{"id":4205,"date":"2007-09-02T10:45:36","date_gmt":"2007-09-02T09:45:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=4205"},"modified":"2008-03-22T19:30:09","modified_gmt":"2008-03-22T18:30:09","slug":"ecology-in-the-dham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=4205","title":{"rendered":"Ecology in the Dham"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Panca-pandava dasa<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have read with interest the articles concerning ecology and environmental issues in the Dham, particularly in Vraja.<\/p>\n

I have spent the last six years in Vrindavan, not so long, but long enough to see the growth of the environmental problems. These are caused partly by the development in Vraja but also by the local people, including ourselves as members of ISKCON.<\/p>\n

I agree with Dayananda Prabhu’s comment on Urmila Mataji’s article “Our Heart in Vrindavana…and our intelligence and hands and pocketbook, too!<\/a>“, where he says “We really need to think outside the box on this one. Western attitudes toward problem solving are not going to work here.”<\/p>\n

I am a qualified electrical\/mechanical engineer and was asked by some devotees what could be done to clean up the water in Govind Kund, at Goverdhan. My first thought was to install some filtration and aeration plant to clean up the water. However after visiting Govind Kund and sitting there for a few hours, chanting and watching what was going on, I realised the problem is not so simple. The kund was covered with a green slimy film, similar to that at Radha Kund. The reason for this green slime is that the local people use the kund to wash their cloth using detergent. Therefore before trying to clean the kund you have to stop the locals washing their cloth in it. This is much easier said than done, they have been doing it for generations, but it is only in the last ten years or so that they started to use detergent. So you either have to get them to stop using detergent or wash their cloth somewhere else. The only way this can be done is to provide a more convenient place and or method for the local people to wash their cloth, otherwise they will simply continue. They don’t care about the green slime.<\/p>\n

The above is just an example of the root of the problem. Urmila Mataji urges us all to stop using plastic bags, and I agree wholeheartedly with her, I have seen many cows eating plastic bags and then suffering. However again there has to be a practical and economical alternative available in place before you can get any change, recycled paper bags simply are not available apart from the small ones you see made from newspaper, but these are hardly practical for carrying 2kg of potatoes. So unless the shopkeepers have a practical and economical alternative they are simply not going to change.<\/p>\n

Immediate change can be made where it is practical, for instance at Mathura station all the “chai” wallahs use clay cups, I am not sure if this is the policy of the Railways or Mathra, but plastic cups are not allowed. Yet even in our own temple in Vrindavan at feasts we persist in using plastic cups, the same is true of most temples in Vrindavan, also at Gokulananda Mandir which is under the management of Srivatsa Goswami who was mentioned as trying to do something about environmental issues. So first we should look to ourselves to see what we can do in our own house to improve the environment.<\/p>\n

Education is obviously a very important factor in achieving change and I know Rupa Raghunath is doing a wonderful job in helping to educate the local chidren in Vrindavan. We have to be realistic about what can be done in the short term and what should be planned as long term projects, i.e. proper sewerage systems and alternative energy supplies.<\/p>\n

One other issue to bear in mind is that not all the residents of Vrindavan are Vrajavasis, I would estimate that may be upto 50% are from outside Vraja. This 50% are there only to make money, they don’t have the devotional attitude of the Vrajavasis and they don’t chant the Lords holy Names as Urmila Mataji might think everyone in Vrindavan does. <\/p>\n

What is needed is a methodical study of the problems, their real cause, as in the problem with the kunds, and then finding practical and economical alternatives that fit with the local culture and environment. Trying to import old waste trucks from the west and have them go around Vrindavan will just not work, to start with they are too big to get around the small narrow streets of Vrindavan. We have to be realistic in our proposals and most importantly get the local people to buy into them also, it is no good just to get the visitors doing things, although obviously it is a start. One example would be to get the investment for a plastic recycling factory capable of recycling all types of plastic, you would then put a value on used plastic bags. Within a few months you would not see a single plastic bag on the streets of Vrindavan.<\/p>\n

I am not trying to be negative in this article, but just trying to get us all to see the real problems and find practical solutions to improving the long term environment of Vraja. To do this we will need to influence the local politicians and leading members of the society. Vrindavan has its own municipality, separate from Mathura, so both need to be convinced of the need for change, without their co-operation we will be banging our heads against the proverbial brick wall. <\/p>\n

There is a U.P. Tourist Board, this would be a good place to start lobbying for help and assistance in trying to make some change, they have control over certain State funds which may be available as Mathura\/Vrindavan is one of the major tourist destinations in U.P.<\/p>\n

So let us seek the mercy of Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Syamasundar, Krishna Balaram and Gaura Nitai that we may be able to preserve the environment of Sri Vrindavan Dham.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"HareBy Panca Pandava Dasa<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have read with interest the articles concerning ecology and environmental issues in the Dham, particularly in Vraja. I have spent the last six years in Vrindavan, not so long, but long enough to see the growth of the environmental problems. These are caused partly by the development in Vraja but also by the local people, including ourselves as members of ISKCON.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,91],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-environment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4205\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}