Ritu Sama

Writer, IT professional, painter and a mom !!

[Ritu Sama @ritusama]

Discount on account of World Book day....Shop at: https://t.co/qeNOYDMS84

[Sachin Taparia @sachintaparia]

Maa, why are you burning neem leaves at this time of the night, there are no mosquitoes, struggling to breathe & coughing vigorously, said a 7 year old to his grandmother….

Beta (son) , I have been sleeping right here next to you and haven’t burnt anything, said Maa, also coughing now.

And as the two are in a perplexed state, the boy’s baba (grandfather) also wakes up vigorously coughing and the boy’s 2.5 year old cousin, also coughing. It is 1:30 am. There is a bit of panic now..

The boy’s grandfather gives a call out to his elder brother (it is a joint family of 26 members living together in 3 homes on the same plot) and to both his sons who are on the floor above.

After some exchanges, the grandfather’s brother informs him that some gas has gotten leaked 4 kms away in a factory and everyone must go inside a closed space for rest of the night. All 4 go on the floor above where rest of the family is and this family unit of 8 (2 traveling) huddles into the only room without a window for rest of the night. Kids get to sleep in the bed while adults sat and got some rest..

Morning comes about and it is school time, the boy and his two cousins get ready for school. The boy walks a kilometer to the bus stop only to wait for 30 mins and while doing so seeing an unusual number of people on the streets for 7 am in the morning and lots of commotion. The boy is then told by someone that the bus won’t be coming today and to go home…

As the boy comes back home, he finds that the school pick up ride for his two cousin’s didn’t come either. The grandfather, a socially active, well respected resident of old Bhopal city is very curious to understand what has happened and to help. He plans to walk towards the main city hospital (Hamidia) and decides to take the 2 older kids along…The boys are curious too..

As the grandfather and the kids reach the hospital, about 30 minutes later, they come across a scene that is unforgettable. There are over 1000 dead bodies in the compound of the Hamidia Hospital with more coming every minute. Some with relatives having identified the deceased, crying and in grief. Many, yet to be identified. There is no space to walk…The grandfather is keen to help as there are a few known to him grieving but is told to go back home as he was with the kids….

That apocalyptic scene remains intact in the memory of the boy, who is now 47 years old and sharing this story with you….

The total compensation that most residents of Bhopal who were subjected to the toxic methyl isocynate that night and in the months to follow was a meagre $300, that too over 15 years. The biggest violation of human rights happened and offenders were let go because of various reasons…

Justice is yet to be served to the victims of #BhopalGasTragedy

@LocalCircles @karunanundy @drvandanashiva @JamwalNidhi @vaishnaroy @drbrajeshrajput @RachnaDhingra

[Ritu Sama @ritusama]

@MsRiyaMukherjee @gaana @prasadbabumatta @singhsabhya_ @UjjawalParmar15 Thanks for this opportunity 💕if you can play 'badi lambi judai' by Reshma ...😊

[Ritu Sama @ritusama]

@MsRiyaMukherjee @KomalNahta Awesome Riya ji!!!!

[Dipti Sama @diptisama]

Indigenous trees are being cut and foreign ornamental trees planted!!
No tree cover protection to man, birds and animals from the severe harsh Sun! No sense or sensibility??

[prerna singh bindra 🐘🐅🐾 @prernabindra]

For God's sake, read the REAL #Ambani #zoo story by @paranjoygt @ayaskantdas:

A murky tale of #wildlife laws being tweaked to suit oligarchs

Wild animals, including #elephants captured from the wild, facilitated by the state .and doomed to captivity-yes, alleged for how do you 'prove' this when huge money/power/state backing.

Central & state govts falling over themselves to send captive animals from #zoos, #PAs #forest divisions, as they dont have money/space-read will/committment/give in to pressure.

The cruelty of being transported across the country in height of summers.

Allowing for private zoos smartly sidestepping current regulations

Allowing exotic wild animals into #India-worth to look at various rules, regulations of this as well.

Promoting captivity of #Wildlife

All this to indulge a scion of one of the richest men in the world.

And yes, a #reliancegroup oil pipline runs thru the fragile #MarineNationalPark in #Jamnagar #Gujarat , despite laws, regulations prohibiting this.

And then #AnanthAmbani called a @beacon of #WildlifeConservation deserving of a national award?
Hey Ram!

[Tejasvi Surya @Tejasvi_Surya]

Many areas of Bengaluru are suffering from severe water shortage. The Government & citizens should come together to address the issue.

Water shortage in Bengaluru is a result of multiple factors. The city requires upwards of 2050 million liters per day (MLD). Out of which, 1450 MLD is secured through Cauvery water & the balance through borewells.

Bengaluru has 11,000 borewells under the control of BWSSB & a whopping 4.5 lakh private borewells. Of these, close to 40% have either dried up or have precariously low levels of water.

In the period between 2017 & 2024, while supply of Cauvery has remained at 1450 MLD, the demand has drastically increased at unprecedented levels. More than 1.5 lakh new water connections, including to large apartments, have come up within this period itself. There is grave discrepancy between the demand and supply.

Another factor that adds up to the issue is the failure in maintaining the lake ecosystem in the city, thanks to neglect and encroachments. This has resulted in substantial reduction of aquifers.

Mindless white topping of roads is further reducing the ground water level in the areas.

