000-tobecategorised

Riverfronts kill rivers https://www.civilsocietyonline.com/column/living-rivers/riverfronts-kill-rivers/ VENKATESH DUTTA RECENTLY, over 2,000 citizens participated in a unique protest along the banks of the Mula-Mutha river in Pune by hugging trees — just like the 1973 Chipko movement to save trees in the Garhwal Himalayas.

The riverfront development project in Pune aims to develop the 44-km stretch of all three rivers — 22 km of the Mula, 10 km of the Mutha, and 11 km of the Mula-Mutha -- at an estimated cost of `5,500 crore... It proposes to construct embankments along the river, which will cause significant harm to the riverine ecosystem. The embankments will not aid in flood control. In reality, this will decrease the river’s water-carrying capacity, making nearby areas more susceptible to flooding.  ..Many riverfront development projects have come up in India — the problem is that these projects lend cosmetic treatment to rivers with incomplete sewerage networks and inadequate sewage treatment. Riverfront developments have not prevented sewage from entering the river; in fact, they have escalated the city’s water and wastewater crises. Multiple sewer lines have been laid along or underneath the riverfronts. The result is that these river stretches have become ‘glorified sewer canals’.  The phrase ‘urban river’ is being used to disconnect a river from its upstream and downstream continuum. This urban-centric approach of river management is trying to give river space an elite look, with more build-landscape and concrete river banks along the urban stretches of a river

The Sabarmati riverfront development project attempted to execute interceptor sewers and sewage diversion networks, but these efforts have largely failed due to faulty design and malfunctioning sewage treatment plants. According to a report from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) presented to the Lok Sabha in February this year, the Sabarmati is the second most polluted river in the country. Therefore, it is imperative to ensure that sewage treatment plants are properly installed and functional to achieve the vision of a clean and unpolluted river in urban areas such as the Sabarmati and Gomti.

BJP govt. spent ₹44 crore on media ads in four months ahead of Assembly polls, reveals RTI query https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/bjp-govt-spent-44-crore-on-media-ads-in-four-months-ahead-of-assembly-polls-reveals-rti-query/article66904454.ece  May 28, 2023 
This was informed by the Department of Information and Public Relations in response to a Right to Information Act (RTI) query filed by Puttur-based activist Rajesh Krishnaprasad

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/6491cr-spent-on-advertisements-in-media-in-eight-years-i-b-ministry-101670957676039.html ₹6,491 cr spent on advertisements in media in eight years: I&B ministry ByAnish Yande, New Delhi Dec 14, 2022 

Govt spent ₹967.46 crore on advertisements in print media from 2019-20 to 2023-24 https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/govt-spent-96746-crore-on-advertisements-in-print-media-from-2019-20-to-2023-24/article67654389.ece#:~:text=The%20government%20on%20Tuesday%20said,%2D20%20to%202023%2D24.
Anurag Thakur said the CBC releases awareness/publicity campaigns.
December 19, 2023

Wonder what the break up of expenditure is.  Is there a media plan, based on which the ads are distributed. 

Need jobs, not saris and bags: Maharashtra's Pa http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/109175924.cms Sandhya Nair / TNN / Updated: Apr 10, 2024 Despite the scorching heat, tribal women from Jawhar and Dahanu in Palghar district have been making a beeline to the district revenue offices to return saris and shopping bags that were distributed, along with their monthly ration, in March. The women’s message is clear: “Give us sustainable jobs that can help us buy saris”.
Since Monday, more than 350 saris and 700 bags bearing the photograph of PM Modi have been returned to Jawhar and Dahanu tehsildar offices