Is Your Home Safe With CCTV?

Vihaan has heard of breaking-in and burglary in the neighborhood and that it happened during the day.
He is concerned for the safety of his belongings.
Nobody is in the house during the day.
Therefore, he opts for video surveillance of his property.
As a bonus, he could even check inside and outside of his house when he is on the move.
If there is an intruder, he will get an alert on his phone, and he can sound an alarm from wherever he is or inform the police.
Of course, he knows it is done through internet, and he is smart enough to keep anybody from gaining access.
Also, he has a battery backup in case they try to cut off the main supply.
The whole system is a bit expensive, but he is happy that now he can breathe easy.

Do you think he can?

Story Time

Last week, the ‘happy people’ broke into the temple, took down the cameras (wires and all), took the monitor, and the recorder along with a musical instrument (dholak).
In the same week, the ‘happy-go-lucky’ dropped by at a neighbor’s house.
They again took down the cameras along with wires, monitor, and recorder.
This time they went further and peeped into the kitchen.
They cooked, ate, drank and enjoyed themselves as they had the whole day to themselves.
The couple as usual returned home in the evening, and found their house in a mess.

What Did We Learn?

1. 

This will not keep them away!

2. Remember that once the electricity is disconnected, the internet will not work until you have a backup plan for the whole house, which most of us cannot afford.

3. There will be no proof of the theft without the recorder.

What Can We Do?

Like in good old times:

1. Employ a security guard.
It will provide an employment, but the guard can be harmed, if the miscreants are more in number.

2. Like Sherlock Holmes or as in Home Alone, arrange for a silhouette of a man to be seen through the curtains.
They will think somebody is inside but they will eventually notice that it is not moving.

3. Use burglar bars

Good for security but not very aesthetic.

4. Wire your windows and doors with an open or closed circuit, and anybody trying to force them open will activate the alarm.

Will alert neighbors and the police station, but it will also go off in the event of no electricity supply or if a bird pecks on the glass.

There are numerous other anti-theft methods like

    • motion detector light

    • motion detector alarm

    • auto-dialing and prerecorded message delivered to police station via a phone

    • pressure-pads below the doormat

    • infrared alarm system

    • hidden cameras, etc.

Even if there is a foolproof alternative hidden system, a simple jammer will prevent any signals to be transmitted.

Where Technology Fails, Common Sense Works   

    • Best CCTV is the nosy neighbor or the over-friendly old couple, who lives next door. Make friends.

    • Arrange for community policing.

    • You can team up with your neighbors and employ a guard for the whole area, so that the guard can be sitting anywhere quietly and warn you, if needed.

    • Also, you can approach the security agencies, who can look after individual needs and even the neighborhood.

    • You and your neighbors can install at least one camera pointing at the neighbors’.

    • Make it a point to socialize with your neighbors to be updated of any stranger passing by or if anybody is expecting visitors.

    • Keep the boundary wall low between houses and towards the road. You can keep the back wall high to prevent escapes.

    • Leave the curtains open for some windows, and if you are returning home late, arrange for solar lights that will switch on after sunset.

The above won’t work if your house is isolated, say if your neighbor is at least 5 minutes away.

An Australian story

As the bush fire raged and there was smoke everywhere, this family was forced to leave their house in search of a safer place.

The children rode their bicycle towards the seaside.

The woman was on horseback, and as she could not see anything depended on the horse’s instinct.

The horse led her to safety, where she waited for things to calm down.

As soon as she was reunited with the family and it was safe, she returned to her house.

To her disbelief, the house had been broken into.

Her son’s new bicycle, mowers, chainsaws, a leaf blower, and a water pump were stolen.

She went to lodge a complaint at the police station the following Monday, and was accompanied by a police officer when she returned.

To her dismay, her house was again broken into.

They had ransacked the whole place, and have taken her cash box and some personal stuff.

Safety Measures in Rural or Secluded Areas

1. Keeping a dog or dogs is a good idea – like German Shepherd or Doberman Pinscher.

2. Building a strong fence around is another.

3. The old tried and tested method: Jam the door with a table or heavy furniture and leave through a window, which can be locked from outside. (You have to push your way inside, when you return.)

4. Burglar bars can help to deter the culprits.

5. If possible, never leave the house empty.

6. You can set up booby traps as extreme measures but have to check whether they are legally allowed. Innocent people might get hurt unintentionally.

7. Taking cue from Home Alone (the film), you can keep heavy objects over the door or set up a hammer to strike anybody who has already entered the house.

To be noted: The Australian family had just shifted to the new house, and they could not get insurance due to the region being at risk of fire.

The Australian lady’s experience was outrageously inappropriate.

In the context of people living in densely populated area, here are my 2 cents.

My Two Cents

    • Do not invest in things that might attract attention.

    • If possible go for local manufacture rather than international branded item.

    • Rooms accessed by outsiders (guests, plumbers, electricians, painters, or domestic help) should not be a statement of your financial worth.

    • Better to invest money on things (land, housing, or stocks), which other than immediate family members will not be aware of.

    • If you have to indulge in some luxury in your home, play it down and avoid boasting.

    • When buying a car, choose the one, which is most efficient and reliable rather than the only one in the neighborhood.

    • Dress appropriate to the surrounding rather than being the only one with the $2000 tag Prada bag.

    • And lastly, apartments have a common security system and hence are safer than an individual unit.

A state-of-the-art security system is installed by a guy, who knows how it works.

