State-level Conference on Genetic Engineering, Farming & Food

State-level Conference on Genetic Engineering, Farming & Food

Saturday, November 7, 2009

The Institution of Engineers (India), Mysore Local Centre, J.L.B.Road, Mysore-570005

Sponsors:

The Institution of Engineers (India), Mysore Local Centre, Mysore

Mysore Grahakara Parishat, Mysore

Deccan Development Society, Hyderabad

            Media have been reporting that genetically engineered (GE) Brinjal (Bt-Brinjal) is to be the first human food item to be introduced into the market in India, following field trials. This has raised discussions regarding aspects of its necessity and safety, and the issue of  enabling the consumer to exercise the right not to buy the GE product. The effect on the farming community who may choose to grow GE-Brinjal and other GE crops, as well as on farmers who do not so choose is also being discussed; there are many who argue against introduction of GE products especially in food.

            It is well known that several countries, especially in Europe, are not allowing GE crops and products into their countries for reasons of safety and genetic contamination, even in the face of possible trade sanctions. This raises doubts as to the desirability and safety of GE products.

            There are fears and anxieties about cultivation and consumption of GE crops and products among a wide cross section of people, both urban and rural. At the same time, the biotechnology industry and promoters of GE crops and products as well as government regulatory agencies are issuing assurances about the safety, even the desirability, of introduction of GE-Brinjal and many other food and non-food crops that are currently undergoing field trials all over India, claiming that GE is necessary for food security. In the meanwhile, GE products are entering the food chain.

            In order to help the public to get a perspective on the issue, the One-Day Conference will provide a platform for the biotechnology industry to state its case, and experts from the field to place their scientific arguments regarding the facts about GE in general and its effects on biodiversity, the environment, and human health and safety aspects.

            The Conference will be arranged in three Technical Sessions, each Session with two speakers, one from the biotechnology industry or promoters of GE, and one from an expert opposing GE, with time for audience participation in each Session.

           

PROGRAM

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Coffee 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM

Inaugural Session    11:00 AM – 12:00 Noon

KEY NOTE ADDRESS: Dr.Michel Pimbert; Director, International Institute for Environment & Development, U.K.; Formerly Principal Entomologist, ICRISAT

Technical Session-1 12:00 Noon – 1:15 PM

BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY – Technical, legal and regulatory issues

Speaker 1: Dr.T.M.Manjunath, ConsultantAgri-Biotechnology & Integrated Pest Management, Bangalore

Speaker 2: Ms.Aruna Rodrigues, Lead Petitioner in PIL against GM Foods in Supreme Court of India, Sunray Harvesters, Mhow, Madhya Pradesh

Lunch Break 1:15 PM – 2:00 PM

Technical Session-2 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM

FARMING – Problems and perspectives

Speaker 1: Dr.C.Aswath, Head, Biotechnology Division, IIHR, Bangalore

Speaker 2: Dr.P.V.Satheesh, Food & Farming Activist

Technical Session-3 3:15 PM – 4:30 PM

FOOD & THE CONSUMER – Health, safety and ethical issues

Speaker 1: Dr.H.S.Shekar Shetty, Professor Emeritus, Dept of Biotechnology, University of Mysore, and Principal Investigator ICAR

Speaker 2: Dr.V.S.Vijayan, Chairman, Kerala Biodiversity Board

Concluding Session 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM

            Speaker 1: Mr.H.L.Satheesh

            Speaker 2: Mr.U.N.Ravikumar

Tea 5:30 PM – 6:00 PM

Is MUDA Aiding Illegal Land Use Change?

Whenever a person wants to change the land use of his site (from residential to commercial, from agricultural to residential, etc.), he has to obtain permission from MUDA. According to law, MUDA places an advertisement in the papers regarding the land use change and calls for objections. The proposal and the objections are then placed before a MUDA meeting and the recommendation of the meeting are sent to the state government for approval.

Most of these land use conversions are against the law, against orders of various courts and against public interest even though they comply with the above formalities. But now, even these formalities are being ignored. Here are two examples.

Two MUDA advertisements appearing on p.8 of Andolana of 1-9-09 state that they are corrections to two earlier MUDA land use change advertisements which appeared in Andolana on 6-6-09 and that "from agricultural zone to residential zone" which appeared in the earlier advertisements should be read as "from transport zone to residential zone".

There are several question marks about these advertisements.

1. Why did MUDA make such a fundamental mistake in the first ads?

2. Why do the ads of 1-9-09 not call for public objections as is usual for all land use changes?

3. The ads on 1-9-09 carry only the corrections and not any other details. Since they appeared three months after the original ads, should MUDA not issue the complete corrected ad and again ask for objections from the public?

4. There are six land use change advertisements in the 6-6-09 issue of Andolana and none of them have the same numbers as the corrected ads. Therefore, to which two ads do the corrections apply?

5. In light of issues 1 - 4 above, does it not appear that MUDA has deliberately conducted this charade to avoid public objections?

