Agricultural laborers in India earned Rs 345/day on average, while in Kerala, more than Rs 764. Free grain scheme for the next 5 years for 81 crore people.
Introduction – Exit Poll 2023 from Dubai
We know you’re fed up with exit polls, just like the last time. Which one is right & which is wrong? Just as these exit polls are adept at proving themselves wrong, you have become used to being fed up with exit polls too. Exit polls have created a yearning in you. You are the reason for their success, you embrace them despite their proven, repeated failures.
The media has manufactured this curiosity in you. You perhaps also feel that to remain aware, you need to have an opinion on exit polls. But are you also concerned that this year, from Jan 1–Sept 30, i.e. 235 of 273 days, ‘extreme weather events’ have been recorded in India? Heat waves, cold waves, cloud bursts, extreme rainfall, floods, cyclones, lightning strikes, & landslides are included in such weather events.
India’s GDP figures for July–Sept show: that the state of farming is bad, and these seasonal outbreaks are partly to blame.
What happened in India in July & Sept 2023?
June was spent awaiting the monsoon, & then there was such a deluge that the capital seemed to drown; a few days later in July, severe weather was seen in Himachal Pradesh.
Heavy rainfall & flash floods devastated HP. But in July, Eastern & North-Eastern India experienced severe heat. In these 2 regions, the highest heat in 122 years was recorded. Down to Earth states that more than 2500 died in 122 days of monsoon this year. The 122-year record for the hottest place in South India was broken in June.
In August, heavy rains lashed N-East & hilly areas, while the rest of India grappled with droughts. The monsoon in Sept was 6% less than normal. The 2nd quarter data between July & Sept revealed, the impact of this devastation on farming. Compared to the growth rate of 2.5% in Sept last year, Indian agriculture has come down to only 1.2% growth this time.
70% of the population depends on farming. But the weather has destroyed the farmers’ hopes. Demand for consumer goods has decreased in rural areas. Suman Choudhary has written in Hindu Business Line that the sale of tractors in villages is decreasing, the demand for MNREGA jobs is increasing & sowing has decreased.
To conceal (or countenance) this reality of rural India, PM Modi had to extend the free grain scheme for the next 5 years for 81 crore people. From 2020–2028, i.e. for 8 years, a large section of the country will survive on free grains.
How climate has devastated our rural areas?
This disaster is very much related to climate change. The devastation by natural disasters is going up every year, every season. In the first 9 months of this year, there was not a single day when nature’s fury was not seen in some parts of the country. Down to Earth (DTE) has collated the research on this for you, stating that in these 9 months, 86% of days have seen severe weather somewhere or the other in India, destroying more than 80000 houses & killing more than 2,900 people.
Why Govt didn’t release the data of deaths & loss of property in June 2023?
This is also in DTE’s latest issue. It states that the Meteorological Department gave state-wise figures for loss of life & property till March 31, but started giving out only national figures from April, before stopping even those in June.
DTE has recorded & published that 322 people died in natural disasters in June. Look at these figures & graphics from DTE. On 176 of 273 days this year, lightning strikes have been recorded where people have died. 711 deaths were caused by lightning & storms. From Jan–Sept, did the media repeatedly report this data? & are you concerned about it as those exit-poll figures? You know the results will come on Dec 3; just 2 days from now, yet the media has manufactured this hunger in crores of people via exit polls.
People won’t pay attention to the factors that are killing them or destroying their houses. There’s no focus on the causes of disasters, but heroes are being drawn from rescue operations.
How often have you been told that this year will be the hottest in the history of the world? If this continues, more such disasters are imminent. The Uttarakhand CM is on road shows, to take govt programs to the public. Once the workers were rescued, the state found its tune again. You might have thought all the news on the matter was done. Today, 2 TOI reporters, Gaurav Talwar & Arvind Chauhan, have reported that the Silkyara tunnel has caved in 20 times in the last 5 years.
The NHIDCL director himself told the reporters that the tunnel had sunk on a minor to medium scale. Despite this, the situation remained unchanged. Amar Ujala has published that the report stated that the rocks were solid, but the soil came loose. We saw the disaster coming but did zilch. The glacier has been cracking in the state since 2016, but no one had a clue.
In 2021, the inevitable breakage brought floods. Chamoli was devastated. But you are not shown all this but the CM’s road show. So that this is all you see, all governments have begun organizing such events. The principles of accountability have vanished in all this glitter & chaos. The media does not beat the drum about climate crisis data.
It considers the climate crisis as ‘miscellaneous rubbish’. It doesn’t want you to get curious about these questions. Exit-poll data is repeatedly wrong, some guesswork may hit now & some the next time. This is what always happens but you will watch them exit polls yet again. Rural India is going through a terrible crisis, as gauged from official figures, but the agriculture growth has decreased to 1.
