people to step out of their cars. This process will enable a larger number of collections, with minimal chance of spread of infection. While not much is known about the COVID-19, one thing is certain — it’s highly contagious. So, a potential patient who is sitting inside their own car is the safest way to minimise human to human transfer. This process is safer both for the patient and our phlebotomist.”

The sites are currently set up at Celestia Spaces, Sewri, IndiaBulls Finance Centre in Lower Parel, and Lodha Supremus in Kanjurmarg.

As the name suggests, you drive into the testing sites where healthcare professionals take nasal or throat swab samples. The person undergoing the test is required to sit in the co-passenger’s seat, or the rear left seat. It takes 5-10 minutes for the process of taking the tests to be completed.

Following the test, the collected sample is packed with complete care so that there is no spillage or contamination. It is then sent to the SRL Goregaon Reference Lab for testing. The referring doctor of the patient should receive the report within 24 hours.

“By collecting samples through these drive-thru’s, we are doing everything possible to protect the well-being of our brave and selfless healthcare providers by minimising human to human interaction without compromising on the testing protocols. This way, we are contributing towards minimising transmission and helping to “flatten the curve,” Dr Deb shares.

To make the testing more efficient and to avoid long queues of cars at the testing sites, SRL Diagnostics has organised a system one needs to follow.

How can I get a drive-through Coronavirus test in Mumbai?

The testing sites are open from 8 am to 4 pm on all days. But to ensure you get tested quickly, book an appointment with the doctors. Here are the steps to follow:

• Call 1800222000 (a toll-free number) to make an appointment with the doctors. You will be asked for your email address for the Mumbai diagnostics centre to send required forms.
• In case you don’t have an email address, the forms are sent on your WhatsApp number.
• You can also download the forms from SRL Diagnostic’s website or send an email request for the same to connect@srl.in.
• Following are the documents required to get a COVID-19 test at the drive-through facilities- a form filled by a physician, a medical prescription requesting the test and an Aadhaar card for identity verification.
• Once your appointment is booked, you can visit the designated centre at the assigned time.
• “If not arriving in a self-driven car, the patient should sit in the rear seat. It is advisable that both the patient and driver be wearing face masks, and keep the windows closed, till instructed by the phlebotomist manning the COVID-19 drive-thru specimen collection site,” says Dr Deb.
• He further explains, “On being instructed, only the windowpane of the seat, where the patient is sitting, should be lowered. The phlebotomist, attired in full PPE gear, would collect the nasal / throat swab sample through the car window. Immediately after collection, the window needs to be rolled up, and the car with the patient [should be] driven away,” adding that no occupant of the car should alight from the vehicle during this entire process.

Also Read: #CoronaWarrior: 61-Y0 Mumbai Woman Stitches 400 Masks in 48 Hours For Our Safety

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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Harsh Kedia, 23, found out that he was Type 2 Diabetic at the age of 15. It happened by chance for him when he playfully checked his blood sugar while helping his aunt check hers.

“You could be living with diabetes without knowing. However, among pre-diabetics, the light symptoms observed are frequent thirst and hunger, excessive sweating and urination, as well as a feeling of fatigue and exhaustion,” says the Mumbai lad.

It’s been eight years since then, and through trials and errors, research and doctor’s advice, he has developed a healthy and wholesome diet without depriving himself of too many things.

The multi-talented Harsh is an author (Journal of a Serial Entrepreneur, a book on branding and entrepreneurship), a digital marketer and an entrepreneur with his own gender-fluid clothing line. However, out of all the feathers in his cap, the one that changed his perspective towards life in general, was turning into a self-taught pastry chef cooking up guilt-free desserts for people living diabetes.

Read on to find out how he took on the challenge of diabetes head on and the scrumptious dessert recipe he has given especially for our readers.

For the Love of Pastries

Harsh had to make massive lifestyle and diet changes after being diagnosed with diabetes, out of which the hardest part was giving up sugar. To make up for things that he couldn’t eat, he started making diabetic-friendly sweets such as cookies, brownies and even milkshakes.

Infact, he founded ‘The Diabetic Chef’ – a cloud kitchen – in 2017, but he started experimenting with food the same year (2013) he was diagnosed as a diabetic.

His goal with the cloud kitchen was to cater to diabetics, the health-conscious and to sweet-lovers alike and treat them to stuff that they could enjoy without worrying about their health. Yet, he had to shut shop after his kitchen caught fire two years ago. Harsh still takes orders, but mostly for the old-age people or the differently-abled.

“Just because you’re diabetic, doesn’t mean you have to give up foods that bring you joy. Tweak the recipes to make them safe for your consumption. I highly recommend the famous Dalgona Coffee to all the diabetics and even the non-diabetics out there. Just switch sugar with stevia (it’s one of the best natural sugars available in the markets today). While it may not look as foamy and frothy, there will be no compromise on taste, I promise,” says Economics graduate, who started experimenting with sugar-free desserts when he was in college in Pune.

You Can Still Eat Dessert if You are a Diabetic

Harsh informs the key to good health, especially for diabetics, is portion control. Eat all your foods, but in moderation. “Incorporating more fruits, nuts, vegetables and eggs in your diet is essential. One shouldn’t go too heavy on refined carbs such as rice, breads or pasta.”

He also insists that a diabetic must keep either a bar of dark chocolate, protein bar, some digestive biscuits or even roasted nuts like almonds on them at all times. Sometimes, when the blood sugar drops, people tend to overlook or neglect it.

Instead of waiving it off, Harsh stresses on addressing it. “Eat a little chocolate to stabilise your blood sugar. Don’t go to sleep just like that,” he says.

To round things off, Harsh shares a simple recipe of Gajar Ka Halwa that almost anybody can make with simple ingredients at home.

Ingredients:
25 gm raisins
25 gm cashewnuts – chopped
1 kg sweet carrots – grated
2-3 cardamoms
1 litre milk (skimmed)
1 tsp stevia

Method:

• Heat some ghee (clarified butter) in a cooking-pot and add cardamom and milk to it. Let it cook until it reduces to half.
• In a separate pan, heat some ghee, and add the grated carrots to it. Let it cook for a while, stirring occasionally.
• When the carrot’s half-cooked, add the cardamom-milk to it. Cook until the carrots soak it up completely.
• Add stevia to the halwa and mix properly.
• Cook for further 8 mins.
• Garnish with raisins and cashewnuts.
• And it’s ready to be served!

“It has been quite a journey for me. I’ve struggled with bad times. I’ve seen good times. The scenario now with the coronavirus pandemic is again quite challenging, especially for entrepreneurs like me. But I’m sure this too shall pass,” he signs off.

Check out Harsh’s instagram handle.

Also Read: COVID-19: Can I Breastfeed My Child During This Outbreak? Doctor Answers

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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Mumbai-based entrepreneur Ruchi Jain grew up in a household that revered fresh harvest. She saw how her mother put immense thought into what ended up on her family’s plates.

“My mother was very particular about the food we ate. The focus was always on eating fresh and organic produce which we grew at home. In fact, we have a food forest at home itself where there are trees like moringa, amla, guava, mulberry among others,” smiles the 33-year-old with a Master’s degree in Environment Change and Management from Oxford University.

Ruchi’s post-Masters work with a World Bank project took her to the rural landscapes across India which further added to her pre-existing knowledge base of environmental issues and the plight of the Indian farmers.

This knowledge and reverence for nature, and the sensibilities of the effort of India’s farmers translated into a startup which would go on to impact over 10,000 farmers in 14+ states.

Founded in 2016, Taru Naturals is the manifestation of Ruchi’s learnings. The startup sells organic produce like turmeric, jaggery, rice, pulses sourced from farmers across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Assam, Kerala, and Uttarakhand among others. It helps farmers establish market linkages and ensure a steady stream of income.

They source over 50 tonnes of organic produce in a year! Not just that, they have over 300 different kinds of products on their platform and in addition to supplying to customers, they also take bulk orders and cater to over 70+ restaurants and cafes across the country!

In fact, on Women’s Day, i.e. March 8 this year, this young female entrepreneur’s hard work found mention in NITI Aayog’s list of 15 women transforming India. Another feather in Ruchi’s cap was the Condé Nast Brand of the Year Award in 2019.

From a Climate Change Advocate to a Successful Entrepreneur

“I wanted to create awareness and help people acknowledge the wonderful ingredients that exist on our land. At the same time, I also wanted to work at the grassroots and there was no better way to bring about transformation than by empowering farmers because I truly believe they are the first entrepreneurs we have had in our country,” she says.

Despite this passion to bring a change in people’s lives at the grassroots level, and her keen interest in farming and food, it wasn’t a path Ruchi had initially sought after.

Once she had completed her Bachelor’s in Political Science from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai in 2008, she joined the Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN) where she worked for over two years. Wanting to add to her environmental knowledge, she pursued her Master’s in Environment Change and Management from Oxford University in 2010.

Soon after, she joined a World Bank project where different business models were being tested for the scalability of off-grid renewable energy solutions. This is when she travelled across states like Assam, Uttarakhand, and Maharashtra.

Although she toyed with the idea of a career in the Civil Services as a way to serve the marginalised, she decided to quit her job in October 2014 and pursue the goal through her own venture.

Facing Failures before Cementing her Ground

There were a bunch of options and Ruchi tried out all of them before finally zeroing on selling organic foodgrains, spices, and oils sourced from farmers all over India.

At first, she was freelancing and providing consultancy services on projects involving subjects like women’s entrepreneurship, renewable energy among others. She also continued to travel across villages in the country to understand what her subject of focus would be.

“At first, I saw that a lot of women in rural households did not have access to cookstoves and they would mostly use chulhas. So, I thought I could work on providing clean cookstoves. But I soon realised that this isn’t the best idea for cash flows and with increasing LPG connections in the rural area, this did not make sense. So, I ditched it,” says Ruchi.

Next, she thought she would explore a microfinance startup or start a company that dealt with solar lighting systems.

“But, I just couldn’t figure out how to go about it. At one point, I was really thinking about what I was doing with my life,” she says. But, Ruchi’s farm visits did not stop and this was the saving grace. She happened to visit Phaltan in Satara and spoke to farmers there. It is here where she realised that what the farmers needed market linkages and she could offer that.

Ruchi decided to start experimenting by first selling jaggery to see how people responded to the product. With an investment of Rs. 2,000 she bought 20 kgs of jaggery which she packed at home and sold to her friends and relatives via WhatsApp.

Within a week, everything was sold out and this pushed her to explore this idea further. She slowly started procuring more produce like dals, rice, atta, millets and started selling it in fairs and pop-ups in early 2015.

“It was successful and all the products were sold out in three days. That boosted my confidence and I felt like I was moving towards the right direction,” recalls Ruchi. Finally, she founded Taru Naturals in May 2016 which was later incubated by UnLtd India, an organisation that supports social entrepreneurs.

She decided to focus on a few products like turmeric and jaggery. The jaggery was powdered and packaged in sachets to be sold in cafes and restaurants. Slowly, she also started selling fresh produce like mangoes, grapes, pomegranates, and different kinds of vegetables.

