Reiterating our commitment to the causes we espouse

September 04, 2016
 

Dear Green-Crusaders and fellow-travellers,

In furtherance of the appeal made by one of our esteemed members, we reiterate our commitment to the causes we espouse.

And this is where u get to know about us in greater detail <www.greencrusadersindia.blogspot.com>. Here we publish or republish things that either help us explain our stance, reinforce our commitment or help us mobilize support.

And this is our Facebook page <www.facebook.com/greencrusaders.india>. It is here we keep providing materials that help us enhance the cause/s, and bolster the spirit that remains undaunted in the face mounting challenges, ready to take on the odds.

On Twitter, this is our handle <www.twitter.com/GreenCrusaders>. The snippets we bring up here are always aimed at keeping u posted.

So, please do keep in touch, join us in our "crusade" and help us carry forward our mission to change the way things are, and bring about a greener, cleaner, healthier, saner and a more humane tomorrow.

Thanks.

Yours,
Central Executive Committee
GREEN CRUSADERS

On Government apathy towards the plight of the victims of forest droughts

<GREEN CRUSADERS CEC on Government apathy towards the plight of the victims of Forest droughts>

There is no mention of forest droughts in either the Crisis Management Plan for the current drought or the country's Manual for Drought Management, even though most official committees set up to manage droughts have representation from the Forest Department. Five states- Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Chattisgarh, Odisha and Uttarakhand are the worst affected areas. Forest products, which serve as a subsistence income source for cultivators, has witnessed a decline of 40%. The reasons why we should worry about forest droughts are -

1. Almost 220 million Indians are dependent on forests, most of them are among the country's poorest.
2. Their livelihood depends largely on Minor Forest Produce(MFP) , a Rs.6000 crore informal economy.
3. MFP contributes 25-50 per cent of their food requirements.

Government drought Management policy neither recognizes Forest droughts nor compensates loss of income from MFP.
4. Climate change is further impacting Forest ecology, disrupting growth of MFP.
GREEN CRUSADERS condemns the Government apathy towards the plight of the victims of Forest droughts and demands that the latter be compensated enough so as to enable them to withstand the vagaries of nature. The Central Executive Committee of the GREEN CRUSADERS is also of the opinion that the government can very well undertake this responsibility, when it is so well-disposed to the coterie of corporate houses in terms of facilitating their interests at the cost of the public exchequer.

Get well soon, Dr Ashok Mitra

[Photo courtesy:: Outlook]

Learnt with dismay and consternation Dr Ashok Mitra, the sentinel of ideological conviction and a relentless fighter for the socio-economic uplift of the downtrodden, an ever-so-wakeful a voice of dissent against the powers that be has fallen ill due to complications related to old age. Generations of dreamers inspired by him have known what it is like to go through intellectual incubation, spurred by him. 

We wish the colossus a speedy recovery. We wish him to be amongst us for many more years to come, and continue to be the beacon-light he has always been.

Sowmen Mitter

President
Central Executive Committee
GREEN CRUSADERS

Congratulations!! Bezwada Wilson

GREEN CRUSADERS congratulates Bezwada Wilson on his being nominated as a Magsaysay awardee for the lifelong contribution he has made towards the cause of liberating human scavengers from the life of unfathomable indignity they have led for generations on end.

It is through sheer grit and determination that he has made the apparently impossible possible.

We can only imagine what he must have gone through to realize his dream, the kind of odds he has had to face, the obstacles he has had to surmount.

We salute the crusader for the mission he undertook so early in life and has carried on through thick and thin, undaunted and undeterred. 

SOWMEN MITTER
President
Central Executive Committee
GREEN CRUSADERS