Unbridled construction, unprecedented migration, deterioration of the lake ecosystem & mindless white topping and concretization of the city preventing adequate recharge, have all contributed to the current water crisis.

Generally, large mega cities are either next to a river or a sea. However, this is not the case with Bengaluru. In order to secure the water requirements of Bengaluru, there is a need to transfer (pump) the water from almost 100 kms (upstream). Hence, procuring water for a city like Bengaluru is an extremely expensive affair. As a result, we cannot have a disproportionate reliance on Cauvery water & must therefore focus on increasing ground water levels and sustaining the lake ecosystem.

To add to the current crisis, water tankers which were earlier available for ₹700-₹800 per tanker, are now being sold at ₹2000-₹3000 per tanker.

There is a need to solve this issue by strategizing both immediate and long-term solutions.

In the immediate future,

1) There is an urgent need to redrill/flush the already existing borewells.

2) For addressing this emergency, we will have to dig new borewells at select locations, while not abusing the already abused ground water.

3) The tanker mafia, which is now indulging in unfair profiteering requires to be regulated. A cap must be fixed on the prices. If not, the Government must takeover.

4) Cauvery Phase 5 project needs to be operationalized immediately. BWSSB Chairman told me he will be able to complete by end of April. This needs to be expedited.

5) Government must provide water to low-income areas for free and cap the prices of tankers for other areas.

In the long-term, this issue must be dealt with in a comprehensive manner addressing the following:

1) Bengaluru receives 3.5 TMC of rainwater every year, but due to the failure of our RWH mechanism, ground water recharge is not effective. This is the responsibility of the civic authorities as well as the general public.

2) We must ensure that further encroachment of the lake ecosystem is eliminated on a war footing. Our lakes are our cities lifeline.

3) Mindless white topping of all roads must be stopped. We must focus on increasing ground water levels in the stressed areas.

4) Cauvery Phase 6, which will provide an additional 6 TMC of water, needs to be planned and operationalized in a proper way & at a fast pace.

5) BWSSB is the in-charge of just supply of Cauvery water and regulates sewerage in the city. But it does not regulate lakes, aquifers and storm water drains, which come under the purview of the Lake Development Authority or the BBMP. Hence, our focus must be to set up one institution which will have access to and regulate all aspects of water in the entire city.

Bengaluru’s population was slated to touch 1.5 crore by 2030 by BWSSB estimates. However, we have breached this mark in 2024 itself. Therefore, our efforts to safeguard the city’s water requirements must be extremely aggressive with practical targets.

What was once the city of 1000 lakes, parks and rivers like Vrishabhavati and Arkavathi, now stares at a bleak future. This is the time to wake up, avoid petty political tussles and address this issue in unison on a war footing.

[Beautiful Bharat @BeautifulBluru]

Hon’ble @PMOIndia, let no tricolor balloons go into the sky this R Day please! 12yo Saaket speaks for children -celebrate without harming our planet.

Nationwide support builds to #BanTheBalloon – please help!

1000s sign the #NoBalloonsPlease petition https://t.co/6tUBEKX4Le

[Ritu Sama @ritusama]

तेरे आने की थी देर, वो भी जाने लगे
रुके थे कबसे इंतजार में, कुछ गम बेरहम
-ऋतु सामा

[Rajesh Reddy @Rajeshreddyvb]

धोका है इक फ़रेब है मंज़िल का हर ख़याल
सच पूछिए तो सारा सफ़र वापसी का है
- राजेश रेड्डी
Ustad Rashid Khan🙏

[Ritu Sama @ritusama]

@anandmahindra And everyone will repost and relike the same which actually they enjoyed together...they won't remember that together but that how many post likes they got!!

[Ritu Sama @ritusama]

@mazza769 @mimansashekhar I also loved him in lunchbox...also he was the lead in an English movie Puzzle...loved his performance there as well...apart from so many other movies

[Ritu Sama @ritusama]

@Ashishk60519490 @mimansashekhar Which movie is this?

[Ritu Sama @ritusama]

@Rajeshreddyvb बहुत खूब

[Dipti Sama @diptisama]

Mumbai welcomes migratory birds!
Rampant disregard and senseless administration!
@Dev_Fadnavis @DEFCCOfficial
#savethetrees
#bnhs
#mangrovecell
#forestdepartment

[Ritu Sama @ritusama]

@BaDastoor बचपन को हर मोड़ पे मिलता हूं
कभी तो पहचान मुझे गले लगा ले...

[⋆⭒˚.⋆ @durdensl1ghter]

that is an insane picture jbtw

[Ritu Sama @ritusama]

@MsRiyaMukherjee Aapke 5 min bhi bahut ache hain... something is so much better than nothing...I enjoy all your RRD episodes...please keep them coming ❤️

[Sonam Wangchuk @Wangchuk66]

ALL IS NOT WELL in Ladakh!
In my latest video I appeal to @narendramodi ji to intervene & give safeguards to eco-fragile Ladakh.
To draw attention of Govt & the world I plan to sit on a 5 day #ClimateFast from 26 Jan at Khardungla pass at 18000ft -40 °C
https://t.co/ECi3YlB9kU

[Ritu Sama @ritusama]

@MsRiyaMukherjee Beautiful...!!! You have touched many lives and we all love you !!!

[Ritu Sama @ritusama]

@MsRiyaMukherjee @Spotify It is indeed one of the best..love it!