Flushing Counterfeit Money

Observation:

Counterfeit currency has lately become a big problem in most countries, including India. Although there are a number of signs that can be used to differentiate between counterfeit and authentic currency, it is not easy for the common man to check each currency note during a transaction. Advancement in technology has made the difference between the two quite small, making it even more difficult. However, existence of counterfeit money in the markets for any economy is of great concern especially if it finds its way in the banks.

Suggestion:

In order to flush out counterfeit currency from the system, the government will have to take multiple measures:

1. The first step should be to give all banks operating within a country a time frame within which each bank has to check every bill note it has in its cash reserve for authenticity using specific devices.
2. The amount of counterfeit currency in each branch should be reported to the Government which will then look at tracing the funds and / or writing off the cash
3. Each bank has to ensure that all incoming cash deposits are also checked for any anomalies using the CVPS machines.
4. Establishing the amount of counterfeit currency in each bank would help establish the cities / areas which have been affected more and have perhaps become the centres for fake bill circulation. This would in turn help the police to nab those behind the entire operation.
5. At the same time, currency scanners should be made a mandatory requirement for all shops having a license to operate all over the country

An intensive screening is required to first flush out existing counterfeit bills and subsequently make sure that fresh counterfeit currency is not able to enter the system.

Protection for Fractures

Observation:

You are back from the hospital with a fractured wrist, arm, ankle or leg and a plaster cast. The cast has to stay on for several weeks and you must not get it wet! Problem : how do you keep yourself clean? Have you ever tried showering with one arm /leg out of the way of the water jet? Its almost impossible, and too much trouble.

Suggestion:

The easiest solution is to have a protection similar to that of a shower cap, so that the plaster does not get wet. However, that is easier said than done. A simple contraption that can be made at home would involve wearing a plastic bag with a rubber band to hold it in place. However, there are chances that some water will still seep through. Brown Medicals have thus come out with a product called "Active seal-tight waterproof cast covers". It works by stretching elasticated material over the plaster cast ensuring that a watertight seal is formed over the cast allowing people to have a normal shower. The only drawback: PRICE ! (The Active seals are priced at approximately $30)

Given that most people have at least one fracture in their lives, we can establish that there is enough demand and hence market for these waterproof covers. Manufacturing them cheap (in places such as India / China), could be an easy way to flood the markets with the product not only ensuring it is a big success, but also helping people live a normal life even with a cast on !!!

Plastic Bags as Garbage Bins

An easy way to maintain a clean environment is to ensure that garbage is dropped in their respective bins and not on the streets. This may seem obvious, but sadly, is not so, for lack of civic sense sometimes stems from lack of garbage bins in the city itself.

Observation:

Garbage disposal has always been a problem, not only at an individual level, but also at the level of governments. Ensuring that people do not litter the streets is possible only when sufficient grabage disposal units are provided at every other corner. But providing these big bins alone does not solve the problem. Collecting the garbage from the bins / emptying them into larger containers and more importantly, handling the potential issue of the bin itself being stolen overnight is something that requires lot of thinking. Paris (France) has done a beautiful job in tackling this problem. This post details how this has been done.

Suggestion:

The solution to the problem of garbage disposal is quite simple:

1. Instead of garbage bins, shift to garbage bags hanging from circular holders (see picture). These would be large transparent polythene bags, that are sturdy enough to hold few kilograms of garbage.

2. Ensure that the city is liberally sprinkled with garbage bags, one every 50 mts.

3. Garbage collection is made extremely simple with this design, for the bags simply need to be dumped in the trucks without the added task of emptying the bins. A new garbage bag can then be placed in the holder. This also reduces the accidental spillage of garbage from the bins that may take place when the bin is being emptied.

4. Transparent bags provide easy visibility to the contents inside. Apparently, this model was adopted in Paris after a bomb scare in the garbage cans. Transparent garbage bags also overcome the potential problem of bombs / undesirable objects being hidden inside.

5. Last, but not the least, these garbage bags hardly require much investment or infrastructure. Placing them liberally all across the town / city would instead bring down the additional cost that would otherwise be incurred in keeping the city clean.