2%, is not news in this agriculture-centric nation. Weather experts & economists have said that: the impact of El Nino is clear. Obviously, there’s no money in the villages, and hence, no demand for consumer goods either. These rural boys are slogging day & night to become ‘Agniveer’ for 4 years. They know that the job is temporary, but they have no option.
They know the state of the villages is poor, so they’ll take whatever job is available. The RBI has reported that wages in villages in North India are much lower than in the rest of India. The bottom 5 states include Bihar, MP & Gujarat. The lowest rural wages are in MP. Did you know that in 2022-23, agricultural laborers in India earned Rs 345/day on average, while in Kerala, more than Rs 764? This is not my data, but RBI.
But you care not for these data, or the state of the country, when people earn so little & agriculture growth is stymied. All this indicates that the earnings in rural India have cut down significantly. So, the youth have no choice. For a little more wages, they are loaded into trains, & set out to work where no decent trains await them, the ‘Vande Bharats’ are not for them, they somehow go through the commute.
They can see that they have been thrown off the train of development, but to prevent them from seeing it, the media manufactures a daily new event. You are worried about the exit pollsters because: you are under the influence of the media, which won’t talk about your problems. To prevent you from seeing your own problems, a spectrum of problems is birthed on the media platform.
Who will form the govt in MP, one poll says the BJP with a huge majority; another says that Congress is winning. Anyway, here is another set of data from the same state. This state has the lowest wages in India. This state has been at the lowest position for SEVEN out of the last NINE years. While in Kerala a labourer earns Rs 764/day, in MP they earn Rs 229/day.
This is the state of impoverishment in MP. Worry about this. After MP, Gujarat is the 2nd state where wages are lowest: at Rs 241/day. Both are less than the national average. Rs 473 in HP, Rs 550 in Kashmir. Kashmir is in the second position behind Kerala. In Bihar, it is Rs 308/day. If the reality of such a low-income country is not HOLLOW from within, then WHAT else is it? If this was not the case, would 81 crore people need free grains for 5 years? Even those who are earning, aren’t able to afford to eat,
such is the condition of this country, & it is being trumpeted that the GDP is 7.6 %? A round of applause, please; but for who? An entire rural India has become financially weak; it is hungry, unable to earn its livelihood, but it is kept out of the paeans to GDP. It is good that GDP is increasing but why is India not benefitting from it, which lives between the middle to the bottom?
Concerns & questions are recorded in the fine lines in various newspapers. Manufacturing was declining for many quarters, this time it has increased, due to which the GDP figures improved, and this singular figure is being celebrated all around. There is no detail about what happened in this sector, if people are getting work again. This ‘increase’ is also because manufacturing had fallen so low last year, that it has merely emerged only from that low level.
Due to the low base, high growth is visible in this sector. There is a decline in trade, hotels, transport, communication & broadcasting. Due to this, the service sector growth rate has reduced. It’s not stated anywhere, how many people lost or gained jobs due to low growth in this sector? Sachin P. Mampatta reported in the Business Standard this month that: during Covid, more than 40,000 tax-paying manufacturers vanished from the records of the manufacturing sector.
The Hindu Business Line stated that it is a matter of concern that there is a decline in private consumption, i.e. common people are buying & consuming less. Private consumption, which was 6% in April–June, dropped to 3.1% in July–Sept. This is a 50% drop. The government is spending & consuming. If we look at both these cases, the government is the biggest consumer at the moment.
The media decides which figures you will discuss in the day, & will only discuss numbers, you won’t see the reality of the manufacturing sector anywhere, there will be no talk on agriculture, and only 7.6 will be chanted (& screamed). There’s a big conference on the climate crisis in Dubai. Here, it will be reviewed, how many of the decisions of the last three decades, were actually implemented.
Developed countries had promised to create a fund of $100 billion, but that too was not completed. Listen to any speech, all appear to be ace snipers. They will collect all the claps & go away, & leave you to fate & destiny. Heads of 160 countries are expected to participate in the COP 28. The President of COP28 is UAE Sultan Al Jaber, also the head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.
Why Oil companies are expected to reduce oil production, & Why they are organizing climate crisis events?
Unless the consumption of oil & coal is reduced, the pace of the increase in the earth’s temperature will not go down. We read somewhere that the UAE wants to varnish its image via the COP28! It is estimated that the year 2023, is going to be Earth’s hottest year.
Scientists estimate that if temperatures rise 1.5° more than the industrial era, the devastation will increase. If we have to protect the earth from the wrath of natural disasters, then we will have to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels i.e. coal & oil. Other things will also have to be done. It has been reported that by Oct 2023, temperatures during the 1/3rd year were 1.5°c higher than pre-industrialization averages.
What purpose is the media being used?
People are not excited about the Dubai meeting, we know the results will not be concrete, but why is it that even today, your cities are suffocating due to air pollution, the air is becoming poisonous, still this is not a priority news for us.
