ഇത് ഞങ്ങളുടെ ഡ്യൂട്ടി ആണ് ~ ഒരു കോവിഡ് ഓർമക്കുറുപ്പ്

 ******ഇത് ഞങ്ങളുടെ ഡ്യൂട്ടി ആണ്******

ഒരു മഹാമാരിക്ക് പലതും പഠിപ്പിക്കാനാകും. ഒരു നീണ്ട യാത്രയുടെ ക്ഷീണം തീരും മുന്നേ വന്ന കോവിഡ് വാർത്ത ആദ്യമൊന്നും അലട്ടിയില്ല. പോയ മാസങ്ങളിൽ മാധ്യമങ്ങളിലൂടെ വായിച്ചറിവും, പരിചയമുള്ളവരിലൂടെ കേട്ടറിവും, ഈ രോഗത്തിന്റെ ഗതി എങ്ങനെ എന്ന് അറിയാവുന്നതു കൊണ്ടും വ്യാകുലത കുറവായിരുന്നു. അനുഗ്രഹം പോലെ ഉള്ള വർക്ക്ഫ്രം ഹോം (WFH) ഒരു പരിധി വരെ സഹായിച്ചിരുന്നു.. പിന്നെ, കുടുംബത്തിൽ നിന്നുള്ള അകമഴിഞ്ഞ താങ്ങും (ഭക്ഷണവും മരുന്നും വേറെ).

ഇതിൽനിന്നുമൊക്കെ എടുത്തു പറയേണ്ട ഒരു സ്തുത്യർഹ്യ സേവനം അനുഭവിച്ചറിഞ്ഞതും 2020 നവംബർ-ഡിസംബർ കാലത്താണ്. ഒരു സംസ്ഥാനത്തെ വിവിധ വകുപ്പുകൾ അഹോരാത്രം ഒരൊറ്റ യൂണിറ്റ് ആയി പ്രവർത്തിക്കുന്ന മനോഹരമായ അനുഭവം കൂടി ആയി ഈ സമയം. താരതമ്യേനെ കുറഞ്ഞ രോഗ ലക്ഷണങ്ങൾ ഉളളത് കൊണ്ട് പാതി മനസ്സോടുകൂടി ആണ് ഹെൽത് അധികൃതർ വീട്ടിൽ തന്നെ റൂം കോറന്റൈൻ അനുവദിച്ചത്. ചില നിബന്ധനകൾ വച്ചിരുന്നു. അതിലൊന്ന് ദിവസവും മൂന്നു നേരം പൾസ് ഓക്സിമീറ്റർ റീഡിങ് അയച്ചു കൊടുക്കണം എന്നായിരുന്നു. നമ്മുടെ ആരോഗ്യം നമ്മളേക്കാളുപരി ഒരു ഫോണിന്റെ അങ്ങേ തലയ്ക്കിരിക്കുന്ന ഒരു വ്യക്തിക്ക് കരുതലിന്റെ വ്യാകുലതകൾ. മരുന്ന്, ആഹാരം, ആരോഗ്യം (അത് ശാരീരികവും മാനസികവും), തുടർന്നുള്ള കോവിഡ് മാനദണ്ഡങ്ങളെ മാനിക്കുന്ന വിധത്തിലുള്ള പല പല നിർദ്ദേശങ്ങൾ; ഇങ്ങനെ നീളുന്ന ഒരു സമീപനം ആയിരുന്നു പഞ്ചായത്തിലെ പ്രാഥമിക ആരോഗ്യ വകുപ്പിന് കീഴിലുള്ള കോഡിഡ് മുന്നണി പോരാളികളിൽ നിന്ന് കിട്ടിയത്. എന്ത് അസ്വസ്ഥതകൾ ഉണ്ടായാലും, ഏത് നേരത്തും വിളിക്കാനുള്ള സ്വാതന്ത്ര്യം തരുന്ന ആ ഉറപ്പ്, അനുഭവിച്ചറിയേണ്ടത് തന്നെ ആണ്. പിന്നീട് നെഗറ്റീവ് ടെസ്റ്റ് റിസൾട്ട് വരുന്ന വരെയുമുള്ള ദിവസങ്ങളിൽ ഈ കരുതലുകൾ തുടർന്ന് കൊണ്ടേ ഇരുന്നു. റിസൾട്ട് വന്ന്, വിജയകരമായ കോവിഡ് മാനദണ്ഡങ്ങൾ പാലിച്ചു ഹോം ഐസൊലേഷനിൽ ഇരുന്നതിന്റെ സർട്ടിഫിക്കറ്റ് വീട്ടു പടിക്കൽ വന്നു തരുന്നത് വരെ ഉള്ള ഒരു യജ്ഞം. ഇടക്കിടെ ഡ്യൂട്ടി ഡോക്ടറോട് സംസാരിച്ചത് വേറെയും.