Garbage bags thus seem a sure-shot way to clean up the city automatically, develop civic sense in people, make garbage collection a far easier job and also bring down the cost of keeping the city clean. So, go ahead and spread this idea in your own city and make it clean!

Log and Garden-Spade Benches

This post is inspired by my recent visit to the "Tulip Gardens - Keukenhof" in The Netherlands, and motivation by a dear friend who suggested that I re-start my blog after a long hiatus. So, here is a design for a seating facility that is simple, yet so creative, and blends really well with the surroundings.

Who doesn't like to sit in the garden and bask in the Sun? Not many of us have that kind of luxury. But for those who do have, this design is really simple, very friendly (no use of plastics), innovative and at the same time, blends very well with the backdrop of a nice, small garden / park. The log of the bench can be that of an old tree that has practically reached the end of its life cycle, and the back-rest of the bench can be made out of the three-pronged garden spades, with the prongs fixed to the log, and the handle serving as the back-rest (see picture) . The spades sticking on to the log gives a rustic, rural feel to the entire design. The seats are not only easy to make but as the spade handles are well rounded, they are safe for children as well.

To sum, small gardens / parks can easily be equipped with log benches that not only serve the purpose well, but employ a design that is creative, stylish, simple and also extremely practical.

GOONJ NGO and Collection Drives

Observation:
Poverty is not visible to those who do not want to see it. People get comfortable with their lives, with multi-lakh pay packages, and forget about those whose income is barely sufficient for only one meal a day. Such people struggle to survive every day. For them, it is not a question of getting the best of education, or the best of clothes, but just the ability to read and write and clothe themselves. In this fast paced world, we forget about such people who are struggling for each day of their lives. An organization that is trying to keep alive this feeling of helping the poor is GOONJ.

Suggestion:
GOONJ is a voluntary organization working towards making cloth a matter of concern. The organization channelises the vast stocks of everyday necessities-form clothes, utensils to medicines-lying as idle surplus in the urban homes, as a substantial economic resource for the poor in the far flung village of India.

GOONJ Started with just 67 clothes in 1998, and subsequently , its work has spread to 21 states with more than 40,000 kgs of material being channelised every month. The credit for this success goes to the many RWAs, corporates, schools and a force of over 300 enthusiastic and inspired volunteers. GOONJ looks after all the logistics of the collection camp right from providing the communication material to managing the camp and transportation of material. It would be nice if residents of sectors / societies could take initiatives, and organize collection drives in their locality, for the noble cause.

As a resident of a sector 33 of NOIDA, I have volunteered to conduct a drive like this. The camp coincides with the Independence day celebrations. I don't know how much of feeling I would be able to stir up in people to encourage them to give few surplus material to the needy, but am glad I made this effort. Irrespective of the response that I may get for this, I can sleep with the satisfaction that I tried and did whatever I could to help the poor.

Replacing wooden wheels of Bullock Carts

The bullock cart (also known as a bullock wagon or bullock team) is a common means of transportation used traditionally since ancient times in many parts of the world. They are still used today where modern vehicles are too expensive or the infrastructure does not favor them. Bullock comes from the old English for castrated male cattle. Used especially for carrying goods, the bullock cart is pulled by one or several bullocks or oxen. The cart (or a jinker) is attached to a bullock team by a special chain attached to yokes, but a rope may also be used for one or two animals. The driver and any other passengers sit on the front of the cart, while load is placed in the back.

Observation:

The invention of the WHEEL definitely brought about a revolution of its own. It made transportation of goods much easier. Traditionally, the Bullock Cart wheels are made of different types of wood and sometimes, the rim is covered with metal sheet as well.

Suggestion:

It is a well known fact that rubber tyres fitted on wheels use lesser force as compared to wooden wheels. Charles Goodyear, and John Dunlop have established this quite conclusively. However, when the entire world is moving towards better cars and tyres every day, there are still thousands of bullock carts that still have wooden wheels.

The result:

• Excessive load on the bullocks, leading to fatigue and health issues related to the animal.
  
• Speed of the carts is slow.
  
• Efficiency of the bullock-carts is low.

