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THE CHAKA
Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Calcutta
Vol. 74 No. 14 Tue 17-Oct-2006
Editor : S. D. Mookerjea Email
IN THIS ISSUE
- Today: Vocational Service Awards
- Next Meeting Mr. Biswadip Gupta
- One World: R.C Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Calendar: Of forthcoming events.
- Notices: Annual Children's Treat
- Lead Story: In praise of the e-Chaka
- Speech: Water, Energy and Environment
- Events: Visit of past RI Director Sudarshan Agarwal
- Notes: Women in Rotary statistics,
- Rotaryinfo: Object of Rotary.
- Minutes: Of meeting held on Oct 17
- Contact: We meet at Rotary Sadan
_____1 TODAY ^ ____________________________________
PRESENTATION OF VOCATIONAL SERVICE AWARDS
_____2 NEXT MEETING ^______________________________
Tuesday, 31st October, 2006
Speaker: Mr. Biswadip Gupta
Managing Director Vesuvius India Ltd.
_____3 ONE WORLD ^_______________________________________
WE TOAST TODAY
Rotary Club of Dhaka
Bangladesh R.I. Dist. 3280
_____4 CALENDAR ^________________________________________
Oct 28 Sat 5:30 -7:30 pm
Diwali Fellowship Meet
Residence of Rtn P S Bose, 26 Ballygunge Park, Kolkata 700 019
Nov 04 Sat 7.00 pm Nalban
District Bijoya Diwali Meet
Read below.
Nov 12 Sun
Polio Plus SNID
Subsidiary National Immunisation Day
Nov 19 Sun Nicco Park
ANNUAL CHILDREN'S TREAT
Read below
_____5 NOTICES ^_____________________________________
The Chaka extends
ID GREETINGS
To the Rotary Families and
all its readers and well wishers.
DIWALI FELLOWSHIP MEET
The Fellowship Committee is organizing a Diwali Fellowship Meet at
the residence of president-elect Rtn. P.S.Bose on the evening of
Saturday, 28th October, 2006 between 5.30 p.m. - 7.30 p.m.
A live band would be playing on the occasion and delicious chats
of different varieties would be served. All members along with their
families are cordially requested to attend.
DISTRICT BIJOYA DIWALI MEET
The District Bijoya Diwali Meet will be held on Saturday, 4th November,
2006, 7.00 pm. at the Nalban Boating Complex, Salt Lake. It is being
hosted by Rotary Club of Salt Lake Mid Town. You are all requested
to keep yourselves free on that day to join the Mega Event.
POLIO PLUS
The next SNID round will be held on November 12, 2006 in the entire
country except three states in Southern India and in Jammu & Kashmir.
ANNUAL CHILDREN’S TREAT 2006-07
Annual Children’s Treat will be held on Sunday, 19th November, 2006
at NICCO PARK. Members are requested to generously
donate / sponsor breakfast, lunch, ice-creams, T-shirts, carry bags,
sports items and gifts of any kind for the Children.
Donations made to “Rotary Children’s Welfare Trust” enjoy
Income Tax Exemption u/s 80G of Income Tax Act.
_____6 LEAD STORY ^ ______________________________________
IN PRAISE OF THE E-CHAKA
Thanks to the efforts of PP Rtn. Dr. Dipak Sarbadhikari, the webmaster,
the matters of our club are being read widely & commented upon. Ed.
AN APPRECIATION FROM A PAST DISTRICT GOVERNOR
Baroda, Oct 18, 2006
Rtn Sutanu Ghosh
Pres RC Calcutta
Dist : 3290 (06-07)
Dear Rtn Sutanu,
Just downloaded your Club bulletin "Chaka" (No.13) of 10th October
thro' your club website which I found to be most interesting and
informative excellently compiled and edited by Rtn S.D. Mukherjea for
which kindly convey my compliments to him for an excellent job!
While going thro' your club activities, I cannot but appreciate the
manner in which you have raised your club to new heights of success
in all the avenues with following highlights for which I take this
opportunity to extend my heartiest compliments and congratulations!
- Installation of your new team on 5th July.
- The Chief Guest, Hon'ble Mr.V.S. Sirpurkar, Chief Justice High court
at Calcutta at installation ceremony became Honorary Member of
your club on 5th July 06.
- Thalassemia Detection Camp organized by the Health Care Committee
on 15th July 06 at 'The Refuge'.
- Inter City Meeting on The Rotary Foundation hosted by your club on
13th August 06.
- Independence Day Celebration at Rotary Sadan on 15th Aug 06.