സംസ്ഥാന പോലീസിന്റെ ഒന്നിടവിട്ടുള്ള ദിവസങ്ങളിൽ ആരോഗ്യം തിരക്കിയുള്ള ഫോൺ വിളികൾ ആണ് എനിക്ക് വേറിട്ട അനുഭവമായത്. തികച്ചും സൗഹൃദപരമായ സമീപനവും, മനോധൈര്യം കൂട്ടേണ്ട വിധത്തിലുള്ള ആശ്വാസപ്പെടുത്തലും, ഒന്നിടവിട്ട ദിവസങ്ങളിൽ സ്ഥലത്തെയും, റേഞ്ചിലേയും, ജില്ലയിലെ ത്തന്നെയുമുള്ള വിവിധ പോലീസ് സ്റ്റേഷനുകളിൽ നിന്നുള്ള വിളികൾ ഒരിക്കലും മറക്കാൻ ആവില്ല. ടെന്ഷനൊന്നും വേണ്ട, വ്യയാമം ഒക്കെ ചെയ്യുക, വെയിൽ കൊള്ളുക, ഇതൊക്കെ ശരിയാവും എന്നൊക്കെയുള്ള ആത്മവിശ്വാസം വർധിപ്പിക്കുന്ന ആശ്വാസവാക്കുൾ.. പലപ്പോഴും സംസാര രീതി എന്നെപോലെ തന്നെ ഉള്ള സാധാരണ സിവിലിയന്മാരുടെ രീതിയാണ് (നമ്മളുടെ മനസ്സിലുള്ള കർക്കശ പോലീസ് ഭാഷ ഒരിക്കൽ പോലും കേട്ടില്ല).. കുഴൽമന്നം, ആലത്തൂർ റേഞ്ച് ഓഫീസ്, പാലക്കാട് സർക്കിൾ ഓഫീസ്, ഇന്റലിജൻസ് എന്നിങ്ങനെ നീളുന്ന ഫോൺ കോളുകൾ..എല്ലാരോടും സ്നേഹവും ബഹുമാനവും.

ആരോഗ്യപ്രവർത്തകരോട് ആണെങ്കിലും, പോലീസ്കാരോട് ആണെങ്കിലും, നന്ദി അറിയിച്ചപ്പോൾ ഒരേ മറുപടി -- ഇത് ഞങ്ങളുടെ ഡ്യൂട്ടി ആണ്. ആയിക്കോട്ടെ, എന്നാലും ദിവസവും 6000+ പുതിയ പോസിറ്റീവ് കേസ് റിപ്പോർട്ട് ചെയ്യപ്പെടുന്ന കേരളത്തിൽ, ഇങ്ങനെയും ഡ്യൂട്ടി ചെയ്യുന്ന ഒരു വിഭാഗം ഉണ്ടെന്നുള്ളത് എനിക്കിപ്പോൾ ഒരു സ്വകാര്യ അഹങ്കാരം ആണ്. കോർപ്പറേറ്റ് മേഖലയിൽ ജോലി ചെയ്യുന്ന ഞാനുൾപ്പടെ പലരും കണ്ടറിഞ്ഞു പഠിക്കേണ്ട ഒരു കൂട്ട പ്രവർത്തനമാണ് കേരള സംസ്ഥാനത്തു ഇന്ന് വരെയും കോവിഡ് പോരാട്ടത്തിൽ നടന്നിരിക്കുന്നത്. കേന്ദ്രീകൃതവും വികേന്ദ്രീകൃതവുമായ നേതൃത്വം ഒരുപോലെ ഒരു ചാലഞ്ചു ഏറ്റെടുത്തു ഏറ്റവും പ്രശംസാർഹമായി ചെയ്യുന്നത്. എല്ലാം കഴിഞ്ഞു ഒരു മാസത്തിൽ ഏറെ ആയെങ്കിലും ഇപ്പോഴും തെല്ല് ഇമോഷണൽ അല്ലാതെ എനിക്ക് ആ കരുതലുകളുടെ ദിനങ്ങൾ ഓർക്കാൻ കഴിയുന്നില്ല. ഏവർക്കും എന്റെ ശ്വാസത്തിൽ നന്ദി അറിയിക്കുന്നു!

