DELHI
RED FORT
Duration: 03:05 mts.
The Red Fort is a 350-year old living monument, located in
one of the most congested areas of Delhi. Due to the shifting
away of the Yamuna river from its eastern wall, the Fort now
gets the full impact of vehicular exhaust pollution. Studies
done by archaeologists and the Central Pollution Control Board
indicate that the Fort may be suffering serious long-term
damage due to this pollution. |
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MEGACITY
SLUMS
Duration: 04:26 mts.
The spread of Indian metros has led to fears of uncontrolled
urbanisation; and an estimated 50 metro cities by the turn
of the century. In existing metros, nearly 40% of the population
is below the poverty line. Living in degraded circumstances
are migrants like Bipin Kumar, who sells gas masks in Delhi.
Urbanites like Bipin both compound, as well as provide a solution,
to the problems of an over-populated metropolis. |
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LITERACY
IN AKSHARA VAN
Duration: 04:20 mts.
K. Rampura village in District Tumkur of Karnataka is experiencing
change - brought about by the linking of a total literacy
campaign with health care and environment awareness. Villagers
have planted saplings and stopped grazing livestock on their
hillock. Which has now been named Akshara Van or literacy
forest. |
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ANWAL
SHEPHERDS
Duration: 03:35 mts.
The Anwals are traditional pastoralists, who graze their livestock
on Himalayan grasslands. But due to uncontrolled rise in livestock
populations due to commercial demands, there grazing activity
has led to degradation of the eco-systems of the region. Grazing
land has also shrunk due to increasing cultivation, and the
shepherds have now become an environmental, as well as social
burden. |
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FUELWOOD
HEAD-LOADERS
Duration: 04:05 mts.
The forest cover of India has gone down to just 19% of its
total land area. One of the compounding factors is the increasing
need for fuelwood. Fuelwood headloaders in the Dharwar district
of Karnataka collect about 30 kilos of fuelwood per day from
the forests - and sell it in the fuelwood markets of Dharwar
town. These poor, landless people who have no other means
of livelihood, are degrading the very resource they survive
on. |
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WATER
MANAGEMENT
Duration: 04:15 mts.
The Kutch region of Gujarat is an endemic drought-prone area,
where people have deserted entire villages to move into regions
with better water resources. Uncontrolled drawing of water
for agriculture, and a rising population has resulted in the
water level of wells going down. Now an NGO has initiated
a programme of water management, by which check dams are built
by the villagers to store rain water. This in turn helps in
re-charging the aquifers and has raised the water table in
this region. |
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SOLAR
POND
Duration: 03:09 mts.
The largest operative solar pond project in the world is located
in Bhuj, in the state of Gujarat. By maintaining distinct
layers of saline water in the pond, solar heat is trapped
within the water body. The brine then heats up water upto
70 degrees centigrade, to be used by a dairy to generate process
steam. The dairy saves on fuel costs due to less burning of
lignite, and the hot water is also used for washing milk cans.
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RICE-HUSK
PARTICLE BOARDS
Duration: 03:36 mts.
Rice is the staple food of a majority of Indians, and the
annual rice harvest generates a large amount of waste. Mostly
in the form of rice-husk, amounting to nearly 20 million tonnes
in a year. A manufacturer in Bangalore is now producing particle
boards from this rice-husk. These boards can be used to replace
timber in construction. Thus helping in conserving forests,
while finding a resourceful use for waste. |
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DEFORESTATION
IN DAHANU
Duration: 03:57 mts.
Kathha is an essential ingredient of traditional Indian paan
recipes. This reddish-brown paste is extracted from the Khair
tree. But the recent rise in demand for popular paan masalas
has increased the price of Khair trees by 300%. This has led
to increased felling of Khair trees in areas like the Dahanu
forests of Maharashtra. And there seems to be no foreseeable
checks against the onslaught of consumer interests on these
forests. |
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WATER
MANAGEMENT IN HIVARE
Duration: 03:56 mts.
Hivare village falls within a drought-prone patch in the district
of Pune in Maharashtra. Villagers used to face severe drinking
water shortage during summer, and farmers could barely cultivate
two crops each season. Now, under the initiative of an NGO,
villagers have constructed small check-dams on rivulets in
the village. Built just after the monsoons, they prevent the
water prevented from running off. And help recharge the aquifers
in the village. |
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BANNI
GRASSLANDS
Duration: 03:37 mts.