But, because she was short on staff and was operating a B2C model, it became difficult for her to manage operations.

“I would have to go myself to the railway station and pick up the fresh produce that farmers sent across. I would even deliver them on my own and it was getting really difficult. This is when I realised that when you are a small company with limited resources, you cannot sell products in bulk,” says Ruchi. At one point, she felt so burnt out that she wanted to quit the business altogether.

But, she decided to take a step back and sought guidance from Dr. Prabhakar Rao, researcher and farmer, who she met through the Art of Living Foundation that she was a part of. Ruchi took a break and while Taru’s operations were being handled by her sister. She spent six months at Art of Living while being mentored by Dr Prabhakar on how to grow food and figuring out how she would go about her business upon her return.

Renewed Focus and Reinventing her Company

Upon her return, she decided to completely stop selling fresh produce and focus more on selling dry products or products where value addition was possible. She began sourcing 10 different varieties of wheat, along with honey from West Bengal, different rice varieties from Assam, mushrooms, and saffron from J&K, spices, coconut milk, and oil from Kerala among several other products.

One of the key ingredients she started selling was high-quality black rice from Assam and that was a big game-changer for the entrepreneur.

“Camellia Panjabi, a Michelin star restaurateur based out of London, happened to taste a black rice dish cooked from grains we were supplying to Mockingbird Cafe Bar. She soon got in touch with us and ordered 500 kgs of black rice! Preparing for that shipment taught me a lot about ensuring proper quality checks and it took me three months to close the order,” she says.

There was no looking back for Taru Naturals after that. Not only did they add to their range of products, but they also started supplying to over 70 cafes and restaurants, including Taj Palace in Mumbai. At the same time, they were also catering to online orders and fixed their logistics and built up a team of 11 people in total who helped manage different aspects of the operations. On the tech front, they set up a proper website and fixed payment gateways that helped them efficiently manage their orders.

Slowly, they set up a small production unit for value-added products. They continued packaging the jaggery powder in sachets and made turmeric lattes, moong dal chilla, and pancake mixes which are gluten-free and containing healthy ingredients like millets.

Not just that, by 2019, orders from abroad also started flooding in. They began exporting six tonnes of turmeric to the US in a year! They also started exporting their pancake mixes and turmeric lattes to Dubai.

Creating Impact and Marching Forward

It has not been a smooth ride for Ruchi but with perseverance and focus, she was able to overcome the initial challenges that paved the way for seamless operations. In all of this, however, it is the farmers in association with them who have benefited greatly.

Take 34-year-old Mallikarjun Suresh Desai for example. The farmer is based out of Bedkihal village in Karnataka’s Belgaum district and has an 11-acre organic farm. He has been associated with Taru Naturals for the past four years. Now every year, he supplies about 500 to 700 kgs of grains, 250 kgs of jaggery, 40 kg and 5 kg of turmeric powder and ginger powder respectively.

“I think the best part is that there is a regular supply chain and they give us a good price for our products. Even when we need help on the technical front related to farming, we speak to them and they help us. They also help us ensure that the quality of the products we send them is of good quality by setting high standards,” he says. Mallikarjun is just one of the 10,000 farmers in Taru Natural’s network who practice agriculture on organically certified farms.

Richi shares a few words of motivation for budding entrepreneurs.

“Persistence is the most important. As long as you work with passion, determination, and vision, you will not fail. There will be competition but if your cause is important and pure, you will succeed. Always believe in yourself and mind management is important. Therefore, prioritise your mental health and manage stress with meditation,” she says.

Ruchi has also been keeping super busy these days. She has been raising money to donate relief packages for farmers in her network during this difficult time. These packages include food items like atta, dal, oil, rice, and safety masks among others.

She has also been utilising this time in figuring out her plans for the future. Ruchi informs that they are working on creating products using healthy ingredients that are traditionally known to boost immunity. They are also working on launching products for kids.

“My end goal is to work with small scale farmers’ communities. I want to help them become self-reliant and climate-resilient. The goal would also be to bring traditional varieties of food into the limelight. I aspire that Taru Naturals becomes a renowned organic brand that can portray our values to the rest of the world,” she says signing off.

Rapid-fire:
*An entrepreneur you admire.
Ans: My father who runs his own business

*New tech that can transform the future of small businesses
Ans: E-commerce and QR codes for products

*One value that can help small businesses thrive
Ans: Trust and Transparency

*Your favourite book
Ans: I am currently reading Ashtavakra Gita and I quite like it

*In my free time I ____…
Ans: Practise meditation, do gardening, research on food innovations, run and travel.

* Before this interview I was ____…
Ans: Reading a book and coordinating with people for COVID-19 related relief work.

*Something they don’t teach in college but is important to run a business is
Ans: Practical skills that are needed to deal with day to challenges while running a business.

*One question I always ask people while hiring is ____…
Ans:  A problem they faced in the past and how they solved it

*Best advice you ever got is to ____…
Ans: Show gratitude and acknowledge the fact that life is bigger than small problems.

Also Read: Pune Mom’s Homemade Millet-Based Baby Food Now Gets Her Over 30,000 Orders a Month

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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In what is potentially a game-changer for the environment, Carbon Craft Design, a Mumbai-based design and material startup is harnessing air pollution to make carbon tiles.

Yes, you heard that right!

The startup, which was officially founded in January 2019, is working in collaboration with Air-Ink, a Boston-based startup that is processing the air pollutants and providing them with the soot to use in their innovation.

This innovation is relevant because it is a small step towards introducing an alternative in the construction industry that accounts for almost 25 to 40 per cent of the world’s carbon emissions.

“Each carbon tile is equivalent to cleaning 30,000 litres of air! Moreover, these tiles consume only one-fifth of the energy required to manufacture vitrified tiles. This means, instead of burning the tiles to come up with the finished product, we use a hydraulic press that helps us in manufacturing these tiles,” says Tejas Sidnal, the founder of Carbon Craft Design.

All the heavy metals and harmful components are removed from the soot, following which, traditional craftspeople in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat handcraft the tiles that come in six monochromatic shades ranging from black, four shades of grey, and white.

These bricks were launched in the market in January this year, and the startup already has three orders and will be supplying about 4000 tiles in total!

An architect, innovator and entrepreneur

Tejas has a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of Mumbai. As a student, he became deeply interested in biomimicry, which is a method for creating solutions to human challenges by emulating designs and ideas found in nature, and wondered if it could be employed to design sustainable and environment-friendly structures.

“I stumbled upon the concept of biomimicry at a design competition in my third year of college. Since then, I began reading up on it, and during my thesis, I focussed on the subject and turned towards nature and how we can design around it,” says the 32-year-old.

Fresh out of college, he joined Ratan J Batli Architects, a Mumbai based architectural firm. While he was working as a junior architect, he started looking for courses that could suit his interests of biomimicry and nature focussed technical solutions.

However, he couldn’t find many courses that met his requirements.

Finally, he secured a scholarship and got through a Master’s programme of his choice at the Architectural Association (AA), School of Architecture in London. Here, he graduated with a degree in Emergent Technologies and Design in 2013.

He stayed in the UK for a bit and became closely involved with AA’s annual architectural visiting school workshops that focussed on biomimicry, computational tools, and material systems.

In May 2014, he shifted base to China where he worked for a year until June 2015 and returned to Mumbai to start providing freelance consultancy services. He was also engaged in the annual AA visiting school workshops and became the coordinator.

In 2016, Tejas watched a video on Air-Ink and their innovation of being able to process air pollution into a soot powder. This got him wondering if he could use his knowledge of architectural design, material systems, and biomimicry to produce a building component using this soot powder.

He met with the founders and got some samples for them to start testing it. Initially, he wanted to start experimenting with making bricks. This went on for a bit, and meanwhile, he also founded a design consultancy and architectural interior research firm in July 2018 called, ‘Median’ with his college buddy Suraj Sutar.

At one point, his experimentations to produce the carbon bricks were successful, but that idea did not see any execution.

“Although we could develop the bricks, the process of making them was expensive and time-consuming. It was not very conducive for the market,” informs Tejas.

In December 2018, he was coordinating another AA visiting school, and here the theme was air pollution and architecture. Architecture students and practitioners came from all over the world, which led to a great deal of exchange of information. After this, Tejas realised that for a product to be accepted in the market, the product should have a design value that is lacking in the bricks.

Thus, he took this idea forward and found Carbon Crafts Design in January 2019. He hired a researcher and technology head to help him come up with the tile, and after countless experiments and time in the lab, they developed the carbon tile in May 2019.

Making the perfect carbon-conscious tile

Once the team at Carbon Crafts Design came up with the perfect prototype, they identified traditional handcrafted cement tile producers in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, to manufacture the tiles on a large scale,

The soot is infused with materials like marble chips, marble powder, cement along with a proprietary binder. The tiles come in three sizes—8’x8’, 10’x10’, and 12’x12’.

These carbon tiles are handcrafted, produced consciously, and cost Rs. 190 per sq of the tile used. In comparison, vitrified tiles which are conventionally used, take five times more energy to produce and cost anywhere between Rs 50 and can go up to Rs 1000 per sq feet.

Customers who are willing to buy the carbon tile can also get it customised as per their design requirements except they have to pay extra for the stencil that needs to be made especially for this purpose.

The stencil can cost anywhere between Rs. 5000 and 15,000. In case they want to avoid this cost, they can go for the 15 designs that the startup also has in their portfolio.

Tejas is extremely grateful to Air-Ink and their collaboration, which allows them access to processed carbon soot—which is the basis of the work they do.

“I realised very early on that we cannot manage two tasks at hand. One being, the collection of air pollution and it’s processing. We neither have the device, not the resources to process it. If we had to invest and spend time doing that, perhaps we would’ve never been able to come up with the tile so quickly. Hence, this association with the startup is instrumental for us,” he says.

When it came to reaching out to customers, it wasn’t too much of a challenge for Tejas as he already had a good rapport with several people in the architecture and construction sector.

One such contact is architect Sachin Patil who runs his own independent architectural and interior design firm and came across the carbon tiles on Facebook.

“A client approached me to make a sustainable resort in Revdanda in Alibaug. When I shared the idea of using these tiles with them, they immediately hopped on board. So, we are installing them in an area measuring about 5,400 sq feet,” he shares.

Overcoming challenges and looking forward

Having come up with a unique innovation in the sphere of material design and architecture is commendable. However, Tejas has dealt with plenty of challenges in this journey.

“To begin with, standardising the colour of the tiles is difficult to achieve because the pollution at every site won’t be the same. For example, the emission will be different for each of the fuels, which means that there will be a difference in the components as well. Consequently, when it is processed, there is a variation in the colour of the powder,” he shares.

But, since these tiles are handcrafted and they are working with different monochromatic shades, they are dealing with this challenge without putting too much pressure on themselves.

Another challenge that Tejas speaks about is that a lot of people do not take environmental issues too seriously. This is sometimes a hindrance to them when it comes to explaining the idea and value behind their innovation.

