Scene 1 : The party is over. Everybody has left. Staff of catering services has now to wash the plates and bowls. In most of the plates some leftover was there. Hardly any dish was empty in real term. They have no option but to throw the remains in the dishes to the garbage bins.
Scene 2 : Sharma’s is a rich four member family. Residing in a six bedrooms’ posh bunglow. It is 10.00pm. Mr Sharma is busy in his office work in his study room. His son is doing something in his laptop in his bed-room. Her daughter is watching a movie on her personal LCD TV in her room. Mrs Sharma is watching her daily-soap on 72” LED TV in drawing room. The cook and other servants have finished the work. No one in kitchen or in dining room, but lights were on in kitchen and dining room. Tow lamps were shining the porch area. Three tube-lights were on in the garden area, though no one was there. Four lamps were on in the chandeliers fitted on two entrances. A lamp was on in the terrace also. Electricity bill was not an issue for millionaire Sharmas.
Scene 3 : Shah’s family is in a hotel for dinner. They were six persons including family members and guests. Every one has started placing order of one’s choice. The waiter served the food. Placing of further/repeating orders was continued till the dinner was over. When everybody finished, almost 30% of the food was remained unconsumed on the table. Mr Shah paid the bill with a credit card, even without looking at the amount in the bill. Left a heavy tip for the waiter. The cleaning boy of the hotel collected all the semi-filled dished and throw everything in the garbage bins.
Scene 4 : Mother asked Jonny to buy a bread from the corner shop. Jonny’s bike was taken by his friend. Jonny pulled out 1800cc car from the garage, draw down to less then half kilometer away glossary shop, buy a bread costing 15 rupees and came back. Petrol consumed by the luxury car was not a problem for Jonny, because his industrialist father was giving him quite large amount as pocket money.
We are witnessing such scenes frequently. Sometimes, knowingly or unknowingly, we become a party to such scenes. In all above scenes, money was not a problem. They have enough money to pay for the wastage they have made. But here the question is about the resources, scarce resources, misused or wasted. The food wasted in the buffet or in hotel could have been saved and made available to the needy. The electricity or water we are wasting can be used for better productive purposes. Of course we are paying for the wastage. But by the power of extra money we have, we are depriving others of the scarce resources, only because they have not enough money to pay higher prices of the resources. And the prices of resources are increasing because of this wastage also.
There are people who are hand-to-mouth. They can hardly meet their minimum requirements. On the other hand there are people who are wasting basic resources like food, electricity, water, fuel etc. on the strength of the extra money they have. Everyone has right to live the best possible life one can afford. But it doesn’t mean that we should waste the resources. If we can afford, we have all the right to eat the best food, live in best house, use electricity/water/fuel etc. for our comfort. But it does not make any sense in just wasting all these stuff only because we have paid for it. Because of wastage done by the rich, the poor either do not get the required resources for living or forced to pay higher prices for the same.
Basically, we are very careless in using the resources. Only because we can pay, we are using the resources which can be saved and used for better purpose. We are wasting electricity like anything and then we have no enough power to run the factories or providing irrigation facilities to the farms producing food grains. And then we keep complaining for increasing cost of the products/produces. We just forget that we can print the currency, but the resources are not in our control. Mother Nature has decided the quota of each resource for us. We use it or waste it, it is our choice. If we waste it, someone will not get his/her quota. Which will ultimately result in social unrest. I am not supporting Naxalites at all. But it is time to think about the proper distribution and even more proper use of the resources. ( Distribution of wealth is all together a different issue.) Definitely use what you really need and can afford. But ensure that it is really used and not misused or wasted.
Start from your home, today itself. It will be a great contribution to the society.
Absolutely agree with you Navin. . As Nana patekar has rightly said in the Prahar film that present generation don’t understand the value of independence because they have not earned it they have inherited it. Similarly most of the people don’t understand the values of resources because they have got it readymade, hence they don’t know the value of resources. These resources are precious and scarce if once they will get exhausted human race too would become extinct soon without (natural resources.) Actually the problem with the world is that here are two earths, one of the poor people and other of rich. In Haiti because of poverty people are compelled to eat yellow soil to feed their stomach where as in U.S every year food worth of billions of $ is wasted. New York Times newspaper of U.S comprises 700 to 800 pages in its daily edition, no need to tell you that only 10 to 15 pages are read by people and all others are thrown into dustbin. Similar situation is in India, here aborigine communities of Orissa are compelled to eat mice and cockroaches but we keep buffet dinner in our marriages which cost no less than 1000 to 1500 Rs. per dish. Actually all the school students should be brought to the forests of Orrisa and they should be made aware about the dilapidated circumstances of these people then they will understand the value of resources.
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