Magsaysay Award winner Harish Hande interacts with DK journalists

Magsaysay Award winner Harish Hande interacts with DK journalists

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, November 16,2011 : Speaking at an interactive session organized by the Dakshina Kannada Working Journalists’ Association (DKWJA), Harish Hande, the Magsaysay Award winner, spoke of the need to establish a decentralized approach toward the requirements of rural India.

 

Stating that the award has added to his social responsibilities, he said that it will be used for the promotion of sustainable and renewable energy since half the Indian population still does not enjoy the benefits of electricity.

Speaking of the implications of coal-based thermal power plants, he said that the expenses they incur over the next 20 years should be compared with the expenses incurred by the use of renewable energy for the next 20 years.

Expressing his dissatisfaction over the lack of focus on the Durban meet on the Kyoto protocol, which is scheduled to be held on Nov 29, Hande said that the Durban meet is hardly mentioned anywhere in India.

Speaking of the importance of taking a lead in climate changes, Hande said that the integrated energy police of the country aimed at 20,000 MW of solar energy by 2020, but the country is able to generate only 83 MW of solar energy because of the ignorant policy makers.

He also said that the UN has declared the year 2012 as sustainable energy year and that the major target for this is India. The UN has also established a separate chapter on the model of rural banking employed in Karnataka.

Regarding the role of the vernacular press, he said that it has a lot of power provided it stops focuses on minor issues and focuses on positive development instead.

Criticizing the corruption that infests almost every social, political, and economic system in India, he said that he agrees with Arvind when he says that eradication of poverty is possible only with the eradication of corruption.