“We spend a lot of time explaining our solutions and how this is a viable alternative. Since consciousness is not at it’s best at the moment, we are currently functional in a market space that is not very huge or rather conducive,” he says.

However, despite these few setbacks, big companies like Godrej and Larsen & Toubro are in talks with the startup.

“They want us to collect carbon emissions from their construction sites and to manufacture tiles for them. This way, they are trying to manage the emissions they are responsible for. Eventually, we want to scale in this model where we can help large companies do that as environmental concerns are growing at large,” explains Tejas.

There are several plans that Carbon Crafts Design has for the future. To begin with, they are working on establishing networks with distribution channels abroad in places like Miami, Sri Lanka, Dubai, among other places.

As these tiles can only be used indoors, Tejas eventually hopes to start manufacturing outdoor tiles as well, along with other architectural products like light fixtures, home accessories, furniture, among others.

He also wants to make this innovation even more affordable, but that can only happen if the demand for these kinds of products grows, thus expanding the scope of the current market.

“Our ultimate vision is to be able to construct a carbon-conscious building which is made using each component derived from processing air pollutants,” says Tejas signing off.

Also Read: Bamboo & 90% Recycled Waste: Kerala Architect Builds Green Home in 4 Months!

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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“As a student, I wanted to change the myth that architects are exclusive to people with money. A large part of our fraternity does not cater to the grassroots level or a common man in urban areas. So building budget-friendly houses became our foremost rule,” says Gauri Satam, co-founder of Mumbai-based unTAG, an architectural and interior design firm that believes in building sustainable homes. 

On the other hand, Tejesh Patil, unTAG’s other founder, has always been fascinated by energy-efficient designs. In his words, “Sustainability is not just a label, but an integral approach which starts from the first seed of thought and eventually becomes a lifestyle of the end-users. I always wanted to explore ways to integrate passive solar energy and effective natural cooling systems in projects.”

These two approaches led to the conception of their architectural firm where sustainable architecture is not just a practice, but a way of life. 

The duo’s deep-rooted commitment towards making climate-responsive affordable homes and unwavering loyalty for minimalism and vernacular designs are apparent in their projects. 

“We work around parameters that are specific to the site, climate and cultural context. This makes every project unique and reduces overall construction cost by 30 per cent. Our vision is to make affordable luxury homes while giving utmost importance to the environment,” Gauri tells The Better India (TBI). 

Sustainable homes: Eco-Friendly & Low-Cost

After graduating from the prestigious Sir J J College of Architecture, Mumbai in 2008, Gauri and Tejesh went on to carve their paths in the world of designing houses. 

While Gauri worked with HCP Design (Ahmedabad) and SPASM Design Architects (Mumbai), Tejesh worked with Sanjay Prakash & Associates in Delhi and Opolis Architects (Mumbai). 

From working on master planning projects to luxurious weekend homes, sustainable institutions to world-class museums, the duo gathered a plethora of experience, skills and knowledge from their mentors before starting their dream firm based on their own set of principles. 

For the duo, the aspects of designing low-cost and eco-friendly architecture are primarily by-products of each other. 

“The use of salvaged or locally sourced materials reduces raw material cost. Meanwhile, our material palette is more climatically appropriate and cheaper compared to high-end products sourced from abroad like the imported Italian marbles. Usually, in our projects, the overall construction with basic interior cost comes to around Rs 1400-1500 per sq ft as against the usual market rate of Rs 2,000. Our construction materials ranges from using locally baked bricks, regionally quarried stones, vernacular mud walls to native seasoned timber,” informs Tejesh. 

Implementing Climate-Responsive Strategies 

Treating landscape as a vital aspect, Gauri and Tejesh built a Maharashtrian-style house with a central courtyard and spacious yet controlled openings in Dakivali village in 2019.

The look and feel of this house may be luxurious but as unbelievable as it may seem, it was made on a meagre budget of Rs 22 lakhs. 

“The client, a farmer, wanted a modern structure with the essence of nature. It was challenging to build a house on the 1400 sq.ft area. So, we interplayed with traditional designs like jaalis, verandahs and aangans to create a microclimate that ensured ambient temperature, using natural cooling even during the peak summer months,” says Gauri. 

The recycled fly ash block jaali near the entrance blocks outside dust from the abutting kuchcha road and also acts a climate control measure by restricting harsh heat, while filtering the west breezes.

The aangan, a compact central courtyard endorsing a sculptural champa (Plumeria) tree, gets natural shade for the most part of the day that lowers the temperature by 3-5 degrees. Meanwhile, the other courtyard at the entrance blocks the view of the private spaces from for outsiders and at the same time allows ample cross-ventilation.  

The duo used passive solar designs like large overhangs and appropriate openings. To further reduce the heat, they painted the terrace in white and did the flooring with Indian Kota stone. The landscape around also integrates simple techniques of water recycling and harvesting, using phytoremediation and groundwater recharge.

Similarly, Chira (laterite), an indigenous stone was used as the main structural element to control the extreme temperatures of a newly-built home nestled in the lush green orchard in Ozram village in Maharashtra. 

“Chira was procured from a 3-km away quarry. Due to its porous nature, Chira behaves like an earthenware, keeping internal temperature 4-5 degrees lower than the outside temperature during summers. Whereas its sturdiness protects the house from heavy southwestern monsoon showers,” shares Tejesh. 

Flooring and internal walls were given an extra layer of heat insulation by using Indian Kotah stone and the locally available terracotta roof tiles constitute the traditional sloping roof, providing shade during the day while letting the hot air escape. 

Called ‘Vrindavan’, this sustainable house was constructed merely on a budget of Rs 10 lakh in 2015, “After living in a city like Mumbai, the retired couple’s brief was to be close to nature and do minimal spending on the 1,000 square feet vernacular-styled farmhouse,” says Gauri.  

The recycling factor here was salvaging discarded wood from a temple demolition site in the village, “We got a ready-seasoned timber from local ain, teak, jackfruit and sal wood at merely Rs 10,000. The wood was reused for doors, windows and furniture.”

The tropical planning of the homes, ensuring cross ventilation and sufficient indirect natural light in both the houses lessens the dependency on electric lights and air-conditioning and fans, thus reducing the electricity bill. 

Designing a Sustainable Future through Architecture 

Gauri and Tejesh have worked on around 40 environmentally and economically sustainable projects so far. Naturally, their temperature-controlled strategies, allegiance with local construction materials and adherence to traditional aesthetics have garnered several accolades. 

Though officially only 5 years old, their architectural studio has already clinched prestigious design awards like IAB’s Young Designers Award 2016, and Trends Most Sustainable Project Award 2016 for their fusion between modern and traditional architecture. 

On a parting note, the duo reinforces the importance of sustainable and affordable architecture and the way we will co-exist with nature in future. 

“As architects, we can significantly contribute by working at the grassroots level, something that we learnt from works of Srilankan architect, Geoffrey Bawa and Kerala architect, Laurie Baker. We can start by understanding the aspirations of the common man, educating them the value of environmentally conscious designs while going back to traditional construction methods and exercising climatic thermal-comforting elements. With the help of the right passion and eco-sensitivity, we can alter our lifestyle in sync with sustainability,” says Tejesh.

Also Read: Without Steel Or Cement, This Architect’s Recyclable Homes Will Last A Century!

All images are sourced from unTAG.

Get in touch with unTAG here

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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“My sister’s pet golden retriever seems to be in a lot of pain. He is under treatment for a kidney issue, but unfortunately, due to the lockdown, we are unable to take him to his vet who lives in Delhi. Could one of you suggest a vet in Gurugram or help me with a number of a vet who would be available for an online consult?’ read a Whatsapp message in my apartment complex’s group chat.

This is not an isolated request as many pet parents are worried about running out of food and medicines for their pets. Furthermore, some are unable to contact doctors to consult in case of emergencies.

Fortunately, there are people trying to help pet parents across the country with essential services like food delivery, and medical consultations.

But, it is important to understand what constitutes a medical emergency. Listed below are some of them:

• Seizures
• Excessive vomiting or diarrhoea
• Fractured bones, severe lameness or inability to move leg(s)
• Choking, difficulty breathing or nonstop coughing and gagging
• Bleeding from the nose, mouth, rectum, coughing up blood, or blood in urine
• Inability to urinate or pass faeces (stool), or obvious pain associated with urinating or passing stool
• Injuries to your pet’s eye(s)
• You suspect or know your pet has eaten something poisonous (such as antifreeze, xylitol, chocolate, rodent poison, etc.)
• Heat stress or heatstroke
• Injury in a traumatic accident or in an attack by another animal

In need of pet food or a vet? Here are five helplines working across India for pets.

1. Pawshbox – Pune

Established in 2016, Pawshbox is based in Pune. Co-founder – Malhar Katare says that while they have been operational all through the lockdown period, they are only supplying the essentials, which include food and grooming products for dogs and cats.

“Immediately after the lockdown, we saw a surge in the orders that we were receiving. It was more out of fear than the actual need. We do ship pan-India and are hoping to restart as soon as the situation improves. As of now, we are only servicing our clients in Pune,” shares Katare.

An important message that Katare wishes to share is that one should refrain from hoarding, which is causing a shortage. “We had a client who bought six big bags of dog food. This quantity would easily last more than six months, and that kind of buying is not needed at this point.”

If you wish to reach out to Pawshbox, please call – +91- 7741977770.

2. Dial a Vet – Pan India

Veterinarians, Dr Shantanu Kalambi, Dr Suranjana Ganguly and Dr Akshay Mohan have joined hands and started – Dial a Vet, a service specifically aimed at reducing the stress on pet parents during this COVID-19 lockdown period.

In a conversation The Better India (TBI) Dr Kalambi said, “Since the lockdown was announced, we have been getting many calls with problems with pets, and some were not necessarily essential ones. In order to prioritise and be able to attend to the ones that needed immediate attention, Dial a Vet came into being.”

If you need to consult with the doctors, you need to fill out a google form, mentioning basic details about your pet. These may include details of the ailment, history of the pet etc. Once done, they set up either a telephonic call or a video call depending on the need.

“During the first week of the lockdown we were getting almost 30 calls but that number now seems to have come down to about 15 calls a day. The queries vary from general diet and nutrition to grooming and skin conditions.”
This is a pan-India initiative has been getting calls from all across the country. Bengaluru, Arunachal Pradesh, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and even some parts of West Bengal, informs Dr Kalambi.

If you need to reach out to Dial a Vet, fill out this form here or call at +91 6361 633 287.

3. PetKonnect

PetKonnect is an app launched by Devanshi Shah in September 2019. It provides pet parents access to various services, which include – storing medical records, accessing emergency services, and calling for an ambulance. PetKonnect app is now running a 24/7 helpline to assist pet parents during the lockdown.

Devanshi says that since the lockdown they have seen almost 5,000 new app users. You can log on to their official website here and the app is available for download for both iOs and Android users. The charges for a consultation begin from Rs 300 for 20 minutes. Pet parents are advised to send in details like the pet’s age, weight, temperature, and history of any ailment.

