Every one of us living in these bustling metropolises has always dreamt of a city devoid of traffic snarls, incessant honking and pollution. FreMo, India’s first bicycle sharing programme is a step in that direction.

FreMo derived from ‘Freedom To Move’ gives the commuter freedom to move from one place to another, without depending on the public transport or using their own car/ bike. Various FreMo depots have been established in Thane . All one has to do is register with them, take a cycle from one of these depots and deposit it in the depot nearest to his/her destination.

They have various membership plans, depending on the usage. Every FreMo member is entitled to a personal accident assurance of Rs. 5 lakh.

Here’s an interview with V. Ramesh , Founder CEO & Director of FreMo.

Q: What triggered you to start Freedom to Move?

After visiting Barcelona in early 2008, when I came to India, there was a huge petrol price hike.  And I saw many people trying to cut down their expenditure on petrol as much as possible.  This prompted me to think that making the use of bicycles convenient would make people accept the idea of cycling for daily activities.  Once a person signs up with us, he need not depend on autos or buses and has the freedom to move.  Thus, FreMo (short form for Freedom to Move) was born.

Q :Tell us about the  hurdles you came across while setting up the venture?

The hurdles started with people being surprised that I am moving out of a comfortable job as a CEO in a NBFC (Non-banking finance company) to become a “cyclewalla” and telling me not to do it.

Then came the struggle to get people to accept this as a workable idea.  Getting funds was the worst experience of my life.  All so called ‘venture’ capitalists never wanted to venture in to this social concept.  They were only interested in two things (a) How much will I make out of this investment (b) what is the exit route for me.  This gave me a confirmation that all those guys are only “investors” and not ‘venture capitalists’.  Even the requirement of a small amount of Rs. 2 crores did not find donors. Then I started looking to banks to support this project.  All of them, except one were unresponsive. Finally, Bank of Baroda supported this project.

Then there was a struggle to try and meet up with the government authorities like TMC whose support is vital for the success of this programme.  I drew a blank in their response.

Finally, the struggle was to get staff.  Many of them did not feel that this was a business they wanted to be associated with.  Most of them wanted to work in a call centre or IT or other such businesses which are well known.

Q: What is the general feedback of the customers?

Both customers and potential customers have excellent words to say about this project.  All of them feel that we need this project in the current context since the environmental situation is getting from bad to worse.  Besides, the traffic issues are so many that people traveling short distances are fed up with them.  They are also victims of high unpredictability on their travel time.  If one day they get an auto or a bus in 5 minutes, the next day they may end up waiting for 25 minutes.  Their plans often go awry.

The best aspect of this service is the predictability for a person to reach a station.  Every day, one reaches the station in 15 minutes.  Besides saving time and money.

Q: What is the kind of social impact your organization has succeeded in bringing about?

Social impact from this project is multi-pronged.

1. We will reduce the traffic congestion when more and more people start taking the bicycle route to travel.  Reduction in traffic means immediate reduction in pollution, both air and noise.
2. Health of the people will improve as they will be exercising daily as a part of their travel and also they will start breathing cleaner air.  Besides, since the unpredictability is removed, the stress level of people also reduces.
3. Due to reduction in travel expenses (which is at least 30-40 rupees daily, i.e. about 1000 rupees every month), the purchasing power of the people will increase, thereby improving their living standard.
4. It will release some  parking space in the city because, there will be less and less people using cars for the local 3-4 kms travel.
5. People will save time (perhaps at least one hour daily) and be able to do more things.
6. Finally it will also change the way we live.

Q : What are the future plans for FreMo ?Are you thinking of expanding to other states?

Yes.  Fremo intends to move to all other cities and make this a phenomenon across various cities.  Next we would look at launching it in Pune, Bangalore, Chennai and New Delhi.

*****

We hope the idea is a runaway success and we all get to reap its immense benefits at the earliest.
For further details, please visit their website: http://www.fremo.in/

Khabar Lahariya a weekly newspaper in Bundeli (local dialect of Bundelkhand) is being run by a group of women from various sections of the society from the interiors of Chitrakoot and Banda in Uttar Pradesh. Their main objective is to reach out to the nearby villages and provide them with ‘infotainment’.

Despite having a limited exposure to the literacy and information, their ability to interact with various people in public sphere and coming up with innovative ideas is extremely remarkable. Their works have been acknowledged and credited by leading National Dailies including The New Indian Express, The Hindu, Hindustan Times, Tehelka and various other dailies and weekly’s.