6. According to Sec. 14(a)(1) of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, 1961, land use change can be effected ONLY WHEN SUCH CHANGES ARE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST. The Supreme Court in Bangalore Medical Trust vs. B.S. Muddappa case (AIR 1991 Supreme Court 1902) has clearly stated that converting to what is beneficial to many (such as CA site) to what is beneficial to one person (such as residential or commercial site) is against public interest and hence should not be permitted. Why then is MUDA advertising an illegal land use change from Transport (CA) to Residential?

7. Are not CA sites under the control of MUDA? Why then are these sites in possession of private parties?

8. As the city expands, it needs more and more space for suburban bus stands, private bus stands, metro stations, ELRTS stations, etc. Such spaces have been provided for in the Comprehensive Development Plan for the city. But due to short-sightedness of MUDA, the city is losing them one by one. In 2001, MUDA changed the land use of 6 acres reserved for transport purposes on Bannur Road and allotted the land to a private developer, despite strenuous objections from the public. Now it is the turn of two more sites earmarked for transport. It is sad that MUDA is selling off the future of Mysore because of its short-sightedness. If this trend continues, twenty years from now, we will be having several reenactments of the JK grounds bus-stand controversy which is raging now, controversies which could have been easily avoided with a little more vision from MUDA.

 

Maj.Gen. (Rtd.) S.G. Vombatkere, President, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Will The RTO Please Clarify?

The RTO of Mysore has recently issued a press release (duly reported in many newspapers) stating that according to a government order, all vehicles must display both English and Kannada licence plates.

But this contradicts the clarification the RTO had given to us on 27-2-2009. In response to an MGP letter to the Government of Karnataka, the RTO had then stated that according to Government Notification dated 12-9-1995, " ... if the vehicle owner wishes, he/she may have an additional number plate bearing the registration number in Kannada". The clarification also stated "if Kannada is used in licence plates, it will make for effective implementation of Kannada language". So dispalying Kannada licence plates was not compulsory but left to the choice of the vehicle owner.

Since the clarification issued by the RTO in February and the recent press release of the RTO are contardictory, we talked to the Department of Transport, Government of Karnataka (080 2235 2434) this afternoon and we were told that Kannada licence plates are only optional and not compulsory.

Will the RTO please clarify to the public whether Kannada licence plates are compulsory and if so give the details of the government notification which makes it compulsory?

The RTO press release poses some other problems. According to it, motor cycles should have English licence plates on the front left, Kannada licence plates on the front right and English licence plates in the back. Three-wheelers and four-wheelers must have English licence plates on the front left, Kannada licence plates on the front right, English licence plates in the back left (or centre) and Kannada licence plates on the back right. Which vehicle has provision for so many licence plates? We are only glad that there are no restrictions on the sides, the top and the bottom of the vehicles!

B.Vaikunth Shenoy, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Workshop on Consumer Awareness and Employability Skills

(Prof.S.K. Ananda Thirtha introducing the speakers C.V. Nagaraj (2nd from left) and Vasanthkumar Mysoremath (3rd from left) of MGP at a recent Workshop on Consumer Awareness and Employability Skills Development at Vidyavardhaka Sangha. Others in the picture are Shri Subramanyam, faculty member and Shri Boregowda, NSS Officer.)
 

 

Vidyavardhaka Sangha group of institutions organized a special interactive workshop on 16-10-09 on Consumerism and Employability Skills Development for the benefit of about 100 NSS volunteers and ITI Trainees on its campus. Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP) members. C.V. Nagaraj, Retired Chief Chemist and Vasanthkumar Mysoremath, IAAD (Retd) were the resource persons for the workshop.

Nagaraj spoke about how unscrupulous merchants are playing with the lives of consumers through a variety of adulterations all for the sake of a few extra rupees. He stressed the need for awareness of the rights of consumers and especially the special role of NSS volunteers in creating that awareness in our society. He lamented that consumers are assuming that they are being served the right commodities and at the right price whereas, in reality it was not so. Under his guidance, the students themselves conducted simple experiments on various methods adopted by the merchants for adulteration..

Mysoremath spoke about how to develop self confidence, face interviews, be a good leader, and express oneself in public with the right body language.

Students participated enthusiastically in the interactive sessions with the two speakers. Prof.S.K.Ananda Thirtha introduced the speakers and NSS Officer Shri Boregowda and faculty member Shri Subramanyam were present.

Such programmes can be arrangeed by calling MGP office at 2515150.

Dereliction of Duty by MCC

According to Sec. 2(1-A) of the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976, phone towers are buildings and since they are used for commercial purpose, they are commercial buildings. So they can not be built on residential sites.

In a circular (No. UDD 17 Aa Pra Sa 2001) issued on 12-11-2001, the Karnataka Government has clearly reiterated this point. It says that establishment of a mobile tower is a commercial activity and that it is subject to the provisions of zonal regulations of the approved Comprehensive Development Plan for the city. It also specifically instructs all local bodies not to permit any captive power generator set on the rooftop of any building.