4. Royal K9 Petcare

Dr Kuldeep Singh, a veterinary surgeon based in Chandigarh, is available for consultation and emergencies between 5-7 pm. He says it would be best if the pet parent sends him a message with a brief history of the ailment and other relevant details, which will help him understand the case and schedule an appointment accordingly.

While sending the message to the doctor, add details like age, sex, body weight, and breed of the pet. Attach other supporting documents like pictures, videos, or lab reports, if you have them.

Dr Singh is available at the following address – House No. 1082, Phase 5, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, Punjab 160059 and can be contacted at – 098153 16632/ 098762 00969.

5. Bidhannagar, Kolkata

A 24X7 helpline was launched by the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation to help pet parents through this lockdown period. In order to facilitate movement, they have earmarked two vehicles as animal ambulances. The ambulances are connected with communication systems to respond to distress calls on the helpline.

According to Krishna Chakraborty, Bidhannagar Mayor, “We started this keeping in mind that there are hundreds of Kolkattans who have pets at home. We had received several calls from residents seeking help for their sick pets.”

Residents across the city can dial 9604010035 for pet-related emergencies. This helpline can also be used in case people need to get help for wounded or ill stray animals.

With relaxation in the lockdown rules in some states, one might be able to take their pets to the clinic. However, in cases where that is not possible, services like these are most certainly a boon.

Also Read: Can You Get Coronavirus From Pets? We Got a Doctor to Separate Myths From Facts

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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With The Positive Collective, The Better India’s COVID-19 coverage is available to regional language publications for free. Write to editorial@thebetterindia.com for more details.

“I have named my auto ‘Khidmat’ which means selfless service of others. When I saw ailing people walking miles to visit the hospital opposite my house, I felt ashamed to see my three-wheeler parked when it could be used to ferry people. I immediately got permission from the police and started giving free rides to the sick and their families,” Ayaz Faquih, an auto-driver from Uran, a coastal town in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra tells The Better India (TBI).

Ever since the countrywide lockdown was imposed, Ayaz has been ferrying people in medical emergencies and frontline health workers for free. He is also helping NGOs distribute meals to the needy.

Like Ayaz, Purushottamlal Gupta, an auto-driver from Thane is also going out of his way to help citizens amidst the clampdown. He is aiding his fellow drivers and construction workers by distributing ration kits for free.

Though the pandemic has affected entire rickshaw community as they earn on a day-to-day basis, these two unsung heroes are helping strangers without expecting anything in return.

“It has been over a month my income has come to a halt. Though fortunately, we are able to afford ration, a lot of auto drivers and daily wage earners in our basti are struggling to get even a morsel of rice. When no help came forward, I decided to raise donations and buy ration kits for them,” Gupta tells TBI.

Unsung Heroes of Maharashtra

There are close to five hospitals near Ayaz’s house that serve people from around 50 neighbouring villages.

People flocking the hospitals is not a new sight for the 55-year-old but watching the elderly, pregnant women, sick children struggle without any public transportation due to the lockdown was something he witnessed for the first time.

With the help of his daughter, Ayaz immediately made a banner with ‘Emergency free rides’ written in bold along with his phone number. He gave his number to hospitals and clinics offering the frontline health workers free rides.

Initially, Ayaz would stand outside the hospitals and offer a free ride to patients. But soon, he started receiving calls from across Navi Mumbai and villages on the outskirts to avail the service. Touched by his gesture, many people took a picture of his auto and uploaded it on social media pages and shared on WhatsApp groups. Calls began pouring in within a week.

From a lady in labour, an elderly with muscle pain to a child with high fever, Ayaz has given over 200 free rides to the needy so far. Seeing his dedication and enthusiasm, the Uran municipal health department sanitises Ayaz’s auto every day for free.

Every time a passenger insists on paying the fair or offers to fill his CNG as a token of gratitude, Ayaz politely refuses. Instead, he asks for their blessings and prayers to end the pandemic.

“The content on my passenger’s faces is my fees. Troubled times are a golden opportunity to help people and that is all I am trying to do,” he says adding that he always wears a mask and gloves to follow lockdown protocols.

‘We Are All One Big Family’

Gupta, who is known for his plantation activities in Thane, rose to the challenge after he witnessed food-related problems in his slum. Gupta is a part of Sadbhavna Hara-Bhara Foundation, and he requested people to donate money via the foundation’s official page on Facebook.

Help poured in from individuals, NGOs, environment and social activists. He has been able to distribute ration kits to almost 90 families with the money he received. Priced at Rs 460, each kit contains food essentials like rice, dal, flour and oil.

He roped in his family to pack the kits. Maintaining social distance, Gupta either drops them at the beneficiary’s doorstep or keeps the kits outside his house for people to take.

Gupta is now collecting donations for the second batch of kits as the lockdown has been extended.

When asked if he fears to visit hotspot areas of the city, Gupta says, “Only a family can help you overcome turbulent times. Your parents or children won’t leave you if you feel sick. They will try their best to ease your life. Likewise, I am treating every needy as part of my family. I was scared initially but with proper safety measures and permission from the police the fear is gone.”

As rightly pointed out by Gupta, helping strangers as we would our family members is the need of the hour.

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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With climate change looming at large, it is essential that we are mindful of constructing homes that are not just good to look at but have a minimal carbon footprint. Hence, we need to seek environment-friendly solutions, and most importantly, architects, engineers, and firms who can help us in our endeavours.

One such company is ‘Put Your Hands Together’ (PYHT) Mumbai-based bio-architecture firm that uses local and natural building materials, designs their climate-resilient projects within the natural ecosystem, and engages the local communities.

The startup was founded in June 2011 by a group of five people fresh out of Architecture school. Currently, two of the original five co-founders actively manage operations at PYHT.

So, what was the motivation behind starting a bio-architecture firm?

“I think our values of sustainability have a lot to do with how we have been brought up. If I speak for myself, I have seen how waste was efficiently managed and how resources were consciously consumed. Besides, the founding members were all architecture students and shared similar values of sustainability and design sensibilities. We realised this was a space we wanted to explore, and that is what led to the birth of our company,” says co-founder and architect Shahveer Irani.

Until now they have completed about eight projects and are currently working on three. An interesting thing to note in their plans is that about 65 per cent to 95 per cent of the building material used in each of these projects are biodegradable. These include materials like bamboo, wood, lime, mud, and stone. Furthermore, their USP is the use of indigenous techniques to build climate-resilient homes, especially using compressed mud bricks which can make houses cooler by 7 degrees!

From Students to Bio-architects

Founders Areen Attari and Shahveer Irani met as students at the Rizvi College of Architecture in Mumbai. After finishing the degree in 2010, they, along with the other batchmates,

decided to start PYHT. But, they needed experience and expertise to go about their operations efficiently. Thus, they began their period of research.

“We started attending workshops and meeting with people who were already exploring the sustainability space. We started taking on really small projects on our friends and family’s farmhouses. I remember we built a small gate using sustainable materials like bamboo and a small cover for a water tank,” recalls Shahveer.

This period of research lasted for about eight months after they founded the company. The firm bagged their first full-fledged project with help from their Interior Design professor from college.

“Our professor was already aware of the company and the kind of architecture we were interested in. He was designing the interiors for a client in Kamshet near Lonavala. The client wanted to construct a weekend home, and our professor put us in touch with them,” says Shahveer.

In this project, the young architects worked under the guidance of their professor to build a home using mud. They mobilised workers from the area, trained them, and took part in the construction process.

The foundation of the house was made of stone and cement while the walls were made from bricks and mud mortar using the ‘cob technique’ where balls of mud were layered on top of one another. The mud used for this purpose was excavated from the construction site itself.

Another memorable project Shahveer recalls is a farmhouse they built in Khadavli. They built the home using the technique of Compressed Stabilised Earth Blocks (CSEB) which are essentially mud bricks made using a machine called the ‘Auram press’ developed by the Auroville Earth Institute.  It was the first time they were using CSEB, and by the time the house was built, they found that the temperature inside was seven degrees cooler than outside.

“Using mud is a great way to counter the carbon footprint. Not only is it biodegradable, but since it is readily available everywhere, it can be easily incorporated into the building techniques. Also, using mud has thermal benefits, meaning, the temperature inside is cold in summer and vice-versa in winters,” informs Shahveer.

Completing such projects was not just a great learning experiences, but they also gave the young architects the confidence to take on more challenging projects in the future.

What are the processes then that the team follows when they first take on a project?

Although PYHT is based out of Mumbai, they have carried out projects far and wide including in unforgiving terrains of Manali and Nepal.

“We first go on the site and study it closely for anywhere between three days to a week. This gives us an insight into materials that are locally available and where to source them from. We also look at the building techniques that are indigenous to the region and meet with local contractors and builders. This way, when the project is underway, the processes can be seamlessly carried out,” shared Shahveer.

Sometimes, the architects bring new techniques to the table that most of the builders may not be acquainted with. In such a case, they also train and conduct workshops for the workers to teach them about these techniques.

Speaking of techniques, Shahveer takes his time to explain a few of these to us.

It is important to acknowledge the fact that mud can be used in different ways to give structures a unique feature.

The same mixture of mud and lime used in the cob technique is used to make bricks known as ‘adobe’. These bricks are sun-dried, saving fuel and the environment from emissions.

However, one cannot just take any mud and use it to make the bricks. It is only after several rounds of testing and trials that they come up with the right bricks. Shahveer shares that ideally the mud mixture should contain 15 to 20 per cent clay, 65 to 70 per cent sand, 5 to 7 per cent lime, and the rest should have silt, gravel, and other organic contents.

Another technique they use is the rammed wall technique where the mud mixture (with less water content) is rammed into a mould. Once it is dried, it forms the walls of the structure once erected.

In addition to the adobe bricks, they also use CSEB and since PYHT doesn’t own an Aurum Press, they source these bricks from a contractor at Govardhan Ecovillage in Wada, Maharashtra.

Lastly, Shahveer speaks about the ‘Wattle and daub’ technique which is a building method where bamboo strips are woven into a lattice which is daubed with the mud mixture.

Going local with happy clients

In addition to building structures using natural materials, PYHT uses locally sourced materials.

One great example of this is a project they carried out in the Burwa village in Manali. The clients were Smarika Rana and her husband, who wanted to shift their base from Mumbai to Manali in the pursuit of a slower life.

The couple wanted to make a homestay on a one-acre land overlooking the Dhauladhar range. But, they were conscious of one prime aspect.

“We wanted the house to be consciously built using naturally and locally available materials using traditional techniques of the region. We did not want to be those ‘city folks’ who have a money-making attitude with nothing to add value to. We wanted to be conscious and mindful while constructing our homestay,” shares Smarika, a former manager at Shemaroo entertainment.

The couple finally found their answer in PYHT. Once the requirements were communicated, the architects went on the ground and designed the house using locally available slabs of stone.