- Health Mela at Begumpur from 15th to 19th Aug 06.
- His Excellency Shri. Gopal Krishna Gandhi, Governor of West Bengal
visited your RCC "The Refuge' to inaugurate the Rotary Foundation
Library and lay the foundation Stone for the construction of
'Children's Home' on 31st Aug 06.
- Polio Plus Immunization Camp was held on 10th Sept 06.
- Eye Camp at Narikeldanga was held on 17th Sept 06.
- Rotary Chess Talent Search was held on 16th & 17th Sept, 2006
at Rotary Sadan.
You have provided excellent stewardship to your club so far thro'
above projects thro' your exemplary dedication, devotion, commitment
and leadership qualities for which my compliments & I look forward to
your further accomplishments from your club bulletin from time to time!
Congratulating once again for the above activities & for your above
bulletin & looking forward to your further issues thro' your club website
& with my best wishes for your glorious year (06-07) as to be a Leader
means making the world a better place thro' compassion and able to
Lead the Way - one positive act at a time - & with warm personal
regards & our best wishes for A Very Happy Diwali & A Prosperous
New Year to both of you & Rotary greetings to all your members from
myself and Indumati, we remain,
Your Friends,
JAGMOHAN KATAKIA
23-B, Kunj Society
PDG, D: 3040 (94-95)
Alkapuri, Baroda - 390 007 (Guj)"
_____7 SPEECH ^____________________________________
WATER- ENERGY- ENVIRONMENT
Natural Resources ------ cause for concern
Shri Bimalendu Guha, Vice Admiral (Retd.) has had a
glittering career in the Indian Navy. During his four decade of
service, he had held many important appointments like
Fleet Commander Eastern Fleet, Controller of Warship Production,
Deputy Chief of Naval Staff and Flag Officer Commanding-in Chief,
Eastern Naval Command. He saw active action, during the
1971 liberation of Bangladesh and again in 1988 when he was
commanding the Fleet during the IPKF operations in Sri Lanka.
He addressed our members at our RWM 10 October, 2006
Mr. Chatterjee, Fellow Rotarians,
At the very outset I would like to thank you for inviting me to
share some of my thoughts. I am overwhelmed by the hospitality and
the kind words spoken by my colleague, Rajiv Parlikar.
I think the bonding in service irrespective of where you are, builds
up on three ingredients: first mutual respect not admiration,
professionalism and last but not the least, integrity. I think we
shared all these during my service career with most of my colleagues.
I am possibly going to speak out of the box, as it is not my box
where I am comfortable i.e. on water, energy and environment.
But I believe these three topics merit a societal analysis and a mass
participation. Is it a top-down approach, may be yes. Is it the
grassroots? Each by itself has got many experts, I am not one of them.
Each possibly merits a session by itself, regrettably we do not have
the time nor do I frankly have the in-depth knowledge which will
merit a session for two days. But what I do have is a concern on
these three issues.
Last Friday while the Prime Minister was giving out the Economic Times
awards at Mumbai, he used an expression to the Indian Corporate
'Wealth is in your 'Societal Trust'. I wish he had gone further about it.
Because I think a time has come when you have to come out of the
box. Girl education, primary health, shelter, food, employment and
for that matter also the party politics. In 25 years problems of water
will magnify.
Some of us saw in the internet that in 2050 wars would be fought
over water. In 2050, the most precious commodity of the earth will
be water. I think we acknowledge it. But are we doing enough?
It is also important for us to come out of the energy syndrome - mainly
creation of energy and utilization of energy. We should look for the
energy security.
Lastly on environment, I do not have to possibly elaborate on it.
But we live in an urban population center. We see around us and we
read in various reports, which are coming out on environment. I will
endeavor in the last 7 to 8 minutes to cover some of these aspects
First let me talk about water.
It is not that we are not focusing our
attention on water but that we are not focusing enough. Writing a
line is very easy. Till 1985 the Government of India said that 40 litters
of water a day is good enough for a rural individual. In 1995 it has
become 55 litters a day. Excellent postulation. I read in 'India Today'
that 86% of Indians get clean water as against 77% of the
population in China. Can anybody please define what is 'clean water'?
How many of us in Salt Lake have access to adequate clean water?
I am not very sure. How many of us have seen adequate clean
water? I am not very sure, I am also not going any further.
What is happening in the rural belt today? I wish to point out three
areas on water, which is my concern. Firstly we have run-off water
which is the surface water, the water that we can see. But two third
of it goes to sea by what is called ground water which we do not see.
