GLOBAL WARNING
   Date :22-Oct-2019

 
THE Director of Geological Survey of India (GSI) Mr. Sandip Som has a very disconcerting news for Kolkata as well as for several parts of the country. According to Dr. Som the Salt Lake area and other parts of Kolkata city are sinking at a very rapid pace each year. He has cited depletion of ground water and tectonic movement,, besides global warming as some of the reasons. Of these global warming and depletion of ground water should be a warning. Unfortunately there is little awareness about this. Growing depletion of green cover over large areas in several parts, rising tide of concrete jungle, lack of scientific water management and a host of other issues are contributing to depletion of ground water leading to the phenomenon of sinking of soil. Global warming is playing its own part in changing weather patterns for the past few decades affecting water availability. That even after digging as deep as 1000 feet for sinking a borewell fails to yield water should be an eye-opener. Are we looking at the phenomenon of sinking cities which global warming is supposed to trigger?
 
MAHATMA ON
 
REEL THE vibrant power of cinema in India is a wonderful tool to spread social messages in an attractive manner. Not that the film industry is lacking in this aspect, yet the medium still has lots of things to offer, especially in propagating the thoughts and ideals of icons who shaped India’s destiny. Bollywood has had its share in taking Mahatma Gandhi to the people through some deeply-researched and well-presented movies. But there is a wide scope to reintroduce the Mahatma to the youth, especially the millenials, through films. This was the gist of the interaction between Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi with Bollywood actors and filmmakers to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The fraternity has responded with a short cultural video based on Gandhiji’s life, teachings and values. It should be taken as a starting point to reintroduce the Mahatma to the world through celluloid. Gandhiji needs to be told and retold to generations for the extraordinary life he lived to inspire India. Film industry has a big responsibility to see it through.