Chachu's column #19:  Of Safe Bottled Waters and Lone Crusaders

Mired in the humdrum existence of our lives, we look at the mess around us and sulk.

Some one stops his scooter in the middle of the road and talks to the driver of a bus. The bus too is improperly parked, waiting for its belly to be stuffed by soulless bodies. We honk at the scooter-wallah, waiting for him to be kind enough to give us some space to move ahead. The first few honks go unheard. After few more honks, the man pays an attention or two. By that time the cars behind us start honking. The scooter-wallah looks at us. Despite his effrontery, he realizes that there is still some space for us to move - provided our arm muscles are employed and the steering wheel given a twist. So the response is a silly gaze. The honks and the gaze fight for a while. Unlike the movies, the gaze comes up triumph. We sulk.

Then there are occasional showers - barely noticeable. But the potholes give adequate proof. The roads are in shambles. The same place that were in dire straits last year are in same pathetic state. Déjà vu. The  repairs are the same. Loose pebbles strewn over the potholes - sometimes with soil. Another shower and it is worse. Truck's wheels get stuck and one side of the road is rendered unfit for use. More Déjà vu.

We sulk - all the more.

This is not the end. This is just the beginning. Experiences like these, which cause dismay and disappointment, are so pervasive that this article can
be a perfect opportunity to bitch at the dismal state of public life. We in fact do this: curse everyone in sight - the government, the administration and the people. We then realize the helplessness of the situation and accept our plight as fait accompli. However, some of us do not take things lying down. We
indulge in debates and heated arguments. But soon we realize the futility of the effort. The seething anger still remains though.

Very few of us transcend the barrier - the barrier between the desire to do something and an actual act that impacts lives of thousands or millions of people. People like these are in great minority. While rest of us ruminate over the omnipotence of our opposition, such people make their own road and march ahead. The road is tough, no doubt - traversing through the forests and the jungles. But once a person treads this route, others just follow. The difficult part is already done.

While one can cite many such eminent personalities, one such person that begs for a comment is Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan recipeint - Late Anil Agarwal. A graduate in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, the man went on to become one of the leading environment journalist and environment advocate of modern India. Agarwal's most important contribution was to create awareness across the world about the importance of the environment in poor, developing countries. To achieve this end, Anil Agarwal established the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), an influential and highly vocal environmental NGO based in Delhi. It was a step taken by CSE this month, which forced me write something on this venerable Organization.

The Centre for Science and Environment was established in 1980 by a group of engineers, scientists, journalists and environmentalists to increase public awareness of vital issues in science, technology, environment and development. In the first year, CSE was involved in producing an information service on science and society-related issues such as energy, environment, health, human settlements and the impact of science and technology at the grassroots level. Since then it has grown into one of India's leading environmental NGOs with a deep interest in sustainable natural resource management. For nearly two decades now, CSE has tried to educate a whole nation, from many of its top political leaders to its numerous rural activists, about the importance of sustainable development, especially for the daily survival of the country's poor and its rural women.

Last year CSE was instrumental in getting the smoke-belching diesel buses off Delhi roads. Much as powerful lobbies tried to stall the effort, the CSE stood firm. Under the directions of honorable Supreme Court, the state and central governments of Delhi had to relent. CNG buses have now complete replaced Diesel buses. The latter are no more seen on Delhi roads (however, diesel trucks are still seen).

Then, CSE also introduced the Green Rating project, a pioneering project to rate industries on their environmental performance. The project highlighted the shortcomings of the automobile industries in the area of environmental performance and sensitized them about the synergies between sustainable development and environmental protection. Some of the companies did not take part in the project, an act that underlined their (in)sincerity towards environment.

This year too has started with a bang. Few weeks back, CSE brought a report that highlighted the high contents of pesticides in packed drinking water bottles. The leading bottlers even were not spared.  The industry proclaimed that they complied to BIS standards. BIS or Bureau of Indian Standards appeared to be sleeping all the while.

I once had a very small experience with BIS when I wanted a technical specification from ITU-T (an international telecommunications body). ITU-T asked me to contact BIS for the same. When I approached BIS, first of all no one appeared to understand what I wanted as though they hardly understood anything. When one of them finally understood what I wanted, I was told that I would get the specifications in two months. I said, "No thanks". Given this lethargy, no wonder that the poor level of quality standards provides excuse for bottlers to sell unsafe drinking water.

But the report from CSE changed all this. The center stepped into the scene and asked BIS to take quick action. Latter immediately brought out new standards for bottling packaged water. This was not the end. There were raids at various bottling plants and eight licenses were cancelled. One of the leading bottlers explained its situation through newspapers.

The act of CSE marked how a small step from civil society can alter what it gets. Certain individual had taken an after two decades back, and now the results seem to be coming. Even though it appears that so much happened, very little has actually changed. lots of questions still remain. Who will ensure that the new standards are adhered to? Who will monitor the counterfeit bottles? What about the quality of water supplied though public distribution system? Will there be any standards for them?

And water is just one of our necessities. We need roads, houses, electricity, food and so many other things. Who is the police for this? And who is our crusader? Anil Agarwal died more than a year back. While CSE still fights with Anil as their guru, what about others? Among the four sets of people: the polluters, the mute spectators, the debaters and the doers, where will we find ourselves? Time to think. And more importantly, take a step or two....