Globally, we have 690 billion cubic meter of run-off water as against
430 million cubic meter of ground water, which finds its way to sea.
They do not always get trapped in aquifer or where we trap ground
water. I think a lot of work is being done. I want to assure the
audience that this is not happening because of lack of work.
Eminent scientists have spent lifetimes working only on water. I
quote only one - Prof. Jagadesh Rao from the Andhra University.
He says 'Do not create dams on rivers. Please create storage dams
below the ground because then you do not displace people and if
they overflow, they overflow only on the riverbed'. While
researching on this, I also discovered that under every river there
is a stream, which can be trapped for storage.
The second issue is the contamination. We are hearing today
recharging of ground water, conservation of ground water and
harvesting of rain water. It is a mix and match. Definition of
harvesting of rainwater now says that not only can you actually
conserve rainwater but also you can recharge the aquifer. I am sure
I read many years ago that - Over 100 years ago - people at
Porbandhar, the place where Gandhiji was born, used to actually
harvest rain water. Water from the roof was brought down by pipes
and that water was stored.
Those of us who have visited Rajasthan do know how precious
water is. How they conserve water very carefully in various ports
and fortresses. I think a time has come that we should look for
harvesting of rainwater not only for storage and drinking but also for
adequately discharging the aquifer. But let it not become a mass
movement where we actually contaminate more than we can actually
explore. I give an example. If the discharge from a factory is allowed
to go below the groundwater without being treated, it does more
damage. We get more cases of water-borne diseases and arsenic
poisoning.
And lastly I would like to draw your attention to the much hyped,
inter-connecting of rivers, which will possibly give us irrigation
facilities. I wish to share with you that we have problems. Problems
not only on the Kaveri in amil Nadu and Karnataka, I think the problem
already exists with our riparian neighbor Bangladesh. In 2003 a water
sharing delegation visited us from Bangladesh. That is the time when
regrettably three or four statements were made on interconnecting
the rivers in India. On hearing, that they did not sit in the delegation
for one and a half days in Delhi till they had learned more about the
interconnecting of rivers. Water has created problem in both countries.
They feel they are suffering more, we feel we have gained only little.
The interconnecting of rivers need to be looked at in a neighbourly way.
Also, there has to be a delineating line between rain water and sewage
water. It may be noted that rainwater could be stored and used in the
building for flushing purposes.
Now let us come to energy
I think the rise in the petroleum prices which first his us between
the ears, was in 1973 and thereafter it has never looked back.
It has become a matter of academic interest and sometimes we hear
talk about the price in dollars of a barrel of oil. Our reserves for oil
are very limited. We may have gas but very limited oil - I mean Crude Oil -
never mind what technology you may adapt. India is using today 133
million tons oil a year and ONGC and others produce not more than
33 million tones on land and at off shore sources.
I give an example of the arithmetic.
In 1965 when one talked about energy production, nuclear was 0,
hydro 8, oil 24, natural gas 0, coal 66. The total was 52.8, that
is on a million tons equivalent of oil. That means if you are burning
that much equivalent of oil, this is what the distribution is.
In 2001 -Nuclear is 1 - it is actually nudging up to 2, hydro 5 - we
have not been able to produce adequate hydro yet. People are
displaced, places are flooded - oil 32, natural gas 8, coal 54.
Somehow we tend to think that we have got more than enough
coal. This is not the right approach. We in India have 247.85 billion
tones of coal deposit, which, at the current rate of consumption,
will only last 80 years. If the consumption goes up by 5% then it
will only last 40 years. The answer to this, is application of
renewable energy. We have got a ministry for renewable energy.
This could be solar, wind, biomass and could be thermal.
India is not one of the greatest countries, as far as wind is concerned.
Our total potential is 45,000 MW. But technically, we can use wind
to create 14,000 MW, but today we have only 4,500 MW. There are
challenges. But if you do not recognize the challenges we cannot move
ahead.
Companies like Suzlon etc. are working on the wind energy but in the
area of solar energy it is pretty dismal. There is lot of doubt because
of entrepreneurial challenges. The problem in this matter is that
there is a huge adverse difference when the Internal Rate of Return
of such projects is compared with Life Cycle Costing. This deters
businessmen from taking up such projects. But is this Internal Rate of
Return enough? We need to embed the societal benefits in the
involvement of such projects for appropriate decision making.
If the oil runs out where do you go? If the coal is not there where
do you go? We are looking for Energy security. Industrialization has
got its own downstream effect. And we are feeling it today. We
need industrialization. But to support industrialization options must
be looked at very carefully.