The Game of Thrones - lores from now since then

Her husband was killed in a yet-to-be-determined-alleged conspiracy involving the very same political party he helmed. Her mother-in-law was also assassinated under compelling political circumstances. For any normal person, all these tragedies may be doomsday, but not for Silvia Mara. Her post-war childhood has pruned her to be as resilient as her name - spirit of wood. Though in a country alien to her roots, her adaptability ensured she understood the country better than many of its own. 

The years following her husband Ravish Ghai's murder sent Silvia into a deep state of meditation preparing her for the years of Godmotherly play she was destined to. The party her family is attached has a long history intertwined with the history of the nation and hence they were always in the limelight for good and bad. They also had a history of riding on sympathy waves following the death of any tall leaders. She saw it once after her mother-in-law Isha Ghai's murder when the party rose like a phoenix rising from her ashes. She never imagined she will get a Deja vu after Ravish's death as well. 

In a country that accepted guests like Gods but treated them like aliens, her solace was some party loyalists who seemed to keep the family and party above their own interests. Not to be mistaken, they never let go off their interests, but kept it on par with the others if not above them. Since the days she came to the country as the defacto 'Bahu' (daughter-in-law) changing her surname to Ghai, she has seen loyalists and opportunists swarming around the party. These people saw her only as an outsider, incapable of understanding them or this alien language & culture, often to be chauffeured around, and always relying on others for help (for, there was no dearth of them). They failed to notice the annual rings of experience she was silently adding just by observing and some help from the inner-most. And that was a gross hindsight they were to repent soon. 

The loyalists, outnumbering one to many hundreds of tall regional leaders, were key to her reigning over the party. They foresaw the opportunists taking sides with the opposition parties criticizing her of her roots if she aimed to helm the party. Hence any maneuvering was meticulously planned to not just outsmart the insiders, but equally or more for the arch enemies. They fired some practice shots in the shooting range to see the reactions and identify the targets and they were astonished to see the results. The first attempt to make Silvia the party president backfired with the long timers and opportunists equally opposing any move to install a 'foreigner' as their president. Some of them colluded to leak this to the press and political rivals and critics mounted. No one realized it was a ploy. 

Having fired those practice shots, Silvia and her core team sat to chalk out the strategies meant to 'deal' with both inner and outer dissidents with one stone. To the utter dismay of the core team, Silvia decoded the PLAN. For, the Core felt that their duty was to 'protect' her, she outsmarted them with her plan for them in a win-win. They were to split as a team, each of the core leader posing as the biggest critic of her foreign origin. Silvia wanted them to grow outside of the clutches of the grand old party for her own benefits and for theirs as well. The biggest dissidents will take in the smaller ones and carve out their own regional parties with national interests. The foolish dissidents, riding on hate wave, will flock into the new hives. The leftovers with false sense of duty to protect the party will go silent in the larger interest. 