The Banni Grasslands, located in Kutch, Gujarat, supports
the traditional graziers of this region. Though this area
is a saline desert, after the rains it turns into a lush grassland.
However, this eco-system is now being endangered due to uncontrolled
grazing practices, shifting from cattle to sheep and goat,
and the growth of foreign plant species. |
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CHERRAPUNJI
Duration: 04:21 mts.
Cherrapunji, in the north-eastern state of Meghalaya, once
held the record for the highest rainfall. The local people
regarded their forests as sacred, and would not even pick
up dead-wood. Now, there is widespread deforestation in the
area due to increasing pressures of shifting cultivation and
the onslaught of commercial timber trade. As a result, the
top soil is bare and rain water washes it down to the plains
of Bangladesh. And the people of Cherrapunji are faced with
severe water shortage. |
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BIOGAS
PROGRAMME IN INDIA
Duration: 04:02 mts.
In India, roughly 240 million tonnes of fuelwood are burnt
for cooking annually. To reduce the pressure caused on the
forests, scientists and planners developed the biogas programme.
Since 1981, when the National Project on Biogas Development
was launched, more than 17 lakh biogas plants have been installed.
There are also innovations on application of biogas for electricity
generation, and the development of portable plants for inaccessible
hilly areas. With huge amounts of dung available in India,
biogas has vast potential as a renewable energy source. |
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BIOGAS
IN DAIRY INDUSTRY
Duration: 02:55 mts.
The process of making chocolates generates a large amount
of confectionery effluent. In Pune, Maharashtra, a dairy products
plant generates about 350 cubic metres of effluent. For treating
this effluent, the factory has developed an energy efficient
system of aerobic and anaerobic treatment. The process generates
biogas which replaces about 75 litres of oil used in the factory's
boilers every day. And the treated water feeds the fish ponds
and is used for watering the gardens of the factory. |
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LIVESTOCK
POLICY OF INDIA
Duration: 03:56 mts.
India has nearly 15% of the world's livestock population,
but only 2% of its land area. Overpopulation of livestock
has lead to stress on land, and the economy. The practice
of free grazing and unbridled growth of herds have degraded
large areas of fertile grasslands. And with degradation, herders
have changed their stocks from cattle to sheep and goats.
Only a clearly defined national livestock policy can overcome
the fodder and grazing crisis faced by India. |
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ECO-FRIENDLY
REFRIGERATION
Duration: 04:10 mts.
There are nearly 10 million domestic fridges in India. And
the manufacturers are still unable to fulfill the demands
of the market. But according to scientific studies, the coolant
used in refrigerators affect the level of ozone in the upper
atmosphere. Now scientists are trying to finds substitutes
for the CFCs used in refrigerators, with safer compounds that
have no known effects on the environment. |
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EFFICIENT
LIGHTING SYSTEMS
Duration: 03:40 mts.
In India, basic lighting forms over 15% of electricity use.
Efficiency in this area is needed to reduce the burden on
electricity supply, especially during peak hours. One of the
recent innovations in efficient lighting systems is the Compact
Fluorescent lamps (CFLs), which save 80% energy as compared
to normal bulbs. Others are tubelights and Sodium vapour lamps,
which also provide energy efficient lighting. |
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BAGASSE-BASED
CO-GENERATION
Duration: 03:17 mts.
India is the largest producer of sugar in the world. And the
sugar industry is a highly energy intensive sector. A sugar
mill near Meerut, north India utilises the waste bagasse from
the sugar-making process to generate electricity for the factory.
And in addition, the surplus electricity is supplied to 700
households in the neighbourhood. Since sugar mills are mostly
located in remote parts of the country which are not connected
with the main power grid, such surplus power generated from
waste can help in alleviating the power crisis. |
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FUELWOOD
CRISIS
Duration: 04:05 mts.