What can be done about it :

The Government of India can undertake replacing all the wooden wheels with that of rubber tyres suitable for farming. This would not only decrease the load on a vast majority of animals , but also increase the efficiency of work (be it transportation or farming). A small increase per bullock-cart would accrue to a huge amount for the entire country. Second hand tyres are not that exorbitant. The owners of the bullock cart may not be financially well off to invest in the tyres themselves. However, where the government can spend millions, a few thousand more for the 'common man' would go a long way in improving the condition of people and the bullocks in many villages of the country.

Reusable Cloth Bags To Replace Polythene Bags

The credit for this post goes solely to my good friend Nandini Paniker. She wrote to me about the reusable cloth bags in response to an earlier post of mine titled "Multi-compartment Shopping Bags". Her idea is as follows:

Observation:

Vegetables and fruits when bought from the daily vegetable market, or even the supermarket, need to sorted later. This not only is an added burden on time and energy, but is also quite a monotonous task. The other alternative is to use 'Plastic / Nylon Covers' which again is not advisable from an environmental point of view.

Suggestion:

Nandini suggested carrying cloth bags to the markets, which would be extremely helpful in segregating the groceries right from the point they are picked up. The cloth for these bags need to be really thin, so that they can be directly put into the refrigerator, and the vegetables can have ample ventilation to breath.

Citing example of her mother, Nandini also suggested that these cloth bags can be readily made at home from old saris. My mother, too, on hearing this idea has made many such bags, and is having a much simpler time sorting vegetables every week. (A photograph of the bags that she stitched is uploaded above) A sample bag can be given to the local tailor, who can then churn out such small bags out of the surplus cloth left after stitching. It would not only lead to an increase in his revenue, but will also help people become more aware of the environmental issues related to use of plastic.

Thanks Nandini for a brilliant idea!

Increasing the efficiency of Pedi-Cabs

The "Cycle Rickshaw" or the "Pedi Cabs" is a very important and basic means of transportation for the common man, especially in developing countries. Not only does it provide pollution free means of conveyance, but also one that is affordable. The only place that it may really lag when compared to other means of transportation is the speed.

It is estimated that close to 2 million cycle rickshaws ply on Indian roads, carrying about 6–8 billion passenger / year. The exact number could be even greater, since there are no reliable records available. In some cities and small towns, they are the major means of transport. They provide employment to more than two million rickshaw pullers, are maneuverable, completely non-polluting and hence an environment-friendly means of transport.

Observation:

A normal pedi cab, as shown in picture, would have a speed of about 10 km/hr. The driver sweats it out in the Sun, gets tired due to the laborious nature of his work, but is still not able to earn enough since the rickshaw does not achieve the desired efficiency.

If I understand correctly, the height of the rickshaw body has a direct effect on the speed and efficiency of a vehicle. If the height is decreased, the torque decreases, the stability increases, and hence the speed increases. Bases on these observations, there are a few suggestions.

Suggestion:
In an attempt to bring back the glory days of the Cycle rickshaw, the structure of cycle rickshaw needs to be changed.

1. The early models used to weigh over 120 kgs, but this can be reduced to 90 kgs by means of an integral tubular frame that has excellent structural qualities. The weight can be further reduced by a fiber glass body which is so popular in VELO TAXIS (Germany).
2. The provision of a multi gear system specifically designed for rickshaws will give the rickshaw driver a tremendous advantage. He will gets less stressed and can ply more in a day without harming his health.
3. Most importantly, reducing the center of gravity by lowering the seating area of rickshaw or peddy cab would not only improve the stability of vehicle, but also increase efficiency. Independent studies on the rickshaw drivers plying these modern rickshaws have shown that they can ply them for a third longer and average earnings have gone up by close to 60%. Not only this, the speed of these rickshaws would greatly increase from 10kmph to 15-20 kmph.
   

A live example of the disparity in designs of Rickshaws can be seen in the pedi cabs of Delhi and that of Nanital. The ones in Delhi are built much higher off the ground, and hence are much slower. On the other hand, the ones playing on the roads of Nanital are faster due to a minor change in design.

A lot many variations have already been proposed for Pedi cabs, right from having a small motor, to solar powered ones. A lot of work is already being done to improve the Pedi Cabs. However, until the time VELO TAXIS or its equivalent is introduced in India, steps can definitely be taken to improve the efficiency of Rickshaws by a simple lowering of the foot board and the seat , making the lives of drivers much easier and better!