Volume 15 | Issue 18
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Waste-picker chosen to attend climate talks denied visa French govt feared she would not return to India EXCLUSIVE Mouli Shree Irien Joseph A waste-picker supposed to accompany Bangalorean Mansoor Ahmed to the Paris climate talks, was denied entry as the French government was worried she wouldn't return home. Ashabai Doke, a waste manager and green entrepreneur, was denied a visa on the grounds that she may not return home and that she had no funds to sustain herself while in France. All the documents required including sponsorship letters and accommodation confirmation were submitted. Mansoor Ahmed, a waste picker from the city, was cho-
Ashabai Doke
sen to speak at the event in Paris, attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and world leaders like Barack Obama and the UK PM David Cameron. But while Mansoor’s application to the French government – hosting the talks – was accepted, Asha Sambhaji Doke’s was declined, even though they had both submitted the same documents and proofs. Asha, a member of Civic Response Team (CRT), runs two recyclable waste shops. Her efforts have resulted in better incomes for 30 sanitation workers. She is also a member of Kagad Kach Patra Kashtkari Sanghthana (KKPKS), a trade union. According to a post on the blog “What’s With The Climate”, the visa was refused multiple times. “In first application the consulate refused the visa on two grounds: not sure whether she will come back, not clear how she will sustain herself there. It was decided to apply again. This time we paid the visa fees and to our surprise there was a courier service to Aurangabad. For some
reason the center didn't take Biometrics of Asha. They said they were recorded the previous time. Suddenly out of blues after four days, consulate asked them to provide the Biometric details.” “It is saddening that we are talking about the poor, who are most vulnerable to climate change, many through their work are actually mitigating it. And the space for them to share their thoughts, experiences and reflections is shrinking.” Nalini Shekhar of Hasiru Dala, which sponsored Ahmed’s trip, she said, “Mansoor was associated with the organisation since 2010. He is passionate about working for the city. He understands the importance of recycling matter, and because of his leadership quality he was chosen.” Shekhar calls Doke a “spokesperson for people like her, who made a living from collecting waste materials from dumps”. Mansoor, who studied till sixth grade, used to help his parents who owned a small dry waste collection shop. After his
father’s death, he had to take up the responsibility and began working as a rag-picker. In 2010, he joined Hasiru Dala and started working for them. Shekhar said that earlier the Alliance of Indian Waste-pickers (AIW) picked youth representatives from north India but never from south. In 2011, Hasiru Dala established a similar organization in Bangalore. The AIW asked them to send one person from Bangalore to attend the conference as a youth representative. Ahmed is the first one. At the 12-day Conference of Parties (21st COP) in Paris, leaders from 196 countries will discuss ways to limit the global warming. Ahmed will talk about the importance of waste segregation. He will describe his journey in which he was able to inspire customers to segregate waste at source. Doke was supposed to be a panelist at side events during the conference. It is estimated that there are 1.5 million waste pickers and itinerant buyers in India and 15,000 waste pickers in Bengaluru alone.
Modi's solar performance eclipsed by BESCOM Parvathi Benu Farmers are an “undisciplined” lot, according to the state’s power chief, who blamed them for misusing solar power equipment. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared the stage in Paris today with French President Francois Hollande to launch a global solar energy campaign, Bangalore’s state electricity chief was criticizing farmers for abusing solar energy equipment. “Solar technology is evolving, costs are coming down and grid connectivity is improving,” said Modi. “The dream of universal access to clean energy is becoming more real. This will be the foundation of the new economy of the new century,” he added. It was a slightly different picture in Karnataka, where Pankaj Kumar Pandey, man-
aging director of the city’s electricity and supply company BESCOM, was speaking at a symposium organised by Zen Dialogues on the future of electricity. He spoke about the growing dependence of agriculture on solar power. “There are around 800,000 pump sets in the BESCOM area which causes extra burden. We have separate feeders for farmers. This is helping us and them as well," he said. Mr Pandey added: "Segregated solar feeders, which supply electricity separately to different sectors, were implemented in agriculture because we do not want undisciplined farmers to interrupt the power supply. "These solar feeders will help the farmers to get power supply for more hours, but they are misusing it in some parts, like switching on auto starters leading to flooding and loss of
top soil.” He said solar power is the key to solve the state's power crisis and that solar energy may even cause a power surplus in Bangalore in the next five years. "Solar energy is very viable. It is very much possible as we get more than 300 sunny days here," he said. However, he said that the energy contribution of solar cells is very small. To solve the problem, power grid would help, he added. Antonius Van Megen, co-
founder of Auroville Consulting, said: “India faces a storage crisis and not an energy crisis and power grids would help in solving the issue.” He also spoke about the importance of bi-directional grids and how they would draw maximum energy. Research scientist, Sandhya Sundararagavan spoke about solar grids and their efficiency to solve power crisis. She added that there is a need to strengthen grid infrastructure.
BRIEFS Street Vendors suffer as govt officals play blame game Street vendors and the police accused BBMP of harassment and forced eviction from shops. Page 2 Accused in alleged scam took money from family The family of a finance firm boss accused of a Rs 85 crore scam say they lost their savings. Page 3 BBMP faces tax struggle BBMP has collected just about half the taxes they hoped to collect this fiscal year, the taxation chairman has said. Page 3 Fund crunch plagues AIDS patients on World AIDS Day The state's failure to deliver funds promised to fight HIV leaves thousands in distress, according to health workers.
Session on ‘Trends in electricity sector.’ Pankaj Kumar Pandey made the comment here.
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