Lastly, before I exit from energy I like to say, the time has come
when we have to marry two of this renewable energy - solar and
wind. What you call hybrid. We get wind for three months anyway.
On a bright sunshine day we get 6.7 KW/hour/meter square of wind
(consumption wise) a day in Rajasthan. That is a lot because we
are looking for not more than 400 Watt in a rural area.
Environment
I possibly take on the CAC study of Mrs. Sunita Narayan - there is
merit in it. We must look at it, why this environment affects drinking
water. We have not actually defined drinking water percentage wise.
Western countries, to the best of my knowledge, (what I have read
and what I have seen in the net), says that 'we define drinking water
but we do not define the finished product because we believe if the
same type of drinking water is used and we make beverages, we
must make sure that the properties do not deteriorate'. I think it is
a fair assumption. You cannot actually down the norms of a beverage
from the drinking water. We have read much about it. We fear many
many pollutants - which find their way in the environment. If we look
at air pollution- I will just take two minutes about it. We have heard
about the Kyoto protocol of 1992 where we are in a Non-Annex-I
country, what does it mean? It means we are not obliged to ratify the
Kyoto protocol. That means limiting, what you call, a Greenhouse
effect Gasses. Carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, methane and nitrogen
oxide. But in1993 on our own we went and ratified it.
That raised the hackles of other countries. They said you are a
non-annex-I country. When it suits you, you say you are not obliged
to bring down to a level of 1995. But at the same time you have
ratified it.
We say we have ratified it on our own, not for the international
aspects. We have put a challenge before us that we have to bring
down the emission part of it. I actually do not go by this per capita
concept. I read that per capita discharge of carbon in India is
one by twenty-two of USA. Excellent. But if we multiply gross this
becomes straight-away one by five. We are not talking about per
capita consumption, we are talking about power capita emission
of carbon. So if we are discharging that kind of volume in the air,
it's a matter of concern. I want to tell you, we will quadruplicate
our discharge in exactly fifteen years. I mention these facts to you.
I also want to tell you that there are many small endeavors going
on because it is an important factor and needs to be looked into.
For example I distinctly remember when we set up a training
establishment, in 1979 on Chilka where I was the Director of a naval
training centre, we were told not to contaminate the brackish
water there as it was the only brackish water in India which has got
a connection from the sea where marine life was rich.
What did we do? We went for oxidization tanks. That means
progressively before the water could be discharged from the
sewerage line, we exposed them in a Settling Tank to the sunlight.
So we found the solution.
I was also associated with the Naval Academy at a place which is
on the west coast between Mangalore and Calicut and I did two
things - I requested the Kerala Government to give me 100 years of
its records on wind direction and precipitation. And when the architect
came, I said I have two requests to you -
a) please take into consideration the directions so that I can get
natural ventilation without using energy.
b) The water which is going through this one, let it flow through,
do not try to beautify it, let it come down as it is'.
Thank you for listening to me.
_____8 EVENTS HELD ^______________________________________
Fri 20 Oct 2006 Rotary Sadan 4:30 pm
Past RI Director and Governor of Uttaranchal
H.E. Sudarshan Agarwal and his wife visited Rotary Sadan,
inspected the Archives and facilities offered to children
and met club members for an informal discussion.
Await detailed report.
_____9 NOTES ^ ___________________________________________
WOMEN IN ROTARY
Since women were admitted in the Rotary fold in 1989, their
contribution has been significant and growing. A snapshot of
the presence of women in Rotary is given below:
1-Period 2-Total Clubs 3-Total Rotarians
4-Clubs with Women Rotarians 5-% of clubs with women
6-Total Women Rotarians 7-%ge of Women Rotarians
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
July 01 30254 1170501 15673 51.80% 101726 8.69%
June 02 31256 1243431 19719 63.90% 126775 10.20%
Aug 03 31661 1218230 21353 67.44% 133922 10.99%
May 04 31761 1217457 22693 71.45% 146918 12.07%
Jan 05 31807 1205732 22963 72.19% 149994 12.44%
May 06 32596 1221812 24373 74.77% 168101 13.76%
- from Rotary News
_____10 ROTARY INFORMATION ^ _______________________________
OBJECT OF ROTARY
In some areas of the world weekly Rotary club meetings begin with all
members standing and reciting the Object of Rotary. This statement,
which comes from the Constitution of Rotary, is frequently seen on a
wall plaque in Rotarians' offices or place of business.