In 2008, the Khabar Lahariya group registered themselves as an independent organization, Pahal. With the incredible support from Nirantar, which is an acclaimed centre for gender and education, Pahal has now found its place in rural women’s media collectives of our country.

Khabar Lahariya carries out news that is of primary importance to the masses in and around these areas. Although they do have sections regarding current affairs, national and international news, they strongly highlight the cases of violence against women, issues on Dalits and more. This 8-page newsletter also covers issues on institutions like schools, marriage, health care and more.

Although these journalists do not come from strong literary background, they do ensure the quality does not receive a set back. Significant efforts have been made in order to improve their technical skills, their reporting and writing skills and more. Apart from the above, they also encourage public interactions and gather inputs to cater to the specific needs of the women. Meanwhile, frequent workshops are also being conducted by these women to encourage more writers and volunteers to have an in hand practical experience of running a newspaper.

Depending on the need of the hour, they hold meetings at their editorial office to divide their beats and after enormous research and writing they go all the way to the nearest city Allahabad for printing.

Click on the image below to read an issue of Khabhar Lahariya:

These phenomenal revolutionaries, who have gone beyond their capacity to go on fields, have received the prestigious Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Woman Mediaperson. Also, three members of the group have received fellowships from the Dalit Foundation in 2004, for reporting on issues related to rights of the Dalit community.

Overwhelming technological cloud has also been bestowed upon the offices of KL as they now work on computers with broadband connections. The challenge of consistently making an outstanding appearance in the face of media and having an unbiased opinion regarding the political scenario of our country comes very easily to them. They aren’t restricted in writing what their leaders want them to write. They write information regarding subjects that pertain to them. Hats off to the women behind this initiative, they have managed to achieve what many of us with enough resources have been unable to do!

Read more details about Khabar Lahariya, including how the paper is produced, edited and distributed at Nirantar’s website: NIRANTAR

This article written by guest reporter Jheel Parekh.
All images courtesy NIRANTAR.

How many people would pay from their own pockets to restore life into old trees? Perhaps not many. That is why it is inspiring to hear about Dr Ramana Rao, who paid nearly Rs one lakh of his own to relocate two ancient peepal trees that were felled in Bangalore to make way for new roads.

Catching sight of the two giant trees – one 225 years and the other 240 years old, lying at the side of a highway, Dr Rao decided he could not let them die. With the help of 40 people and two 50-tonne trailer trucks, he managed to transport the trees to T Begur village, where they have been planted and given a new life.

Dr Rao wishes he could find sponsors for many more such rescue efforts, as more and more trees are being subject to the axe. Infrastructure projects in Bangalore have recently evoked the ire of citizens in their injudicious and widespread tree-felling. The latest victim to this mass tree-cutting drive has been the pristine locale of Lalbagh – a 250-year old botanical garden that has been the pride of Bangalore since the days of Hyder Ali.

A portion of this beautiful garden has been earmarked to make way for the Bangalore Metro rail project, which will lead to the felling of nearly 300 old and lovingly preserved trees. Dr Rao wishes the City authorities would take an interest in conserving trees, especially those of great significance like the ones in Lalbagh.

“These trees have seen and weathered so many storms. It would be tragic to uproot them merely for the sake of new infrastructure,” he said.

Citizen protests have fallen on deaf ears as the government refuses to consider alternatives. Read more about the citizen efforts and how you can participate at Hasiru Usiru. There is also a rally on Saturday, May 9th, at 8.00 am on Nanda Road in a final bid to save these trees. Bangalore readers, do try and be there to lend your support to the campaign.

Deccan Herald carries the remarkable story of Dr Rao’s efforts in this article.
Image Courtesy: Flickr

Link Courtesy: Faiq Gazdhar. Thanks!

The past year was ridden with terror attacks. And most of us shook our heads, deplored the state of national security, blamed the government for its lapse, and moved on. However, a citizen’s group in Delhi has decided not to blame others and move on. Instead, it has formed Jagruk Nagrik Suraksha Sangathan, a group of like-minded people with an aim to become self-reliant and responsible for their own safety.

Nidhi Bhardwaj tells us more in Mint about the objective behind this group:

JNSS President Denson Joseph says a citizen has to “take up the responsibility of becoming alert, forming a network, and falling in line, to secure himself and the people around him. If we do that, we would not have the security forces to blame.”

So how do they plan to go about achieving their goal? Their first step was to identify the most likely terror targets, busy and crowded market places. Then, two separate teams were formed – the Citizen’s Intelligence Network to keep a watch and report any suspicious activities in the area, and Citizen’s Active Response Team to take quick action in case of any emergency.