Every year, for a few days, drums are beaten, water is splashed, & then it goes back to the same. Delhi & Faridabad are reported as the most polluted cities in the country. Somewhere on the inside, the increase in those sick in govt hospitals due to air pollution is reported, yet there is no real initiative or discussion on these issues.
This is today’s news, published in many places, quoting the British Medical Journal. A model has estimated that, in India, more than 21lakh people die due to air pollution every year. The main causes include heart disease, stroke, lung disease & diabetes. 50lakh people die every year due to this worldwide.
Can Deaths reduced by cutting the use of petrol & coal?
India has not freed its capital Delhi from air pollution during the last ten years. The air quality in cities around Delhi too is poisonous, but there is no shortage in the preaching.
India is being criticized for: overemphasis on coal production & power generation from coal. 70% of power in India is generated from coal. Unless there is a cut in this, the earth will continue to heat up in some corner, & disasters will continue to occur. Every country wants the other to take initiative.
If you destroy, then you fund, till then we keep destroying what is left. You’d remember in our episodes from March–April, we had shown about the outbreak of a severe heat wave. Out of 273 days this year, there has been a severe heat wave for 49 days. More than 200 died by heatstroke, DTE data shows. In March, the PM had asked all the states to prepare for a heat wave.
So, now all know that the disaster is coming. The impact of El Nino is inevitable, & still, there is no seriousness in solving the climate crisis.
Why retail inflation had increased significantly in July, and the prices of tomatoes were sky-high?
Prices of grains, pulses & spices remain high, affecting both income & purchasing power in rural areas.
El Nino is also said to be a major reason behind all this, due to which sowing & yield have been adversely affected this year. A decrease of 4.52 % can be seen in grain production. El Nino is likely to persist in 2024 too. There is a 55% chance that it will get more intense. For this reason, it is feared that the initial months of 2024 may remain hot, just as Oct-Nov has been hot this year.
This can also hurt the wheat crop. We are constantly changing the goalpost. For, if you ask someone how their life has changed, they won’t be able to answer, they will keep losing every argument until they finally come to religion. No matter where you go, disaster is inevitable.
Where will you go? Even Antarctica is not spared now. Unless you see the climate crisis as a planet crisis, you cannot escape it by moving. From ocean pollution to rising water levels & melting ice, every incident is affecting us & you are engaged in the utterly rubbish exit polls. As ocean temperatures rise, coral reefs begin to die – the fish there die, & the fish that eat them begin to die.
The source of food for the creatures that eat grass exhausts. Even a slight change in water temperature can affect the reproduction of some species like turtles. Tell yourself these things first, not your kids; because the adults need to be aware; something can happen only with your awareness & initiative.
I know you are finding it difficult to watch today, if I wanted I could’ve spread data on the screen, generated imaginary numbers here and there… & confused you, as to who is winning where. Every viewer has to go through this uneasiness & has to change his/her habit of watching & knowing.
This ain’t easy; you’ll have to sit through such long videos patiently & carefully.
Why the COP28, the UN Secretary-General was in Antarctica?
He went on to state that no one lives in Antarctica, but whatever happens there affects you, and the whole world. People are working so hard to raise awareness, going to Antarctica to raise awareness & you are embroiled in the exit polls!? You are losing every day.
Earth is heating up due to the coal/petrol/diesel consumption; chaos is spreading. Sea ice levels in Antarctica are currently at their lowest-ever level. It is 15 lakh sq km less than it should be at this time of the year; this is the same area as Portugal, Spain, France & Germany combined. Similarly, the ice in Greenland on the North Pole is also melting rapidly.
Together, we have melted so much snow that where layers of snow lay dormant, have now started turning upside down, creating waves of destruction in your area from where they are. The UN Secretary-General said that ice & glaciers in the oceans are melting at record levels, due to which the sea level is rising.
If this persists, you will see cities sinking into the sea right before your eyes. Many reports have appeared that within the next 50–70 years, coastal cities Kolkata, Mumbai & Chennai will be in danger. This is Somalia. There was a severe drought at the beginning of the year & now there is a severe flood.
A million people have been displaced. More than 100 were killed. It has been experiencing floods since Oct. The UN has said that such floods occur once in 100 years. What a huge disaster the dam breaking in Libya caused. Thousands were killed, many thousands more are still missing. What happens is that this problem has been pushed into schools so that kids keep drawing the earth in competitions & keep growing flowers in pots, but this is not going to solve the climate crisis nor create awareness.
You’ve to decide how long you will be fooled by exit polls. One exit poll shows the BJP winning in one state & someone else in another. Even the newspapers have made exit polls their first news. There is global devastation due to the climate crisis & a conference is discussing that in Dubai. How many discussions & graphics have you seen on Godi channels? Even the treatment of cancer has a protocol.
Why can there not be a protocol for exit polls?
How can there be so much variance? On the exit poll days, instead of these anchors, bookies from Rajasthan’s Falaudi should occupy the studio, and the whole country should sit & do this useless rubbish. This rubbish work should be declared essential work.