By Jisha Surya
There are several instances of writing triggering revolts, uprisings etc. Here, a memoir of a foreign blogger has inspired a group of men in the city to act against certain injustices being faced by the city residents.
The writing of Sean Paul Kelley, a Texas-based blogger and travel writer, about some stinking experiences in India, titled ‘Reflections of India’, has been a topic of discussion for some city-based men, who finally decided to do something to make a change.
An amorphous group, mostly friends, discussed various social issues through mails and finally decided to begin their campaign. As a first step, the group is all set to launch a signature campaign against statues.
Through his article, Kelly has raised serious allegations against issues such as pollution, bad infrastructure, corruption, insensitive government etc. However, Kelly feels the insensitivity of the citizen is the biggest problem of all.
“We all share similar views on this kind of issues. But all are armchair critics. Here, we are making a modest start from Thiruvananthapuram. Our first campaign is against the increasing number of statues,” says Anil Kumar Pandala, torch-bearer of the programme.
“Statues have become a hindrance to development of public places and facilities by refusal or resistance to shifting. This makes the government compromise on development of roads, sacrificing safety and putting people’s life under threat. Two prominent examples are the Ayyankali Statue in Vellayambalam and Asan statue in front of the University, where many people have lost their lives. Road development as recommended by experts cannot be taken up in these areas,” says Pandala.
“We are planning to collect more than 1,000 signatures. Each member of the group will collect around 20 signatures,” he says.
Pandala says the group is planning to submit the signed memorandum to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. The group also has plans to launch a campaign against the use of loudspeakers in urban and suburban areas, roadside vending which blocks footpaths, destruction of public property etc.
Those who wish to be part of the campaign can write to anilpandala@yahoo.com.
There are several instances of writing triggering revolts, uprisings etc. Here, a memoir of a foreign blogger has inspired a group of men in the city to act against certain injustices being faced by the city residents.
The writing of Sean Paul Kelley, a Texas-based blogger and travel writer, about some stinking experiences in India, titled ‘Reflections of India’, has been a topic of discussion for some city-based men, who finally decided to do something to make a change.
An amorphous group, mostly friends, discussed various social issues through mails and finally decided to begin their campaign. As a first step, the group is all set to launch a signature campaign against statues.
Through his article, Kelly has raised serious allegations against issues such as pollution, bad infrastructure, corruption, insensitive government etc. However, Kelly feels the insensitivity of the citizen is the biggest problem of all.
“We all share similar views on this kind of issues. But all are armchair critics. Here, we are making a modest start from Thiruvananthapuram. Our first campaign is against the increasing number of statues,” says Anil Kumar Pandala, torch-bearer of the programme.
“Statues have become a hindrance to development of public places and facilities by refusal or resistance to shifting. This makes the government compromise on development of roads, sacrificing safety and putting people’s life under threat. Two prominent examples are the Ayyankali Statue in Vellayambalam and Asan statue in front of the University, where many people have lost their lives. Road development as recommended by experts cannot be taken up in these areas,” says Pandala.
“We are planning to collect more than 1,000 signatures. Each member of the group will collect around 20 signatures,” he says.
Pandala says the group is planning to submit the signed memorandum to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. The group also has plans to launch a campaign against the use of loudspeakers in urban and suburban areas, roadside vending which blocks footpaths, destruction of public property etc.
Those who wish to be part of the campaign can write to anilpandala@yahoo.com.
0 comments:
Post a Comment