The construction began in mid-2017 and was completed within a year. With six available rooms, ‘Someplace Homestay’ opened its doors to guests in November 2018.

“I love the fact that the walls are really thick. So, it’s warm and cosy. Also, they built around the natural surroundings. There were big boulders which are a part of the house now. It truly feels like we are living in the midst of nature,” says the 40-year-old.

Challenges and Looking Forward 

Shahveer explains that whenever they work with local builders, they often face resistance and scepticism about the construction techniques they want to bring to the table. But, with training and workshops with the local builders, they are able to communicate their ideas.

“Also, because we use natural materials instead of industrial ones, it’s difficult to standardise all elements. For making a wall, if we’re using the mud, we need to test it and construct a sample before going ahead with the construction. This takes us some time,” explains Shahveer.

Regardless, the bio-architecture firm has a lot of things to look forward to.

Shahveer mentions that they were working on a bamboo farmhouse project in Alibaug and a homestay in Nashik. Since all the work has come to a halt now, they want to finish these projects as soon as work begins.

He also informs that in the future, the bio-architecture firm plans to scale their business by manufacturing earth-based planters and light fixtures. Bamboo furniture is another thing they want to explore, informs Shahveer.

“There is a lot of scope for natural building techniques to be implemented in urban landscapes. Buildings like hospitals and educational institutions can be constructed using natural materials. The idea is to reduce energy consumption and damage to the environment. In the long term, our main vision is to make a tangible impact through our work,” says Shahveer signing off.

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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When the residents of a Mumbai slum cross the family clinic in their neighbourhood, they make a point to stop at the sanitising station.

While sanitiser bottles are not easily available and expensive, it is also a fact that if anyone manages to get one, there is a high chance that the germs on the bottle will get transferred to their hands.

This sanitising station is a tad different—it is pedal operated and is thankfully, contactless—and is an innovation by Beco, an eco-startup.

As a part of their COVID-19 initiative, Beco is selling these stations to private businesses and also donating them to NGOs, government hospitals, clinics and distribution centres.

So far, they have supplied a total of 1050 across Mumbai.

A New Beginning for a Business Affected by COVID-19:

Beco specialises in making eco-friendly tissues, earbuds, toothpicks and such other commonly used lifestyle products. They aim to replace these common-use products with sustainable alternatives without compromising on user experience.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit India, not only did their functions come to a grinding halt, it also put the 75+ daily wagers associated with them at risk.

“Normally, we would sell our goods in the domestic market, and also export them, but with the heavy restrictions following the pandemic, it all came to a standstill. March and April were disastrous months. But we had a financial and moral responsibility to act and keep our machines running,” says Aditya Ruia, the co-founder of Beco to The Better India (TBI).

COVID-19 had taken much from them and yet, also provided the opportunity to innovate. Aditya, along with Anuj Ruia and Akshay Varma, the co-founders of Beco zeroed in on the idea of designing a pedal-operated sanitising station for minimal transfusion of germs.

Aditya and Anuj are engineers from BITS Pilani while Akshay is a graduate in Material Sciences from IIT Madras. Their experience and education came in handy while designing the station. Additionally, they got their friends, Suvrat Ghatiwala, a Supply Chain Manager & Procurement Specialist and Talib Chitalwala, a Photographer, to work on the design with them.

“The aim was to build something affordable, sustainable and that which contributes to the society in these difficult times. It took us a week to finalise the design, and by mid-April, we had started selling and supplying them in Mumbai,” Aditya adds. Their current capacity is 500 units per month.

Of the 75+ employed, about 30 daily wage workers are working in the Beco workhouses to make the sanitising stations. With the usual pay and benefits, these workers can sustain themselves and their families during this challenging period. Most of the others have returned home.

1050 Sanitising Stations in Mumbai:

Mumbai, with 10,000 COVID-19 positive cases (as of 7 May) has been in constant danger since before March. No preventive measure is too much in a place this severely affected by the contagious disease. In light of this, Beco’s handsfree sanitising stations come as an additional protective barrier.

Varsha Mundhra, who teaches underprivileged students in Mumbai, shares, “Aditya and Anuj have become friends since we are involved in various social activities. So when they told me about this project, I connected them with a few people who run medical clinics for the underprivileged. Since these doctors cannot afford to buy the sanitising stations, Beco donated about 87. We encourage the slum dwellers to use the stations even if they are not visiting the doctor.

With an adjustable bottle holder, the sanitising station is a one-time investment and takes about 5-7 minutes to install. You set up your sanitizer bottle in the given slot, tighten the screws around it, and that’s it!

“The idea of normal is set to change now. Even after the lockdown is over, people will be more cautious about their hygiene. These pedal-operated stations will come handy then. All you do is extend your hand under the bottle and step on the pedal. The station will release an optimum amount of drops in your palms,” Aditya says adding that he is aware there are cheaper, lighter models available out there but Beco’s aim is not necessarily to provide the lowest cost equipment. Not at the moment at least.

“For every unit purchased, we are giving one free of charge to NGOs or distribution centres. That’s our small contribution to help frontline workers stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic,” concludes Aditya.

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

All images courtesy of Aditya Ruia/ Beco.

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For Farhan Shaukat from Delhi, whose father, Shaukat Hayat, is battling with colon cancer, the lockdown brought on a wave of fear.

“We were worried that it would mean an end to the radiation treatment and hospital visits for my father. Things turned worse when our oncologist remained unavailable for most of the week. Though we are allowed to visit the hospital for the therapy, the entire process is time and energy-consuming due to hygiene protocols inside the hospital. Plus, coronavirus had made my father more susceptible to risks,” he tells The Better India (TBI).

Worried about the lowered immunity of his father and the spread of COVID-19, Farhan browsed for online guidance for cancer patients. He soon found Dimple Parmar and Kishan Shah’s comprehensive guiding tool called ZIOPAR (ZenOnco.io Integrative Oncology Preliminary Assessment Report).

The duo’s Mumbai-based firm- ZenOnco.io – provides a free customised report with information on diet plans, exercise, mental fitness and how to keep the surroundings clean based on cancer type, stage, symptoms, activity level and treatment taken.

Farhan soon availed the services of AI tool to get a directional treatment plan for his father. Soon enough, they saw results. A week into following the plan, Hayat has been eating healthier food that suits his body requirements and to the surprise of his family, the 67-year-old feels strong enough to dedicate a few minutes to exercise daily.   

The co-founders of ZenOnco.io, both IIM Calcutta alumni, have made the Shaukat family a part of the Community Support group to connect with other cancer patients and survivors. This way the family does not have to face the crisis alone and help everyone stay optimistic.

Like Shaukat, close to 6,000 cancer patients across India have benefited from the amidst the nationwide lockdown. 

“For many cancer patients, non-emergency procedures have been delayed or suspended. This has resulted in patients getting anxious and scared about their health and wellbeing. We were flooded with queries or concerns from caregivers at the start of the lockdown. So, we decided to launch the tool on 15 April. ZIOPAR provides temporary relief and medical as well as non-medical measures to follow for stable health,” Dimple, co-founder tells TBI.  

How ZIOPAR Works & Benefits 

The basic idea behind developing the AI-based tool is to educate and empower cancer patients and their families through awareness about treatment options available for cancer and asking the right questions to their oncologist. It is very common for cancer patients and caregivers to be lost and confused regarding the treatment procedures, lifestyle management and protocols to follow during and post-cancer treatment.

As a solution, Kishan and Dimple came up with ZIOPAR. It recommends cancer treatment plan options along with providing personalised nutrition, fitness and emotional & mental wellness exercises based on the phase of treatment. 

To make the reports accurate, the software generates results based on guidelines/protocols that are recommended by international bodies such as National Comprehensive Cancer Network, American Society of Clinical Oncology, The European Society for Medical Oncology, Society of Integrative Oncology and so on. 

“Consultation with oncologists is mandatory. The report provides options for directional treatment plans, and educates users about the right questions to ask their doctors,” adds Kishan, a former investment banker. 

All a user has to do is fill an online form giving details about the patient’s cancer type, stage, symptoms, performance score, prior treatments and side effects. 

Based on this information, the software, developed by the duo, generates a comprehensive 20-page report in under six minutes. 

Other Features of the Tool: 

Community Support: Brings patients, survivors, doctors and caregivers on one online platform to talk or ask questions openly about cancer.  

Diet Plans: The report designs a diet and nutritional supplement plan that makes the patient’s body stronger and more receptive to the treatment. 

Fitness: From pilates, yoga, energy therapies, stretching to basic exercises, it curates a customised fitness and exercise regimen to make the patient’s body stronger to undergo cancer treatment. 

Cancer-proof Home: From how to maintain clean air and water, what pesticides or kitchenware to avoid to personal care, a list of dos and don’ts is provided to maintain hygiene in the house of a member having cancer.

Mental Wellness: The medically supervised programme recommends psychological counselling and therapies as per needs of the cancer patient. 

About the Organisation 

ZenOnco.io was founded in 2019 to extend operations of Love Heals Cancer and make cancer treatment more accessible and convenient for all. Love Heals Cancer is an NGO founded in 2018 as a tribute to Nitesh Prajapati, Dimple’s husband and Kishan’s batchmate. Nitesh passed away due to colorectal cancer in March 2018. Read the full story here. 

Dimple, who was Nitesh’s primary caregiver, decided to dedicate her life to help cancer patients, survivors and families. To that end, she underwent Healing Circles training from Commonweal, a healing centre in California, Center of Mind-Body Medicine in Washington DC and Healing Circles in Langley.

Meanwhile, Kishan, who was working for Sovereign Wealth Fund in Mumbai also left his job and started ZenOnco.io along with Dimple. He underwent training in mind-body-medicine, healing circles, mindful caregiving, and end of life conversation.

The duo developed a framework of wellness-related practices that aim to reduce the risk of cancer through integrative oncology treatment. This framework is applicable at all stages – before, during and after treatment. It can be availed online, at home or at the centre. 

“The structure was designed after partnering with over 150 hospitals in India, and 1,000+ oncologists. We have also trained our onco-nutritionists, onco-psychologists and fitness experts to provide a holistic treatment plan,” says Kishan. 

Since its inception, the organisation has made a difference in the lives of more than 16,000 people.

When a person is diagnosed with cancer, it is very crucial to have multiple support systems that can help overcome the heavy doses of chemotherapy, radiation and other medication. More often than not, the exhaustive treatments put enormous physical and emotional stress on the patients and their caregivers. A multi-pronged approach to build a patient’s strength then becomes a necessity.

If you want to get in touch with Dimple and Kishan, Click here.

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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Seth Walchand Hirachand Doshi is considered to be one of the “greats” in the Indian business world, and widely hailed as the Father of the Indian Transportation Industry. The industrialist has contributed to aeronautics, the shipping industry as well as the automobile industry (the iconic Padmini or ‘dukkar’ fiat was manufactured by a division of the Walchand Group, his family-owned business.)

Walchand began his career right after the end of World War I, but when World War II was in full force, some of his decisions made him worry about his family’s well being.