In India, 70% of rural people and 50% of urbanites continue
to use fuelwood for cooking. This has made fuelwood collection
a profitable enterprise, without any effective control by
the government. As a result, since the 1980's the average
rate of deforestation has been nearly 4 lakhs hectares per
year. Alternatives like briquettes and biogas are still not
commercially viable. While these alternatives are popularised,
the demands for fuelwood also need to be fulfilled, through
fuelwood plantations and afforestation. |
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ROLE OF CO-GENERATION
Duration: 03:55 mts.
To tackle the problem of acute power shortage, a chemical
sector unit in New Delhi has set up a co- generation system.
A captive thermal power plant generates steam - which is used
in the industrial process, as well as to generate electricity.
The investment for such co-generation plants can be half the
cost of normal power plants, and it can pay itself back within
2 years. Such industries can generate excess electricity and
be a source for decentralised power, thus relieving the pressure
on state agencies. |
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SOLAR
WATER HEATING
Duration: 03:26 mts.
The use of solar energy has been promoted in India for many
years, but has not yet become commercially successful. However,
the potential for solar-based technology is being realised
in various areas. Solar water heating systems installed in
hotels, hospitals and kitchens provide an alternative to burning
fossil fuels or using electricity. The system is environment-
friendly, and investment costs are paid back within 3 - 4
years. |
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RENEWABLE
RESOURCES IN INDUSTRY
Duration: 03:13 mts.
In the chronically drought-prone area of coastal Gujarat,
a chemical unit survives by practising concepts of energy
efficiency, waste-recycling and resource conservation. The
manufacturing process uses sea water, and villagers are supplied
fresh drinking water. The captive power plant also gives surplus
power to the main grid. Wastes from the industrial process
and the power plant are now used to produce cement. And landfill
areas have been used as plantation sites, creating carbon
sinks within the complex. |
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WIND
ENERGY
Duration: 03:51 mts.
The need to meet energy shortfalls has led to programmes which
harness alternative sources of energy, like Wind Energy. India
is one of 12 countries worldwide to follow a Wind energy programme.
With an installed capacity of 60 MW, and a target of 500 MW
by 2000 A.D. Within the country, states like Tamil Nadu and
Gujarat have dove-tailed nodal energy agencies, state electricity
boards and private investors into a concept of wheeling and
banking. By which Wind energy is being put onto the state
grids, and private investors are allowed to encash power wherever
they require it. |
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SOLAR
PHOTOVOLTAICS TECHNOLOGY & USE
Duration: 03:38 mts.
Need for alternative energy sources has led to the development
of the Solar Photovoltaic Programme in India. The technology
of Solar Photovoltaics converts sunlight into electricity.
In India, nearly 30 companies in the government and private
sector are now involved in SPV technology. R & D is specially
geared towards applications which have relevance in rural
development activities. Like the use of SPVs in running agricultural
pumpsets, for street lighting, and even for vaccine refrigeration.
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SOLAR
PHOTOVOLTAICS IN INDIAN RAILWAYS
Duration: 03:50 mts.
The Indian Railways carries millions of passengers across
the country over a route of about 62,000 kms. everyday. To
keep this intricate system running, there is a complex network
of communication for signalling, interlocking and track adjustments.
All of which needs electricity to operate. In recent years,
the shortage of electricity has made it imperative for stations
to rely on battery systems which get charged through DG sets.
Now, the Railways has implemented a programme of installing
Solar Photovoltaics to charge and operate these signalling
systems. Which eliminates the need for diesel, and also cuts
down on electricity consumption. |
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DECENTRALISED
ENERGY VS. GRID ENERGY
Duration: 03:48 mts.
The demand for energy, especially in remote rural areas, is
still nowhere near getting fulfilled. Though a rural electrification
programme has been promoted in India since the late 1960's,
there are still large areas which remain untouched. In recent
years, efforts have been geared towards decentralised sources
of renewable energy, which can be generated and administered
by the local community. Conventional grid systems are required
for large-scale use. But decentralised sources can fill the
gaps, especially in rural areas. |
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ENERGY
OUTLAY OF INDIA
Duration: 04:25 mts.
India faces nearly 20% peak power shortage today. Inspite
of increased expenditure on energy, there is still chronic
shortage in most areas. Renewable alternatives like biogas,
solar energy or wind power have not been tapped to their full
potential. Partly becausesp of lack of R&D support, and
partly due to the high installation costs. To meet ever-increasing
energy needs, India needs to look seriously at these options.
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