All the shopkeepers have been asked to volunteer just one worker to join the Citizens’ Active Response team. They would be expected to take note of any suspicious activities and people moving around the market.

The plan is already being executed at Sarojini Nagar and Mehrauli market, some of the most popular destinations for shopping and terror strikes in Delhi. The citizen initiative has received widespread appreciation and response from the market associations. Simple in idea and implementation, this plan urges the citizen to be alert and responsible for their own lives – a credo that could prove very effective in this age of mindless terror.

Read the complete article on this voluntary group here.
Image Courtesy: Urban Planning Blog

He is 66 years old. He has recently had a bypass surgery and a cataract operation. He is a retired senior executive at Mico. And he is a voluntary traffic cop at a very busy junction near his house. He is B M Ramachandra of Bangalore.

Having undertaken these duties for the past six months, Ramachandra has managed to restore some sanity to one of the busiest and most chaotic junctions in the city. At an age when most men his age would enjoy a life of leisure and retirement, spending more time with friends and family without having major commitments anymore, Ramachandra has been dutifully executing his duties as a ‘traffic cop’, controlling and directing the traffic flow during peak hours everyday. Clad in tee and Bermudas, and blowing his whistle furiously, he is present at the junction in Arakere-Mico Layout locality off Bannerghatta Road at 7.30 am everyday till 9am, and then again from sunset till 8.30 pm.

The impact of his dedicated service is plain to see. Here is feedback from one of the shopowners in the locality, who has been a witness to this phenomenon:

“Honking and road rage incidents were on the rise and it took more than an hour to reach our homes through this road. It was real hell. After this man took over control of traffic, there is order and there is smooth flow of vehicles,” said Srilakshmi Anand, who owns a commercial establishment in the area.

Not just this, Ramachandra also wakes up very early and cleans the street outside his house. And on his way to the junction, he picks up litter and drops it into the box. So what makes this model citizen tick?

“I am blessed in that I am immune to dust, sound and pollution related allergies. So, this traffic work has not taken a toll on me. I see it as a game and enjoy it. To my surprise, my health has dramatically improved after I took this up. After heart surgery, I was advised to do respiratory exercises. Whistle blowing compensated for that”, he said.

MK Ashoka and Hemant Kashyap report in Bangalore Mirror about what inspired this amazingly positive man to take up this mission:

One day, the local residents’ welfare association president R N Baliga casually spoke about the traffic issue to Ramachandra and how difficult life had become after the apartments had come up.

Ramachandra went the very next day to the spot, stood in the middle of the road and started directing the traffic. Initially, the motorists ignored him, but his persistence and obvious sincerity soon made them fall in line. Later, he politely requested shop owners near the junction not to park their vehicles, and they were more than willing to oblige. Soon, the situation improved so much that motorists started giving him flowers, some even garlanding him.

A responsible citizen, a man of action and not just words, a problem solver, an inspiration – there are many ways to describe B M Ramachandra. Most of all, he is a person we can all attempt to emulate in our own lives.

Read the complete article on this remarkable personality here.
Image Courtesy: Bangalore Mirror
Link Courtesy: Sridhar Raman. Thanks!

On Children’s Day, what better gift can we give them than the gift of a voice and representation? This is what about 65,000 children enjoy in 4 districts in Karnataka at the Makkala (children) Panchayats. Aged between 6 and 18, these young leaders are being groomed to understand their rights and participate in the democratic process of the country.

Initiated in 1995 by Concerned for Working Children (CWC), an NGO, in collaboration with the Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Government of Karnataka, the Makkala Panchayats allow children to make informed decisions on issues that concern them. Malathi Belur reports in Deccan Herald:

As part of Makkala Panchayat, the voters elect candidates aged between 12 and 16, who in turn hold Grama Sabhas and participate in Gram Panchayat meetings.

If you thought these little administrators could be sidestepped, think again. For, they are armed with information, data from research, surveys and an agenda chalked out at the prior meeting of Makkala Gram Sabhas.

Apart from the Namma Sabha and Bhim Sangha, the Makkala Panchayat gets a backing from the Task Force which comprises government functionaries, elected representatives, local NGOs and other organisations.

Not only are these children raising and solving their concerns, they are also bringing about a world of change in the community and its development. They have successfully campaigned for various issues like facilities for the disabled, proper distribution of ration cards to the poor, basic amenities in schools, etc. With their fun-filled and lively way of working, they have infused new life and vitality in the proceedings of the sabhas and panchayats.

