Catastrophes may close some doors-open others! – By Oscar E V Fernando

A quote from Noam Chomsky says-there are two problems for the human species’ survival – nuclear war and environmental catastrophe-and we’re hurtling towards them knowingly.

Scientists had warned of disasters that would follow global warming, if industries go on uninhibited, using fossil fuel that causes an effusion of carbon dioxide over and above accepted natural norms-just to satisfy greed of consumers: this has resulted with disasters in quick succession in recent years.

We may not be too late to stop on track and look out for other open doors!

Take the case of our youth, wallowing away their lives in the city to which they were lured by its glamor-youth with genes inherited from their forefathers who tilled the land on the rajakariya agricultural system and earned the Epithet-Granary of the East!

Should we not pause, during this forced recess and plan a gradual strategy to bring glamor to the rural setting and attract youth back to it from the city-as this door is now open?

The following among many other reasons attracted youth to the urban set up;

-lack of opportunity in the rural set up-having no infrastructure for modern agriculture.

-lifestyle of the city, aping the west meaninglessly

-cinema and music halls with fancy lighting and disco music.

-entertainment only found in city.

-reputed schools to attend.

-opportunity for sports such as swimming pools-grounds for cricket and gymnasiums.

-opportunity for personal improvement in education in universities and vocational institutes.

-selection for scholarship abroad

With firm determination, powers that be may bring all these back to the rural setup so as to louver youth back: this would also reduce unemployment-city frustration and revolts.

Could we not attempt to introduce these with public private partnerships-PPP-inviting available private entrepreneurs on small and medium scale units to get infrastructure going for-cold storage-modern equipment and marketing, distribution systems cutting the middle man: will this exercise require FDI’s and foreign aid as a compulsion?

It only requires firm directives from the top to harness human and other available resources to the maximum!

With that little bit of totalitarianism, the red-taped bureaucracy has to be pushed for quick action-shedding lethargy and corruption of some!

Oscar E V Fernando

March 2020