Sustainable life

There is a great mismatch between the technologies that we are blindfolded out rolling in the market to cater to the non-analytical consumeristic desires of the people and the larger interest of the increasingly clogging spaces in the society. While it is still morning and you are fresh awake, faraway somewhere in the street there is a motorbiker riding speedily in a certain mood and trying to warn the commoners to stay aside by playing a tune to the horn of the vehicle, rather arrogantly and aristocratically. Suddenly you find yourself in a critical mess created by this complexity of the technologies. Until unless you have soundproof walls and a bigger house to disseminate the unneeded, distracting and maddening voices, you are bound to be doomed. In case you are part of the community permanently since you own the accommodation, you are fated with a pang of chronic guilt and lifelong frustration. All this is because we have to run the economy with a single goal of creating wealth. There seems to be no space for social-psychological effects. Bhutan has been doing a commendable job by curbing to such menace. It has halted the decision of becoming the part of the BBIN (Bhutan - Bangladesh - India - Nepal) corridor so that the traffic is controlled in the carbon negative country. It needs a lot of foresight and a visionary leader with clear cut priorities.

India is a country of more than 1.3 billion people and the country has the overall land space of less than 2.3 million sq. km of the world. In other words, 18% of the world population is living in less than 3% of the world's land area. This is coupled with the continuous increase in the inequality within the country as suggested by various indices and national figures. There are fast sinking common spaces as they are being privatized by the industrialist or an entrepreneur. The humans are slowly cramming themselves into smaller spaces just like the way they treat their other subjects as in the poultry business.

There is a serious lack of urban and rural planning while developing the infrastructure of the country. Every year while it rains, our drainage systems are clogged. This results into flood within the city precinct and helpless citizens looking to save their lives. India is one of the most risk-prone countries due to the increased effect of climate change. It is quite evident with the number of devastating cyclones that we are facing every year. The floods and the drought simultaneously go on within the country. There is heat waves and cold waves situation. The air is being polluted with minute particles that enter into our lungs while breathing. We all know that out of the 10 most polluted cities in the world, more than 6 are in India. New Delhi embarrasses us every year by breaking its record the year before. In the year 2019, it saw unprecedented air smog in the air and for more than a month, the air quality was far beyond the maximum calculative capacity of the various indices. City administration vied for the curative solutions by distributing few masks and publishing it heavily in the media to gain the political cult. First, such solutions are uncalled for as it only helps the richer section of the society, second, it is purely inhuman to even wear a mask in the open air, and third, we need strong preventive measures that are well coordinated inter-state and intrastate, far beyond the five-year terms of the changing government in the center and the state.

The questions & problems are clear and the solutions are clearer. We definitely lack the will to implement them. Why can’t we promote public transportation and greener & healthier solutions like cycling in the cities? A sustainable life is the richest lifestyle. It accounts for all strata of society. Let us take a deep breath and think!