The Object of Rotary is "to encourage and foster the ideal of service as
a basis of worthy enterprise." The statement then lists four areas by
which this "ideal of service" is fostered: through the development of
acquaintance as the opportunity for service; the promotion of high
ethical standards in business and professions; through service in one's
personal, business and community life; and the advancement of
international understanding, goodwill and peace.
The Object of Rotary has not always been expressed in this manner.
The original Constitution of 1906 had three objects: promotion of
business interests, promotion of good fellowship and the advancement
of the best interests of the community. By 1910 Rotary had five
Objects as increased emphasis was given to expanding Rotary.
By 1915 there were six Objects. In 1918 the Objects were rewritten
again and reduced to four. Four years later they had again grown to
six and were revised again in 1927.
Finally, at the 1935 Mexico City Convention the six Objects were
restated and reduced to four. The last major change came in 1951,
when the "Objects" were streamlined and changed to a single "Object"
which is manifested in four separate ways. The "ideal of service" is
the key phrase in the Object of Rotary. This ideal is an attitude of
being a thoughtful and helpful person in all of one's endeavors.
That's what the Object truly means.
_____11 MINUTES ^ _______________________________________
MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 17TH OCTOBER, 2006
Total Members 299
Exempted Members 77
Members Present 78
Visiting Rotarians Nil
- President Rtn. Sutanu Ghosh called the 4131st RWM of the Club
to order at 1.00 p.m. at Rotary Sadan. Rotarian Dilip Sircar
led the National Anthem.
- Minutes of the 4130th RWM held on 10th October 2006 were confirmed.
- President welcomed the day's speaker Mr. Shantanu Lodh of M/s
Merrill Lynch, London and announced that he will speak on
"Structured Products & their uses in Asset allocation."
- Rtn. Sutanu Ghosh greeted members celebrating their birthdays
and wedding anniversary during the week ending 23rd October, 2006.
- President then announced the following:-
a) Rtn. Bhagirath Pasari lost his mother on 16th October 2006.
Condolence message is being sent from the Club to the bereaved family.
b) PRID Rtn Sudarshan Agarawal, the Governor of Uttaranchal
will visit Rotary Sadan on 20th October 2006 at 4.30 p.m.
Members are requested to attend the special meeting.
c) A Diwali Fellowship get together is being organized by
Fellowship Committee at the residence of President-Elect Rtn.
P.S. Bose on 28th October, 2006 between 5.30 p.m. and
7.30 p.m. Members are requested to attend.
d) 81st Annual Children's Treat will be held on 19th November,
2006 at Nicco Park, Mr. Henry Victor Jardine, the US Consulate
General will grace the occasion as the Chief Guest.
e) 87th Charter Anniversary of the Club will be observed on
1st January, 2007 PRIP Rtn. Raja Saboo will be the Chief Guest.
- Hony Secretary, Rtn. Hirak Ray announced the following:-
a) Committee Engagements for the week as published in today's CHAKA.
b) Next RWM of the Club will be held on Tuesday, 24th October,
2006 at 1.00 p.m. at Rotary Sadan. Vocational Service Awards
will be presented in that meeting.
c) A Cataract & Refraction Error Detection Camp has been
organised by the Health Care Committee on 22nd October, 2006
at Kalyani. Members may contact Rtn. Zul Hirji.
- Rtn. Abhishake Rungta introduced the Guest Speaker Mr.
Shantanu Lodh who addressed the audience Rtn. Shantanu
Deb Mookerjea proposed a hearty vote of thanks.
- President thanked Mr. Shantanu Lodh and presented him with
a memento as a token Of Club's appreciation.
- The Sunshine Box Collection was Rs. 600/- with special
contribution from Rtns. Raj Kumar Agrawal, Arun Kr. Jalan,
Ritu Singh, Ajay Kajaria and K. K. Kothari.
- Club remembered with good wishes Rotary Club of Los Gatos,
California, U.S. RI Dist. 5170.
The meeting terminated at 2:30 pm
Santanu Chatterjee, Vice-President
Hirak Ray, Hony. Secretary
_____12 CONTACT US ^ __________________________________
WE MEET EVERY TUESDAY AT 1:00 FOR 1:30 PM
Rotary Sadan, 94/2 Chowringhee Road, Kolkata 700 020
Tel: 2223-8787 / 8686 Fax: 2223-2573
Visiting Rotarians cordially welcome. Lunch charges: Rs 140
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Editor, eChaka: Dr Dipak Sarbadhikari dipak@...
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