The opposition is fooled to think that Silvia is a failure in promoting herself to the party helm thereby splitting the party and weakening it. They will flourish on the newfound ground and uproot (that is what they thought) the grand old party putting the blame on Silvia. And she was clever, every now and then she created opportunities to push herself to public office and all opposition parties and her own old loyalists will mount their usual theatrics nation-wide. She will sideline herself and will show a ‘sacrifice’ face in front of her own party. The party (or whatever is left of it) will flock around the shepherd, supporting, protecting, and seeking protection. In doing all this, she not only blocks any outsider attacks and strengthen her foundations, but also deters any chance of a full-fledge investigations into her multi-layered businesses. Opposition never sees or wants to see this ploy and keeps opposing every move she makes it to public office. And her old guards, who are now in coalition with the main opposition parties in many states and in the center, creates all the smoke screens she ever needed. Over time, seemingly powered but weakened by these new coalition partners, the main opposition will realize they were growing branches at the cost of decaying their own roots. Had one of them let her to be to a public office, she would have compelled to be transparent in her many business dealings which are buried in layers of anonymity.

And now that Silvia’s kids have grown up, as a caring mother, she finds all means to make them powerful and the only dominant ones at the helm ruling over the ‘weak’. She will step up and step down, take a pause, take a step back and then return with vigor, 'for the sake of keeping the party and its ethos live'. She will give sermons every now and then on how power is poison. While most sees those in a philosophical lens, there are not many who get its literal sense!

Disclaimer: Curse your imgainations not mine, if any of these has any semblance to any living or dead. 

Plastic 2.0 – Roadmap to a plastic super economy

The menace of single use plastic is growing at a pace far higher than IPv6 enabled IOT devices or advances in semiconductor or nanotechnology. At one side, science is growing to newer horizons tackling many of the problems we inherited. But on the other side, science is also trying to catch up to finding solutions for the problems we created. In the last two decades, the availability and applicability of single use plastics has grown to over 200 times (sic). A byproduct of the hydrocarbon industry (crude oil), plastic has revolutionized our way of life for the good, bad and ugly. While the world over is slowly changing our energy source from Hydrocarbons to other environmentally sustainable sources, it is only natural that we should start finding ways to reduce the use and dispose of plastics. Photographic evidences of uninhabited Henderson islands[1] in the middle of Pacific littered with plastic waste and Albatross caraccas with plastic inside the body[2] are defining moments that should open our eyes and thoughts to start finding solutions to the real-world problems.

Figure 1: Plastic littered beach, Henderson Islands

Figure 2: Plastic from a dead Albatross

The solution is simple, reduce use of plastics and recycle them to clean the mess we have created. It is not the ‘what’ that is perplexing, it is the ‘how’, ‘who’ and ‘when’. To answer the most important of these on ‘who’ – well I don’t know of an alien species that will come and do this for us. And for the ‘when’, we already missed the bus. But let’s try to run up and catch it.

Before going to the ‘how’, let’s have a quick look on other global initiatives undertaken and how countries like India can turn the tide over. We will take the most recent example of reduction in the tariff for photovoltaic cells that lead economies like India to take a leap and the global Solar energy production to shoot over its own projection by manifolds. Back in 2015 during the Climate convention in Paris (COP21), a reluctant India became the make or break factor in getting the Paris Agreement ratified. India had the intent to reduce on Carbon emissions but was reluctant to sign the accord before an alternate cheaper solution to its growing energy needs was available. Everyone knew Solar Energy is one of the key substitutes, but it wasn’t cheap then. The cost of import was tremendously high and there were no companies willing to do a technology transfer that will let India be self-reliant for manufacturing Solar panels in India. At last India agrees to sign the accord following an assurance of having the IP rights from Solar City (it’s an Elon Musk company) and a low interest long-term load from World Bank specific to installing rooftop solar panels. India also pledges to have an installed capacity of 100GW by 2022. It was a win-win for everyone. The prices of Photovoltaic films have come down from around $7 per Wp of Solar Power in 2007 to less than $1 in 2018[3]. Likewise, the installed capacity during the same period increased from 100 GW to 1 TW[4]. And, India is one of the biggest Solar markets and the projection of 175 GW by 2022 will in most probability be surpassed. Developing economies like India, can make a difference globally.