So, he built a bunker in the heart of Mumbai, lest the Japanese air-raid or bombed his bungalows. Today, this bunker, a testimonial of the times when even powerful industrialists were uncertain about their lives, is mostly forgotten.

What prompted Walchand to build the bunker? Was Mumbai in danger of getting bombed by the Japanese? And if so, how did he know that?

Here’s the full account.

The Ambitious Businessman From Solapur

1950s :: Testing and Assembly of Fiat Cars , Dodge and Fargo Trucks at Premier Automobile Plant In Bombay

Seth Walchand Hirachand Founded Premier Automobiles In 1944 pic.twitter.com/0jgMupKaTE

— indianhistorypics (@IndiaHistorypic) September 15, 2019

Walchand was born to a business family in Solapur, Maharashtra. His family’s banking and cotton trades was where his career began, but in 1908, he started a construction business under the name of Walchand Industries Limited (WIL).

One of the earliest projects of WIL was making railway tunnels on the Sahyadris separating Mumbai and Pune.

From there, he laid the foundation of India’s first Swadeshi shipping company, the Scindia Shipyard (rechristened as Hindustan Shipyard Limited when it was nationalized), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Premier Automobiles—India’s first indigenous automobile manufacturers. There’s so much more to Walchand’s stunning career graph, and you can read all about it here.

Now, back to the bunker. The Better India (TBI) got in touch with Bharat Gothoskar, a history buff from Mumbai who runs a heritage and culture travel company. He shared some fascinating insights.

“Walchand was building a factory to construct cement pipes that carry water underground and purchased a salt pan land in Wadala to lay the foundations of the factory there. There was a hill, with four British-era bungalows very close to that location, and Walchand ended up purchasing them all—he wanted them to be places of rest, where he could live when he wanted to get away from the city,” he says.

This location is the Antop hill, which has a notorious reputation today, but back then, it was simply a vacation home for Walchand. If you visit these bungalows, you will notice a peculiar underground pipe, filled with garbage. This is the Walchand family’s bunker, built when World War II was raging.

Business Anxiety

In 1940, a year after the Second World War had begun, Walchand started the Hindustan Aircraft industry in Bengaluru. The then Diwan of the Mysore state, Mirza Ismail partnered with him in this ambitious and heavy investment venture.

But, within five months, the British Government in India had started eyeing this company, because back home in the United Kingdom, it was becoming clearer that every resource available would have to be used for defence and launch attacks against the Axis Powers (Germany, Japan and Italy).

Walchand’s aircraft industry in Bengaluru seemed like a strategic sector, so the British Government bought out the shares of the company and nationalized the industry in April 1941. The direct ownership of an aircraft base and manufacturers could mean they have a strong defence against their enemies in East-Japan.

“The roots of World War II can be seen in the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. After this attack on the Northern Chinese region, the army gradually moved southwards along the coastline, invading Vietnam, Cambodia and other East Asian regions. Once the British trading districts like Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Rangoon started falling, it sent alarm bells ringing,” Gothoskar tells TBI.

When Rangoon (now known as Yangon) was attacked, it left a profound impact on Indians too. After all, about 55 per cent of the population there was South Asian and predominantly, Indian.

Walchand was scared for his safety because his company had provided aircraft to the British to launch attacks against Japan. With Rangoon under attack, he was sure he was not safe anymore.

Lying low in Mumbai

Gothoskar shares that to Indian industrialists, it only seemed like a matter of time before Kolkata, Mumbai and other trading cities here were attacked. As a precaution, Walchand started building a bunker in his bungalows in Wadala, lest he or his family be attacked when they were staying there.

“Legend says that Walchand constructed the bunker out of fear. There is no written evidence or documentation about why he built it. The locals there have passed this story from one generation to the next. However, two things are for sure. One, that it is a bunker and secondly, that it was built during World War II,” the Mumbai historian shares.

Fortunately, Mumbai was never bombed by the Axis powers, and Walchand continued on his entrepreneurial journey until his retirement in 1950 following a stroke. He passed away in April 1953.

The man’s legacy continues in the form of cars, aircraft and ships he built. But the bunker, the silent ode to India’s connection and fear of the second world war remains forgotten.

Perhaps it is serving its purpose—that of being secret and away from prying eyes. But when one realizes that a pipe-like structure, built by a stalwart of Indian industries is today trashed with garbage, one can’t help but sigh.

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

Feature image source: indianhistorypics/ Twitter (Inauguration of Bhorghat)

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On 13 March 2020, a few days before the lockdown began, Anjana Harish, a 21-year-old college student, uploaded a heartbreaking Facebook video where she recounted the horrors she had lived through since late December 2019, after informing her family that she was bisexual.

From sending her to Coimbatore, where doctors forcibly put her under sedatives and even hit her on the head with an implement, to a ‘de-addiction and mental health centre’ in Palakkad, where she was surrounded by ‘hallucinating schizophrenics,’ her family allegedly left no stone unturned to subject her to ‘conversion therapy’—a violent, inhuman, and pseudo-scientific attempt to ‘cure’ or ‘change’ people’s sexual orientation to the heteronormative norm.

“Here, for three weeks, I was physically and mentally kept in a cell. They only brought me out during meal times. I spent every night there crying my heart out alone with only strangers around me. After three weeks, they took me to a place called Karunasai in Trivandrum, which is a similar de-addiction and a mental health centre. I was given some 40 injections in this period, not to speak of the medicines. I was mentally and physically broken,” she recalled in the video.

By March, the Kasargod native had left for Goa with her friends for a change of scene. Once again, she claims her family began threatening her friends. Her parents even filed a missing person’s complaint, following which Anjana and her friends were summoned to the local police station.

On 12 May, she committed suicide, according to the Goa police.

The Horrors of Conversion Therapy

Outlawed in Switzerland, Germany, and parts of Australia, Canada, and the United States, the practice of ‘conversion therapy’ is premised on the utterly false belief that being LGBTQIA+ is abnormal and associated with poor mental health.

Speaking to The Better India, a gay professional working at a startup in Delhi, who wishes to remain anonymous, recalls the utter devastation more than a decade ago when his middle-class parents rejected his homosexual identity. He had barely turned 16 at the time.

“I had mustered up the courage to come out to them. Initially, I didn’t know what to expect, but when my father refused to even acknowledge my admission, it hurt me. Out of fear and possibly ignorance, my mother refused to say anything at all. Instead of accepting me, my parents forcibly took me for ‘corrective therapy’. I don’t remember exactly what drugs they individually administered to me, but recall feeling extremely fatigued, drowsy, dizzy, nauseous and on occasion was subject to physical abuse as well. My friends have told me about their experiences that were much more horrifying. Nonetheless, the experience of going through it was traumatic, to say the least,” he recalls, adding that he maintains no contact with his parents or extended family today.

In a letter he wrote to the Indian Association of Clinical Psychologists (IACP), Tejas Shah, a Mumbai-based clinical psychologist, who practices at Healing Studio, urged it to condemn the practice of ‘conversion therapy’.

“Conversion therapists locate the problem in the person rather than situating the problem in the social-cultural system. They use operant conditioning methods, a variety of shaming, emotionally traumatic or physically painful stimuli to make their victims associate those stimuli with their queer identities, often at the assistance of well-intentioned by misinformed parents or caretakers,” he wrote.

Those who are subjected to it, are often unable to express any sense of agency. In fact, according to Tejas, the therapist’s “alignment with the society’s prejudices against gay, lesbian, Bi and trans identities may lead to reinforcing internalized homonegativity leading to queer distress, depression and suicidal ideation.”

Speaking to The Better India, Tejas talked about what inspired him to write a letter.

“While following up on the Anjana Harish case, I found that no official body had issued a categorical statement against conversion therapy. Before this case, I had informally followed up with the IACP about issuing a categorical statement condemning this unethical practice. After I read about her tragic suicide in the media, her ordeal in mental health institutions where she was kept against her will, forced to undergo therapy to drive out something that isn’t there, and watched her last Facebook live video, something stirred within me. As a mental health professional, I could empathize with and understand the pain and suffering she had gone through. I felt duty-bound to do more,” he says.

Apart from the medical harm queer individuals are put through, there is more than enough evidence to suggest the psychological damage it causes. Ultimately, sending someone who identifies as gay, lesbian, trans, or Bi to a mental health facility to ‘fixing it’ is tantamount to a complete rejection of a person’s identity.

“A research study in the United States claims that LGBTQIA+ youth who were rejected by parents and caregivers were eight times more likely to have attempted suicide, and six times more likely to have reported depression, three times more likely to abuse drugs and three times more likely to indulge in risky sexual behaviours,” says Tejas.

Even after the Supreme Court read down the outdated Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code in 2018, many therapists continue to indulge in conversion therapy even though in some countries this practice is banned. “We must condemn all forms of conversion therapy and chart out clear guidelines for social justice informed ‘affirmative practices’ about approaching persons with gender and sexual diversity,” writes Tejas.

Following his letter, various other organizations working in the field of mental health came out with their statements condemning this practice. For example, the Mariwala Health Initiative started one Change.org petition condemning conversion therapy after Tejas’ letter.

Rejected by Experts

In an official statement issued on 21 May, the Indian Association of Clinical Psychologists (IACP) called ‘Conversion Therapy’ a ‘dangerously harmful,’ ‘discredited,’ and ‘painful and traumatizing unprofessional practice.’

“Mental health professionals must resist all forms of conversion practices and must use queer affirmative language and be aware of the concerns and challenges faced by them. IACP being the premier professional body of clinical psychologists does not approve of any form of conversion therapy and advises and advocates, members of the IACP not to follow such therapies which anyway negatively impacts the well being of the individuals who identify themselves of [the] LGBTQ community,” the statement went on to say.

“I have closely worked with the LGBT community. Some clients suffer from specific, unique stressors just because of their gender identity. I have worked with patients who were earlier forced by their parents to enter conversion therapy institutionalized, and how they have suffered. I understand what one goes through,” says Tejas.

He believes that not every mental health professional is engaging in practices like conversion therapy. But even if one mental health professional practices it, there must be swift condemnation. Nonetheless, he believes that the enabling of these practices starts at home. Since families can’t accept their child’s sexual orientation, they bring them to a therapist.

“Conversion therapy is like forcing a person to become someone they are not. The subject’s identity is denied, neglected, and rejected. If society or my family does that to me, I am forced to reject myself. It impacts self-esteem, causes social anxiety, trauma, and depression because rejection by society is internalized as self-rejection and self-hate. It becomes difficult for me to accept myself. There are grave real-world implications,” argues Tejas.

Should Conversion Therapy be Banned or Not?

There are many provisions in the law to prevent practices like conversion therapy from happening like the Mental Health Act, 2017, Article 14 of the Constitution (Right to Equality), Article 19(1) (a) (Freedom of Expression), among others.

For example, the Mental Health Care Act 2017 refrains mental health practitioners from discriminating against patients based on gender and sexual orientation. No provision outlaws conversion therapy, but it is a clear violation of the Act.

