Lighthouse

Author(s): Udayvallabhvijay
Publisher: Pragna Prabodh Parivar

Page 37

the world is suffering from a high profile wastage culture. Leave alone the global scenario, in India alone the food wastage in a year crosses Rs. 3,57,000/-crores. In the city of Mumbai alone daily (yes, daily) 9.2 lakh kg. of vegetables and fruits are wasted and they do not go to feed anyone. According to a report of the University of Agricultural Science (UAS) at Bangalore, the wastage figures for the city of Bangalore (which boasts of a posh city culture) are mind blowing. Bangalore has 531 marriage halls. These halls hosted 84,960 marriages in a year. High quality rich food which was just thrown away after the marriage festivities was 943 tons. This annual royal wastage was valued at Rs. 339/- crores. If one would consider Rs. 40/- as the cost of one thali for the poor man's food, it amounts to throwing away food in gutters that would have fed about 212 crore people. Nobody frowns on such colossal waste, nobody even comments about it, nobody takes any stern action, nobody takes any steps to remedy this situation. However, everybody is ready to pounce on the fistful of rice grains or a small piece of sweet offered on a wooden plank to the deity (which of course are subsequently consumed by somebody or the other). People with such mentality are of course not believers, they are not atheist either; they are simply pervert atheist. If you survey the scene in the Western countries (from where the wastage culture has been imported into our country), there are special festival for wastage. At some
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Lighthouse