This is how India lost Rs. 87000000000 in 2005

How is this possible? The economy looks so bright; the Sensex has reached it’s highest ever only in 2005. India has been ranked as the Best Destination for FDI with Investments running in billions of dollars.

This is how it happened.
The tectonic plates that were sitting still for millions of years decide to scratch their back a little, how would they know that by then millions would be dead and billions lost. Few hurricanes and cyclones tired of monotony chose to play, little did they knew this would leave mega cities inundated, and render millions homeless.

Starting from 26th December 2004, India has witnessed over seven natural calamities and 2005 became a year of largest financial loss as a result of weather-related disasters.
The loss is estimated to be over Rs. 87,500 crore during this year with some of the industrialized states getting the hardest blow.

The Mumbai floods, that created history for receiving the most down pour in a single day (944 m) combined with the ONGC’s Bombay High disaster caused a loss of 30,000 crore. Tsunami and the recent floods in Tamil Nadu cost a cumulative 44,000 crore. That’s not all, the Karnataka floods cost 7500 crore, the Gujarat floods 4500 Crore and the Himachal floods 3,000 crore. If there were floods all over here, there were other parts that were drying in drought. Of course, let’s not exclude the earthquake in Kashmir.

We are not alone in this issue, the December’s Tsunami created havoc from the coasts of Australia all the way to Somalia, destroying everything in its way. There were earth quakes in Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan and POK. China faced severe floods.

Who can forget what Wilma and Katrina (not the models but the Hurricanes) did to US? Wilma (Miss Universe) was the strongest Hurricane ever while Katrina (Miss World) was the costliest Hurricane ever with a price tag of over $125 bn.

Across the globe, weather-related disasters led to an estimated $200 bn loss in ’05 compared to $145 bn in ’04.

Are we testing the limits of ecological balance? Is this Mother Nature’s way of teaching her children to respect her?
As the most intelligent and the single most dominant species of a world that’s shared by billions of different species, it’s our duty to conserve nature.
Act now or there won’t be a tomorrow.

Read more here

India wins the Cricket World cup 2005

India beat England in the finals to win the World cup 2005 participated by nine countries .

“Funny! World Cup is in 2007, and morevoer this is end of December 2005 and I didn’t see any World cup happening this year, and that too nine countries, you must be out of your mind.” If this is what you are thinking, continue reading.

Ganguly was dropped from the team and the impact rocked the Parliament. If Sachin injures his left leg little finger, it’ll be on the main page of the Daily new paper and if some one plays for one match, he’ll be the next target for the billion dollar advertising company. Most of all, if the Indian team is going to the world cup next year, the entire country gears up to watch it already. From customized music albums, to constantly recurring motivational advertisements to even offering special poojas at temples, every player is in the spotlight.

But when a team of proud Indians play cricket against teams from eight other countries and win the World Cup, it won’t even get a single line mention in papers leave alone the media only because they are all Deaf?

Visit the Deaf Cricket International Federation.
Read more about the Second World Cup for Deaf.
Read about the Final Match when India beat England to take the cup.

Toronto, the city that never stops!

Toronto is the largest city in Canada and one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world with people from over 150 countries making their presence felt here. Although its population is around 3 million, which is merely a forth of Mumbai or Tokyo, Toronto’s downtown is on top gear and faces usual problems with too many people and too little space.

The city wakes up early, and by 8AM people are already on the move. More people mean more activities. This city has a lot of activities and entertainment all through the year, including seasonal carnivals, ethnic fests, theater plays, night clubs and fanatic sports activities. Toronto may appear happening and industrious during the day, but past 7 PM, most of downtown will become deserted and turn cold in silence!

Toronto homes the CN Tower, the tallest man made structure built till date baring only the KVLY-TV mast, which is a TV tower in North Dakota, USA. See Also

So, why is Toronto in my blog today?
Is it because, it’s not in the top 20 cities in population, or not in the top 20 cities in economy or just because it has the tallest concrete structure in the world?

Toronto is a geographically challenged city. The city has two wonderful seasons like spring and fall but faces the wroth of the summer and winter in between them. If the summer bulls the mercury to 40 degree C, the winter can bear it to -40!
So, if this city’s weather is so unforgiving, why is it still so happening?
It’s because of the best use of the exorbitant 15% tax levied on every merchandise bought, apart from the 30% levied on income.

Toronto has one of the best public movement systems in the world. Apart from the busses, trains, street cars (trams) that are cost effective and cover the cross sections of the city, Toronto has something the world should admire.

It has the PATH. Whether going for work, visiting a client, shopping for a gift, catching the subway train, or just lazing around, the PATH is the right medium for you!
PATH is downtown Toronto's temperature controlled underground walkway linking 27 kilometers of shopping, services and entertainment. Follow PATH and you'll reach your downtown destination easily in weatherproof comfort. It has over 4 million square feet of retail space running for 16 miles and connecting over 50 important buildings in downtown. See more for details on the PATH

A snap of the PATH


That’s not all; if you think you know all about energy saving, have a second thought.
Toronto is one of the pioneer cities pledging to reduce the citywide emissions by a whooping 20% in 1990. It has well exceeded this goal in its own corporate facilities and operations, reducing these emissions by about one million tonnes or 42% from 1990 levels.
And what’s next? Its new Deep Lake Water Cooling project will draw cold water from the bottom of Lake Ontario to provide air conditioning for a number of large buildings in downtown Toronto. It will use 75-90% less electricity than traditional air-conditioning.
Read more here

Guess, now you accept this city is worth a mention. This city, Will never stop.