India is also a world leader in micro-retailing – a phenomenon where FMCG products in very small quantities are sold at affordable prices to the masses. Hair Oil & Hair Shampoo sachets at ₹1, mouth fresheners at ₹2 and fried snacks at ₹5 are few examples. The sachets are made from single use plastics and if you have been once to India, you will notice shiny packets all along the roadsides. While the concept of micro-retail is a relief for most of the population with lower purchasing power, the environmental impacts the discarded packing materials throw is beyond manageable. Such single use plastics would easily make for the largest chunk in the landfills and our plastic waste problems. It is with these backgrounds I want to try and suggest on a few ways on the ‘how’ – how to tackle the single use plastic waste issue polluting the whole world, including the marine ecosystems.

Figure 3: A meme on plastic in Sea-food

The root cause of the issue lies in the high availability of plastics at dead cheap prices. From 2 million tons of plastic in 1950, we have grown to produce 381 million tons in 2015; annual production increasing by 200 folds[5]. Plastics come from Crude and an estimate 6% of fuel is used to generate plastics. While the global crude oil prices once peaked to $130 a barrel, the avg. cost of producing a ton of plastic has been decreasing over the years. That is the foremost reason why you no longer find your favorite Cadburys wrapped in paper. Nor your toothpaste coming in Aluminum cans or your milk in bottles. While plastics is convenient and costs less, the price we pay outplays them both.

Government of India has tried many times to bring in legislation aimed at reducing the plastic usage. The recent ban in Maharashtra in 2018 where all Retail shops (at least the medium to big ones) stopped providing plastic carry bags and switched to cloth or other biodegradable materials. It started off well but soon veered off the runway. Retail chains have started using plastics (they may be beyond the 50-micrometer threshold, but still is plastic) for retail packaging, but still sticks to the carry bags made of cloth. Even then, many products like milk could be in plastic bags. This was a clear message – that we lack the intent and whatever we were doing was only namesake. This must change and now. We need to regroup, rethink, re-strategize and re-invent.

Figure 4: National Geographic Cover

Challenge the Status-quo: First thing first, plastic cannot be this cheap given the price we are paying. There are already many grades of plastic available for various uses. A few regulations should be brought that will make virgin plastics manifold costlier than recycled plastics. This is intended to make the industries re-strategize on their product packing and limit virgin plastics to critical uses like for medical equipment, automobile industry etc. and, make the petroleum industry rethink on their business model around plastic. When presented with a challenge that will shake the business foundations, industries always have come up with innovation. It is the go-easy attitude we have on plastics that’s letting the industry on its current course.

Food packaging: Just as the Automobile industry was regulated for CO₂ emissions and asked to upgrade their line up to BS6 standards, we need to have a phased approach to phase-out single use plastics by the year 2030 (yes, we don’t have much time and we need to act fast before the world become one big landfill). Canada aims to ban single use plastics by 2021[6].  Start with labeling plastics as virgin or recycled (with % or recycled plastic used). The Food Safety Regulator (FSSAI) can start by imposing a food package policy that will lay out clear guidelines on what materials can be used for packing FMCG food and dairy products. For products with shorter shelf life, like milk, we need to go back to glass bottles with a buyback policy. Let the scientific community mull on the real need to have so much of food-grade plastic for packaging. Why cannot we use semi-recycled or fully-recycled plastic to package dry-food items like bread and biscuits? Cakes and other bakery products, chocolate bars need to be packed in double – butter paper inside and paper outside.

Beverages: This is far more challenging as use of aerated, sugary, alcoholic beverages are on the rise and we don’t seem to have any concerns on the health hazards. Nevertheless, we need to have clear strategies on reducing the impact PET bottles cause to nature. When I watch videos of large scale plastic recycling, the one thing that stands out is the printed brand label. Getting them off the bottle before shredding the PET bottle for recycling is important as both are different grade plastics. The PET industry needs to come up with innovative solutions to replace these plastic labels altogether. Brands emblems and product name engraved on the bottle body, printing directly on them like they dot-print the prices and manufacturing date etc. can be some of the ways. Such bottles should be made easier to recycle.