Wondering how the elections are held?

Elections held to the Panchayats are better than those that are held to Gram Panchayats due to their non-partisan nature, compulsory voting and reservations for working children, students, school dropouts, migrant children, the disabled and girls. However, each Panchayat has devised its own system based on local needs. For example, while in Kundapur girls are given 65 per cent reservation, in Bellary, seat sharing between girls and boys is 50:50.

What about corruption?

Elections are held in schools by the election committee with the help of head masters, teachers and anganwadi workers. In one instance, when a member of the Panchayat failed to attend meetings, he was sought an explanation. On finding the reason invalid, he was recalled and by-election was held to the post. Of course, earnestness of these kids would make any adult feel shame for not being able to recall the corrupt ministers in our political set-up.

This unique initiative by the CWC and Government of Karnataka is a wonderful model to make responsible and dedicated citizens out of the children of today, and a great training ground for future leaders of the nation. It also stems the tendency to complain about inadequacies in the system, and instead, be a part of the system and work to improve it from within. The Makkala Panchayats could surely serve as an example for the role played by an ideal democracy to the rest of the country, as to the rest of the world, and should be given due recognition and encouragement. There are a lot of lessons to be learnt here.

Read the complete article here.

Image Courtesy: Sonk Films

 Do you decline to use your right to vote on the basis that you do not know the candidate well enough? Or do you vote for anyone on the basis that they are all equally corrupt and it makes no difference? Now, voters of Delhi can eliminate these gripes from their lives as they go in for assembly elections in a month’s time.

An NGO Satark Nagrik Sangathan (SNS) has started this initiative using RTI, where they will make the elected representatives more accountable by assessing their past performance. So, now, as the candidates’ come knocking on the doors of Delhi-ites with a smile and a host of promises, they can be taken to severe task by the citizens of their constituencies and asked to explain their past performance. The MLA Report Card will demonstrate how concerned the MLA was about your concerns the last time you elected him and how much he has delivered. Times of India will publish these reports in a new series, and empower people to take informed decisions regarding their precious vote. Reports TOI:

Under the MLA Local Area Development Fund, each MLA can spend up to Rs 2 crore on development works in his constituency each year. Did your MLA align this work with your needs and priorities? Or was it to help his cronies? In short, was public money – Rs 10 crore in five years – well-utilised or wasted?

You can now judge if you really needed those parks when the roads in your colony were crumbling. Or if you got water when you really needed it. And what about the promised baraat ghar ? Give your MLA a pat if he has performed well. Or tell him to get off. That will tell our MLAs that they can’t take you for granted. It will clean the system and give you a role in governance.

With elections just around the corner, this is the need of the hour. Indians have always felt the limitation of not knowing enough about their elected representatives, and the work they were doing seemed to be shrouded in a veil of mystery, unless some scandal exploded in their face. This will go a great length in enabling people to make an informed choice, so that lack of information no longer remains an excuse for electing the wrong people to power.

Read the complete article here.

Image courtesy: www.india-briefing.com

Revathi Siva Kumar writes in this article of Citizen Matters, about how the residents of a colony in Bangalore have come together to deal with water scarcity in their area.

Rainbow Drive, an apartment complex of around 200 houses, was facing an impending acute crisis of water. All the borewells in this area were almost used up and there was no water connection provided by Bangalore’s municipal authority, the BWSSB. The residents then decided to do something innovative on their own and deal with this crisis.

Excerpts:

The transformation began with the Rainwater Club (RWC) meeting people at the Rainbow Drive in March 2008. RWC is a group of dedicated individuals catalysing the rainwater harvesting movement in Bangalore. They work as solution providers for rainwater storage and supply in homes and layouts.

For each of the 20 houses at Rainbow Drive, custom rainwater harvesting solutions – involving rooftop harvesting, private recharge wells, collection into sumps, and rain barrels for utility water storage – have been implemented, depending on the preferences of owners.

Once Rainbow Drive began the process, the implementation, with the help of the Rainwater Club, took place at two levels. One was to tap storm water and run-off from parks, drains and other open spaces and direct the water into open wells to recharge groundwater. Secondly, was trying to get individual houses to implement these projects. They motivated 20 to 25 houses to execute such projects.

Read the complete article here to learn more about how the team of residents went about convincing others and then implemented the entire solution in a phased manner. Very inspiring indeed, and it clearly demonstrates the fact that a community, when it comes together, can do wonderful things to make everyones’ lives better!

Credit: Tip provided by Faiq Gazdhar.