“No person may be forced to undergo any form of medical or psychological treatment, procedure, testing, or be confined to a medical facility, based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Notwithstanding any classifications to the contrary, a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity are not, in and of themselves, medical conditions and are not to be treated, cured or suppressed,” notes the Supreme Court’s historic 2014 NALSA judgement.

Meanwhile, its historic judgement on Section 377 in 2018 states, “Counselling practices will have to focus on providing support to homosexual clients to become comfortable with who they are and get on with their lives, rather than motivating them for a change. Instead of trying to cure something that isn’t even a disease or illness, the counsellors have to adopt a more progressive view that reflects the changed medical position.”

“There are enough provisions in the law, and I don’t think we need a specific law criminalizing it. Moreover, there is no specific study on how frequently conversion therapy is practiced in India. What is its prevalence? We need to first document that before proceeding to a specific law seeking to ban it. But once again, this starts with the family. Since families are unable to accept diverse sexual orientations, they reach out to mental health practitioners or religious leaders. Yes, a law seeking a ban on conversion therapy might help, but even if there doesn’t exist one there are enough provisions in the law to criminalize the practice of conversion of sexual orientation and gender identity,” says Tejas.

Nonetheless, there are legal experts who believe that a ban should be instituted against ‘conversion therapy’.

According to this BBC report, the law in Germany against ‘conversion therapy’ stipulates that “those breaking the new law can face up to a year in prison, or a €30,000 fine.”

For the time being, the law in Germany is “intended to stop groups offering the service—which claims to be able to change a person’s sexual orientation—to under-18s.” However, some politicians are looking to extend that age limit to 27.

Finally, we should stop calling it ‘conversion therapy’. It isn’t therapy, but straight up abuse and violence. Therapy refers to the treatment of a physical problem or an illness. It’s blindingly obvious that being gay, lesbian, trans, or bisexual isn’t a physical problem or a disease.

The Supreme Court may have struck down Section 377 of the IPC, but rampant homophobia still rules the heart of many Indians. More battles will need to be fought.

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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Vikramaditya Motwane’s stunning directorial debut, Udaan (2010) played a significant role in rejuvenating the spirit of realism of Hindi cinema.

Produced by Anurag Kashyap, this landmark coming-of-age film set in the steel city of Jamshedpur, chronicles the life of Rohan Singh, a teenager with a talent for poetry, who successfully rebels against his dictatorial and often ruthless father.

It’s a film about love, loss, aspiration, friendship, brotherhood, rebellion, and more importantly, the spirit of freedom.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of a film which captured the imagination of millions. Speaking to The Better India, Rajat Barmecha (31), who played the role of Rohan (it was his debut film) looks back at the journey towards the role of a lifetime, and after.

Getting the part

Born on 24 April 1989 in Ladnun, a village in Rajasthan, Rajat grew up and went to school in the national capital, where his father ran a business.

“Bollywood ruled the Barmecha household, and my father is responsible for my inclination towards acting and cinema. When my brother, sister, and I were little, he took us to watch films in the cinema hall every weekend. He has continued the practice till this day, and watches practically every new release,” recalls Rajat.

Rajat was barely 18 when he arrived in Mumbai to fulfill his life-long dream of becoming a Bollywood star. For around a year and a half, he found work appearing in a series of TV commercials before hearing about auditions for an Anurag Kashyap film from his elder brother Vicky, and a friend.

Looking for someone to play a high school boy, the casting team had initially chosen not to even take Rajat’s audition since his ‘look’ at the time didn’t suit the role. A fortnight later, however, he received a call back from the casting team, who told him that Vikramaditya Motwane, the film’s director, wanted him to give a screen test.

“The first screen test I gave for Udaan, in 2009, was awful. But there was something Vikram liked about me and asked to meet me in person. At the time, Vikram used to work out of filmmaker Nikhil Advani’s office. I met him there, had a small chat, and we really got along. After that, he asked me to give a few more screen tests. One day, we worked on some scenes for four-five hours. Finally, I did two scenes that Vikram really liked. After performing these two scenes, I was regularly called to Anurag’s office,” recalls Rajat.

There, Rajat would spend quality time with Anurag, Vikram, his wife Ishika, and the rest of the film’s cast and crew. They would ask him to read poems, listen to music, but he still didn’t know whether he got the part. One fine day, Vikram called him for a walk in and around the Aram Nagar area. There, he confirmed his part in the film.

While Rajat’s desire to become an actor was driven initially by a fascination with the Hindi film industry and the name, fame and money associated with being a big star, working with Vikram and Anurag had a massive influence on changing the way he approached cinema.

“For a newcomer in the film industry without any personal connections, all you know about cinema is what you see on screen, but you know nothing about the technicalities or the craft. Vikram changed all that for me. He is my acting and filmmaking school—in fact, my entire foundation as an actor rests on what I learnt from him. When we were shooting Udaan, if I had any doubts about the process, Vikram would patiently answer them after work was over for the day. I haven’t attended a single acting workshop, or received any formal training of any sort, and when people praise me for being a natural performer on screen, I give all the credit to him because he taught me how to do that. Today, whenever I meet any other director, I always compare that person to him,” he says.

Shooting for Udaan

Besides working with such a stellar filmmaker, Rajat also shared the screen with two legends of Indian television in Ronit Roy, who plays his abrasive father, and Ram Kapoor, the benevolent uncle. It was an experience he cherishes till this day.

‘I loved working with both of them and they were extremely kind to me. It was my first film and those two were legends in Indian television. But they never made me feel as if I was a young guy just starting out. The entire cast and crew of Udaan felt like a family. There was no hierarchy. I remember there was only one Cafe Coffee Day in Jamshedpur at the time, which was right under the hotel where we were staying. Whenever a break day came, we would all chill together at CCD or at the hotel. It was like a family getting together every day,” he says.

As actors, Rajat feels that Ram and Ronit are very different.

“Ram is someone who knows his lines so well and in detail that he would not even miss a word. On the other hand, although Ronit knows his lines, he improvises on screen. He is very spontaneous. I have ended up becoming more like Ronit because I don’t remember my lines too well, but improvise and understand the feel that is required to emote them. Vikram was never crazy about us actors sticking to our lines. For him, it was about getting the emotion and feel right,” recalls Rajat.

Made with a budget of Rs 3 crore, Udaan released on 16 July 2010, to rave reviews, capturing the imagination of everyone in the film industry and the entertainment media. Whoever he met during parties and award functions, including the likes of Amitabh Bachhan and Karan Johar, heaped praise on his performance.

After an impressive debut, however, Rajat completely went under the radar. Apart from a cameo in Bejoy Nambiar’s Shaitan (2011) and a series of short films, including the National Film Award-winning The Finish Line (2011) directed by Akshay Roy of Meri Pyaari Bindu (2017) fame, we didn’t see much of him.

When asked this question, he talks about the paucity of quality scripts and roles that came before him.

“The offers I got post Udaan were similar to the film, and the scripts weren’t interesting enough. Also, I didn’t get that many offers from big directors as well because I was much younger at the time and wasn’t a star in the conventional sense. Whatever the script, all producers needed was a star. That dynamic still exists, but it’s much better today. Today you have Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who can play the lead actor. Back then, it wasn’t possible,” he says.

Was it just a question of bad timing that he didn’t get the sort of roles he was looking for since Hindi cinema at the time was primarily driven by star power and big budgets?

Today, actors like Ayushmann Khurrana, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar and Kangana Ranaut are telling stories with tighter scripts and great attention to characterisation that are steeped in realism. Their films are telling stories from beyond the metropolises, of a small-town and rural India, and they are doing well commercially.

If Udaan had released in say 2015 or 2020, one can make the argument that it could have been a bigger hit, and thus opened more doors for actors like Rajat.

But it’s an argument he rejects straightaway, and approaches this question very differently.

“Yes, it’s a much better time for smaller films today. If Udaan had been released in 2005, it would have been a disaster. No one would have seen it. However, had it been released in 2015, I would not have been able to play that role because of my age. So, I believe that 2010 was the perfect year for the film to release. Hindi cinema was changing and Udaan was one of the films that catapulted that change. It was a Rs 3 crore film that went to the Cannes film festival and received such widespread love and acclaim. I was also at the right age when I played that character. Maybe in 2015, it would have been a bigger hit, but I wouldn’t have been the person to play that role. Everything happens for a reason and the timing for Udaan was perfect. I have no complaints there,” he argues.

However, he also notes that It depends on how you are launched as an actor. Getting launched by big banner production houses, he admits, helps land more roles. Having said that, Rajat is adamant that he wouldn’t change a thing. If he had to do it all over again, he would still choose to do Udaan as his debut film.

Life changing moment

Five years ago, Rajat’s life changed completely because of two reasons. The first was watching the 2007 film ‘Into The Wild,’ which is based on a book of the same name by Jon Krakauer, and narrates the story of a young graduate, who decides to renounce all his possessions and hitchhike across America.

The second was the emergence of the web series format and OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar and Viu.

“Sometime in 2015-16, my entire perspective towards life changed. Before, I was heavily caught up in work and materialistic things. But that changed when I watched ‘Into The Wild’. It inspired me deeply, and got me into travelling and backpacking. At the same time, the web series scene in India started to pick up. In 2016, I starred in a Hindi web series called ‘Girl in The City’ followed by a few more projects. It was a good space for an actor like me. Those who were making films were the same people who were making web series. The quality was more or less the same, but it was just on a different medium,” he says.

Last year, he acted in a show called ‘Hey Prabhu’ directed by Shashank Ghosh, who had previously made ‘Veere Di Wedding’. In the show, he plays a social media star with a massive fan following online, who one day discovers that he has erectile dysfunction.

“With the advent of streaming and OTT platforms, I am definitely getting better projects. Besides, during the lockdown I wrote my first feature film script. I want this to be a Netflix original. Before I pitch the script, however, I will be sending it to Vikram for feedback, and we’ll see how that goes. Nonetheless, films are my first love, but I don’t want to compromise on the kind of work I do,” he says.

Working on these web series has allowed Rajat to live comfortably in Mumbai, while also allowing him to pursue his other passion, which is travelling. In the past five years alone, he has done over 50 solo trips all over India and Europe. In fact, if you visit his social media accounts, here’s what his bio states: “What do you do for a living? I Travel! So how do you make money? Aah…For that I Act.”

“Acting and solo travelling are two passions I can never let go of. These are the two things in this world that can make a night owl like me wake up at 6 AM and get excited. I try to maintain a balance between the two, but I sometimes end up doing more travelling. Acting is not merely a profession for me, but something that genuinely makes me happy. It’s more than a source of income. I wouldn’t give up either travelling or acting to do the other. Whenever I am not working or busy shooting for something, I am travelling,” he says.

Every trip, according to him, is more about the people you meet and the experiences you have rather than the country or the place. “These experiences teach you so much as an actor and a human being. As a person you grow when you travel. Once this lockdown gets over, I just want to pack up my bags and travel once again,” he admits.