Sorting at Source: Responsibility of managing the plastic wastes must lie with the user and we need to do more than just throw them as trash. It’s not the manufacturer and certainly not the government or any other local bodies/NGOs who has to clean the mess. Yes, the government needs to create laws to regulate use and dispose of plastics, and ensure they are implemented. But is high time the people own this. Think about it, why would someone pick your waste and dump them afar for you? While it may help clean your surroundings, but isn’t the dumpsite in the Earth too? how long can we continue to look away and hope someone will do it? Recently, media reported of a Japanese Town that has become zero-waste[7]. The residents wash, sort and pack the wastes in 34 categories and even take them to the town’s sorting centers where 80% of them are recycled. They made tremendous progress since this was enacted in 2003. While it may sound difficult at the beginning, this becomes a way of life. And cities cannot really afford to keep doing the way we are doing now, this is not a sustainable way to deal with our wastes. Many cities now have a sorting mechanism where dry and wet wastes are collected separately, though I doubt the effectiveness. Such works are outsourced to vendors who collect them and take to a processing facility or a landfill. Households, housing societies/colonies etc. need to step up. Take for example the simple milk packets. They must be washed, dried and stored before disposing. In cities, housing societies can play a crucial role. Many housing societies already have wet waste compost pits and make bio-composts, some even market them. Going a step further, they need to have plastic shredders installed to shred sorted plastic to different categories and only dispose them to designated waste management companies. The can reclaim the shredding costs from the recycling companies who would pay them for the clean, sorted and shredded recyclable plastic. Housing societies can even sell these to the highest bidder. For smaller towns/villages, these needs to be done at a ward/panchayath/village level with fortnightly or monthly waste collections. Waste collection companies shall not accept any untreated/sorted wastes; if they must, they need to do it on a premium cost.

Sorting at source also serves another purpose – it saves space. The current landfills are dump yards where wastes are dumped without processing. They eat space and causes irreversible environmental impacts. Compressing, shredding etc. makes plastic wastes not only easy to recycle but also requires far less space.

Figure 5: Shredding machine (small)

Moving to a Plastic Economy: Regulations mentioned above aim at making virgin plastic less accessible and encouraging recycling. With supply of virgin plastics reduced, industries will be forced to work on recycling plastics. World over, enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, environmental activists, conservationists, scientists have found ways to make use of plastic wastes in variety of ways. Some of them includes using plastic wastes for roads, recycled products (RPET), using as Carbon source in the recycling of crap steel, electricity generation using IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle), making filaments for 3D printers etc[8]. Dr. Madhu S of Highway Research Institute of India has formulated a road surface including plastic wastes along with the usual products to make roads that are more rain resistant and durable. I am compelled to imagine on the positive impacts a nation-wide regulation can bring in mandating use of plastics in road construction. Our current Minster for Road Transport & Highways is a vocal proponent of this idea and I see no reason this should not be implemented. Another area that can bring in wider impact is construction industry. Recent developments show promising use of plastics in Roofing Tiles, Concrete, Indoor Insulation, Structural Lumbar, PVC windows, Bricks and Fences[9] among others.

And that leads to the exciting front of developing a plastic-based economy serving global markets. We have produced enough wastes already to serve every road to be built/repaired, all civil constructions to ever take place. India can take a lead if we formulate the right policies and have enough Budget for more R&D into Plastic Recycling and subsidies to Recycling industries, India can become a net-exporter of recycled plastics. Waste collection, segregation, shredding & recycling etc. can provide employment and support small-scale industries. The potential is high, we only need an intend and will to see it through. 

---

[1] https://www.rt.com/news/388585-remote-pacific-island-plastic/

[2] https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/seabirds-are-eating-plastic-litter-our-oceans-not-only-where-you-d-expect/

[3] https://samsetproject.wordpress.com/tag/pv-price-trends/

[4] https://www.pveurope.eu/News/Markets-Money/World-reaches-1-TW-of-solar-and-wind

[5] https://ourworldindata.org/faq-on-plastics#how-much-plastic-and-waste-do-we-produce

[6] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/06/canada-single-use-plastics-ban-2021/

[7] https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/recycling-zero-waste-town-garbage-plastics-kamikatsu-japan-a8187301.html

[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_recycling

[9] https://www.shiniusa.com/2018/01/29/recycled-plastics-construction/