But there are dozens of mobile towers erected on residential sites in Mysore and MCC is blind to these law violations. Many mobile towers erected on residential/commercial buildings also have generator sets installed on rooftops. MCC is again blind to these violations.

 

C.V. Nagaraja, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Consumer Awareness Workshop

(Students at JSS First Grade College conducting experiments to identify food adulteration under the guidance of C.V. Nagaraj and Vasanthkumar Mysoremath of MGP.)

 

Mysore Grahakara Parishat conducted a consumer awareness workshop for final year B.Sc., B.Com, B.A. and B.B.M. students at JSS First Grade College, Nanjanagudu recently. C.V. Nagaraj (formerly Senior Chemist, Regional Agmark Laboratory, Bangalore) demonstrated simple tests to detect adulteration in various food items. He also spoke about the harmful effects of various types of adulteration and on the laws that exist in India against food adulteration. Vasanthkumar Mysoremath spoke about the importance of consumer movement and gave a demonstration of how one can save electricity by utilizing sunlight. The workshop was presided over by the Prof.S.Rathnashekar, Principal, JSS First Grade college. Prof.C.A.Basavaraju, Vice Principal and Shri H.G.Natarajan, Principal, PU College, were present.

It is learnt that His Holiness Sri Deshikendra Swamiji of Suttur Mutt has instructed that such programmes should be held at all JSS institutions.

Vasanthkumar Mysoremath, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Need To Move Away From Big Dams

Recent floods in the Krishna basin have left hundreds of people dead and lakhs homeless. Countless livestock have been destroyed and the total monetary loss ran into thousands of crores of rupees. As a hydrogeologist with 4 decades of experience, these are my observations on this disaster.

1. There are several major dams across the Krishna river and its tributaries and these dams were supposed to prevent such disasters. So the dams have failed in one of their primary purposes. Not just that, it now appears that these dams themselves were a major cause of this great tragedy.

2. The backwater of these dams has submerged some of the richest black soils in the country and rendered them worthless.

3. This soil is silting up the dams and is continuously reducing their designed water holding capacity. This capacity has already gone down by as much as 30%.

4. The land which is intended to be cultivated with the water stored in these dams is mostly barren rocky land with poor soil cover. Even if this land is supplied with plenty of water, there is little scope for highly productive cultivation. The increase in agricultural output due to the dams may not be even enough to cover the interest charged on the huge loans taken from international organizations to finance these dams.

5. It is quite likely that the enormous additional pressure exerted by the water reservoirs on the basaltic rock bed of the river valley has been responsible for a large number of earthquakes in and around Koyna (Maharashtra). Additional reservoirs may cause bigger earthquakes in times to come.

6. The loss of fertile lands and the submergence of hundreds of villages and towns by the dams and inadequate compensation has made the rehabilitation of the countless displaced people a major continuing humanitarian problem.

In light of these major problems posed by big dams, it is time we start looking at effective alternatives to big dams in managing river waters. Building a system of small and medium barrages across the rivers in the valley and canals to carry the waters stored in the barrages seems a much superior scheme. In the ghat section in which Krishna and its tributaries originate, they have cut deep ravines in the hill areas and deep gullies in the plains with banks 8-10 m high on either side. These natural structures can be put to optimum use by constructing a series of barrages starting from the source all the way to the plains with an accompanying canal system. The advantages of this system are:

1. There would not be any overflow of water over the banks.

2. The fertile lands on either side of the rivers would remain intact and available for intensive agriculture.

3. The usage of water would be optimum.

4. There is no need for resettlement of people and the consequent heartburn, corruption and huge expenditure.

5. Since each barrage weakens the force of flood water, damage to life and property will be minimized even in the case of intense rainfall.

6. The cost of each barrage will not exceed a crore of rupees and could be as small as a few lakhs of rupees. The total expenditure for a series of barrages will be much less than the cost of a major dam and would eliminate the need for foreign assistance and loans. The construction time for barrages is also very short and so benefits start accruing within a few months.

7. Since the irrigation is seasonal, soil quality and fertility are not damaged.

8. Since submergence by the backwater is kept to a minimum, soil erosion and loss of water storage due to silting are very small.

9. Since the water is stored in several reservoirs, the pressure on the river bed is distributed and so the barrages will not cause an increased incidence of earthquakes.

10. The canal network from this series of barrages will be spread over the entire river basin and will immensely help the building up of ground water which, if used in conjunction with the surface water, will greatly enhance the area and scope of irrigation. Since ground water is being recharged continuously, there will be no shortage of drinking water in the entire river basin.

11. The water distribution is more equitable.

So it is clear that the construction of many barrages is preferable to the construction of a big dam in more than one way. The arguments given above for the Krishna river basin apply by and large to other river basins also. Recently published studies of the Bhakra Nangal dam have shown that the return on the investment in the dam is far below what was claimed. So it is high time we come out of the straightjacket of major dam construction and consider alternative approaches to irrigation which may be more effective.

V. Mahesh, Mysore Grahakara Parishat