I suppose it’s impossible to keep a free bird caged forever. The same spirit of freedom that drove his character in Udaan is what guides his life today.

And honestly, there is no better way to live it.

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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Ulhas Paranjpe, a civil engineer from Mumbai, would visit Ratnagiri, a port town on the Konkan Coast, once every year. His relatives owned several acres of land in the area, and he found it refreshing to be in the midst of nature, away from urban life.

During one such trip, Paranjpe observed that the fields in the area were completely devoid of crops at the time of the year when he was there, and decided to ask his cousin why.

“I kept asking him the same question, almost like a playful taunt. He heard me out twice, thrice and then lost his patience and said, “You are a civil engineer, why don’t you give me water all year round for my crops?” Paranjpe shares with The Better India (TBI).

That question, or rather, demand became the driving force of Paranjpe’s career. It got him thinking of how his engineering degree could help farmers get access to water throughout the year. After careful study of India’s climate, Maharashtra’s topography and the systems currently in place, he concluded that rainwater harvesting was the way to go.

Since 2003, through their trust, Jalvardhini Pratishthan, Paranjpe and his family have been working tirelessly to bring rainwater harvesting systems closer to farmers and Adivasi tribes of Maharashtra. As of 2020, they have successfully built over 350 such systems in 17 districts and taught its principles to thousands of others.

In a conversation with The Better India, the 72-year-old shares why he thinks this water conservation method is the future of agriculture.

The Water We Get vs The Water We Save:

Even though the Konkan strip and other parts of Western Maharashtra occupy 10 per cent of Maharashtra’s land area, they receive about 46 per cent of the state’s total rainfall. Agriculture is one of the two primary occupations of the region, and hence, one can estimate how crucial freshwater is to the residents of Konkan.

However, most of the water that the rains bring gets washed away into the sea, leaving nothing for the farmers to fall back on if the following months are harsh.

“Many farmers thus can utilise just four months of the year for their crops. They sow seeds in the kharif season but cannot utilise the rabi season given the scarcity of water in those months. If the 1.84 crore people sitting in Mumbai can have easy access to water all year round, why can’t the same be true of the farmers in rural areas?” Paranjpe questions.

Water storage in rural or urban areas is usually synonymous with bores or wells. Rainwater harvesting systems are rarely the instinctive answer. But maybe that’s where we are going wrong.

“Rainwater harvesting is hardly a new concept. It has been a norm in many countries, including India, for thousands of years! However, with age, water increasingly became the responsibility of the governing authority and less of the community. This made us forget the power we have right on our rooftops, agricultural lands and such premises,” argues Paranjpe, who along with his team, wants to bring this power back into the lives of farmers in Konkan and other parts of Maharashtra.

With millions of litres of water saved with minimal cost, they want to empower farmers to take charge of their land, even when the monsoons are far away. He firmly believes that every farmer must own one water storage tank.

Rainwater Harvesting As a Tool Of Empowerment:

Jalvardhini Pratishthan was established in 2003 in Paranjpe’s hometown, Mumbai. He shares that the initial phase of the organisation was filled with various campaigns in Raigad and other Konkan areas of Maharashtra to make farmers aware of this initiative. One of the campaigns was the opening of “resource centres” which enabled farmers to see and experience what rainwater harvesting is.

“When one of them got the system constructed, the others could clearly see the benefits. Word travels fast in a village, and that’s how farmers started approaching us. Now, we don’t need to run special campaigns. Even in this lockdown period, I get about 1 or 2 calls a day, asking for the systems,” the engineer tells TBI.

What sets Jalvardhini apart is that they are not contractors who do their job and leave. They teach the farmers how to build their own rainwater harvesting system. The primary benefit of this method is that once a farmer builds a system, it doesn’t seem like a strange idea. He can pass on the knowledge to his community, starting a chain of sustainable agriculture practices.

“A villager does not wait for an architect, a contractor, and an engineer to build his house. He partners with the local mason and builds his own home. Why should a rainwater harvesting system be any different?” Paranjpe asks.

In Paranjpe’s experience, many government schemes have failed on a rural level because they assume that the villagers will maintain the infrastructure long after it is built. But due to a strain on their resources and a certain bystander effect, that is rarely the case. By making rainwater harvesting systems and individual’s resources, Jalvardhini Pratishthan also puts the onus of wear and repair on the farmer.

The Impact Of Rainwater Harvesting Systems:

Anil Harpude, a farmer, based in Raigad, often mentors others to take up sustainable techniques. He shares that in many Konkan regions, water flows in streams until February and then they start drying up. The rainwater harvesting systems he has built, in association with Paranjpe, has solved this issue to a large extent.

“Earlier, they would get water through diesel pumps. Not only was that a costly option, but it also meant that the farmer with the most pumps gets more water. These pumps also waste a lot of water. I installed a rainwater harvesting system myself and encouraged five other farmers to do so too. We noticed that our expenses are cut by 40 per cent, thanks to this,” he tells TBI.

Following their lead, about 15 other farmers have also installed the systems in their fields.

Sanjay G, a techie from Pune, has a small farm and farmhouse in Ratnagiri. Two years ago, he built a rainwater harvesting system in association with Jalvardhini Pratishthan. “We receive just 150-200 litres of water on summer days which was insufficient for the trees on the premises, and so, we built the tank. But my main objective was to encourage the masons, gardeners and other workers there to follow suit and conserve water in their farms,” he shares.

Jalvardhini Pratishthan has built 350+ rainwater harvesting tanks in Amravati, Aurangabad, Beed, Jalna, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Nanded, Nandurbar, Nashik, Palghar, Pune, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Satara, Sindhudurg, Solapur and Thane. They have also undertaken projects in Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Uttarakhand. Also, they have mentored 8 NGOs and 33 colleges so they can pass on the knowledge to areas where they have influence.

Their ‘natural fibre cement tank’ is an innovative technique of using eco-friendly materials for the construction of rainwater harvesting systems.

“For an 8000-litre tank, we take Rs 25,000 as a donation, and for a 15,000-litre tank, we take Rs 40,000. I understand that many farmers and Adivasi tribes do not have adequate financial resources to build rainwater harvesting systems. In such cases, the trust bears half the cost,” he says, adding that these capacities do not suffice a farmer’s water needs all year round. They are there to fill the gap between January to May when water in wells and borewells runs out, and the farmer needs to water his fields.

Paranjpe began his efforts thanks to a challenge that his cousin threw at him, but what it has culminated into is truly amazing and inspiring. The constant droughts, floods and agricultural problems that India is facing in recent times have shown us how crucial rainwater harvesting has become.

With efforts like the Jalvardhini Pratishthan, we can reduce the burden on our farmers.

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

Feature Image Courtesy of Sanket More.

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On June 8, a majority of the states in India relaxed lockdown norms, allowing offices, business, vendors and all other working professionals to resume work as a means to stabilise the economy. 

However, the government has cautioned people to follow social distancing protocols while commuting to their workplaces. But those who do not have a vehicle, rely on public transportation or cab services which are limited due to restrictions. 

To ease the challenge, Mumbai-based e-BikeGo has come up with a subscription model for scooters. 

The electric bike rental company is offering monthly subscriptions starting from Rs 3,600. It is for individuals and for companies who provide delivery services. 

If you live in Mumbai, Pune, or Bengaluru, all you have to do is go the company’s website and post your query/requirement, complete the verification, and get the e-scooter delivered to your doorstep. 

You can take the subscription for a month or a year. If booked for a long-term contract, the first month comes at no charge. The running cost of an e-scooter is one-fourth that of a conventional scooter.

“The model works like any other OTT platform where the subscription can be cancelled anytime. In case of emergencies, we also provide a refund. The scooter will cover 500 kilometres every month and you can exceed the limit at the per kilometre price. We already have 600 e-scooters on roads through this model,” Irfan Khan, founder and CEO of eBikeGo, tells The Better India. 

What makes this eco-friendly scooter convenient is that you save money on petrol. The scooter can be charged within three hours and you can get reimbursed on your electric usage. 

Approximately 14-15 units of electricity are used to charge the scooter each month. Since the vehicle is registered with the company, the power usage is calculated to arrive at the amount of money (units of power consumed X cost of unit electricity). “For example, if you spend Rs 8 per unit, then we reimburse around Rs 112.”

“All scooters are IoT-enabled and every time a user charges the two-wheeler, we get to know the units charged. Accordingly, we refund that amount at the end of the month. This smart system also helps us immobilise the vehicle in case anyone has not paid the subscription and is still using it,” says Khan. 

What Happens Once You Place An Order

The scooters run on a no-share mobility policy i.e., that once you subscribe, it becomes your personal vehicle. 

After receiving the order, the company will sanitise and disinfect the scooter in their warehouse. A worker will bubble wrap the scooter and place it in a giant box, which will be sent to your house. 

To maintain transparency and reduce health risks, the worker will sanitise the scooter again in front of you, “The customer’s safety is our priority. We disinfect again in case there are any touchpoints while travelling,” Khan adds.

The company also offers 24×7 roadside assistance and fix the vehicle within two hours or replace it in case of a breakdown.

Reviewing how the subscription model has made daily commuting convenient, Kashish Ranjan says, “eBikeGo is an excellent mobility solution when I had to resume office. I had never driven an e-scooter before, but the company explained it within 10 minutes. The home charging feature is what I loved the most.”

Echoing Kashish’s words, Nikhil Gupta from Mumbai, says he finds the e-scooter more convenient than their corporate van service. “Earlier, I was commuting to the office on our corporate van. But due to the lockdown, that service has been discontinued. Our corporate tied up with the eBikeGo and it is a very comfortable and easy-to-use option. This way, we are able to maintain a distance and resume our work.” 

The green venture was started in 2017 to provide eco-friendly scooters for the delivery and commuting needs of service businesses.

Its network spans over eight cities with over a thousand vehicles. The clients range from Zomato, Delhivery, Big Basket, Delhivery, Swiggy, Goodbox etc.

Some of the features of the e-scooter include:

• The scooter comes with a charger, helmet, and third-party insurance.
• It can be charged through an external socket without removing the battery.
• The battery is waterproof and comes with an outer case for portability.
• It has an anti-skid surface for a better foothold.
• Equipped with IP67 motor, it can run on curvy roads.
• A single charge can run the scooter for 90 kilometres.
• The maximum carrying capacity of the scooter is 225 kilos.
• Other features include tubeless tyres, front disk brakes, the rear drum brake, central locking with an anti-theft alarm, keyless locking, and mobile charging USB port, etc.  

Khan hopes to expand services to other cities and deploy 15,000 two-wheelers in future.

“We are facing a high demand for e-bikes and scooters, considering their ease of access and the economic slowdown. Instead of purchasing vehicles, people are preferring to rent. Electric vehicles, in specific, have a higher demand as people do not have to spend on petrol. We are in the process of scaling up our subscription model and make it the new normal,” he signs off. 

To know more, get in touch with eBikeGo here.

(Edited by Shruti Singhal)

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