It takes a casual conversation over a beer to know the ins and outs of the system.

Conclusion

          • Take a leaf out of Warren Buffet’s life.

      He endorses no brand but still is one of the richest men in the world.

                                ***********
 © Indrani Pudaruth 25/01/2020

In response to Chennai Water Crisis:

 Prevention of water crisis:
1. Recycling
2. Reusing
3. Educating
4. Laws and fines to prevent water wastage
5. Desilting of rivers and canals
6. Water harvesting
7. Creation of reservoirs
8. Linking the waterbodies

I remember many years ago in India, there was a shortage of onion in the market. TV and radio channels started airing programs with ideas for non-onion recipes. Here in Mauritius, we had water scarcity few years back. All the religious institutions offered special prayer, and at Grand Bassin, a special prayer to appease Lord Indra was organized. And guess what, it started raining and in a matter of few days our reservoirs were more than 50% full.

Media can play an important role during a crisis. In Mauritius during the period of extreme water rationing, the television channels featured women washing dishes with less water and ideas for managing household chores. Also, they prohibited cleaning cars or yard with running water. Over the radio we heard that we must run the washing machine on full load and hand wash for few clothes. My husband came up with the idea to flush toilet only when passing stool. Believe me, we managed happily during the time of water scarcity – partly because we had a water tank. The government also encourages us to harvest rainwater.

Therefore, we as individuals can be EDUCATED to:

Recycle • Reuse • Conserve water.

The media, the entertainment industry, can also take over some of the responsibilities to reach the message to every home that has a radio or television. NGOs and volunteers can reiterate the message through personal contact and explain in a language that will be easily understood. Whisper campaign by women, for women, can also be effective as most of the domestic water is used by the women.

My father used to clean the groundwater that we consumed by using ‘phitkari’ (alum) before buying a candle water filter. The only requirement was to leave it overnight, and then drain the upper part of the water for consumption and throw away the sediments. A cheap method for water purification but very effective. Educating the mass about this will surely help many.

Many countries have benefited from strict implementation of zero-waste water policy and low toleration for any law violation. We can learn from their examples. For this, the Water Authority should be held responsible and the officials should be trained in efficient water management and inspection. Water supply for free is a thing of past and all the governments (central or state) should take up their individual responsibilities, rising over their political gains. Apart from drinking water fountains, there should be no open water source anywhere. In Kolkata, I have seen people taking bath at the ‘stand posts’ on the roadside. The middle class and rich should be educated more intensively about water conservation and made to pay for their water consumption, even though they may privately draw groundwater, based on a meter reading. To change the mindset, media must work extensively taking help from public figures.

ONCE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT THEY ARE SACRIFICING THEIR COMFORT TO ENSURE A BETTER FUTURE FOR THEIR CHILDREN, THEY WILL SURELY EMBRACE THE CHANGE. TARGET THE CHILDREN AND EDUCATE THEM TO CARRY THE MESSAGES TO THEIR ELDERS.

The government and private organisations can actively engage themselves in:
• Desilting of rivers and canals
• Water harvesting
• Creation of reservoirs
• Linking the waterbodies

(The above ideas were compiled from the internet by my daughter and me.)     

Lost Mothers

Few months ago Kamla’s only son had called up from “Angleterre” to inform his uncle that he and his family have settled there. It was a shock for the family as everybody knew he was in Rodrigues on holiday and would be back in a week. Such deception!  But she was too old to cry. Her heart was heavy with untold sorrows until she spiritually uplifted herself with the help of Raja Yoga.

She practices meditation at home and twice a week goes to the centre. Every time she passes by her friend Laxmi’s house, she drops by to say hello, though Laxmi hardly ever recognises her. Oh! What a pitiable condition she is in. Her son locks her in a room so that she does not roam about and get lost (at least that is what he tells everybody). Laxmi has a barred window access to a square view of the sky or any passing by cloud. But she is oblivious to all this. You ask after her health and she says “You wait; my son will be here any time now.”

Kamla is hardly able to bear the stench of urine and stool coming out of the room. As she turns to leave, she remembers how Laxmi and her husband toiled hard to educate their son. Today, he is an officer working for the government, married with two lovely children, a bungalow and a big car. The bungalow stands right next to the small sheet-metal house where Laxmi lives. Here Laxmi looked after her infant grandchildren while her son and daughter-in-law worked to build the house. After her husband’s death, even though her loss of memory worsened, Laxmi refused to shift to the new house. And Kamla’s eyes welled up as she walked away.

©Indrani Pudaruth 07/08/2015

A Market Place

It was 9 a.m.  Sheila hurried along the pavement towards the market.

The markets in Mauritius are not noisy.  People are polite and talk softly.  This is a small village market but the ambiance is same even in the city market though latter offers more variety.  Rarely the humdrum is broken by merchants crying out their wares.  People normally come to the market early to get the fresh vegetables.  As the day progresses the vegetables are not so fresh anymore and the green-leafy vegetables which are very popular are almost gone.  Only those with visible marks of pest infestation were available by the time Sheila arrived.

At the entrance Sheila bought some French loaves and salted cakes to go with the bread.  She smiled at the women selling Indian bread (roti) and curry, pickles and sweet cakes as she passed by the newspaper stall.  She stopped her breath as she came near the dried fish stall and quickly looked at the other stalls selling plastic and grocery items.  She noticed the lady who grew vegetables near her house was selling some fresh green leafy vegetables though only a few were left.  She instantly asked for those and the lady kindly packed all of them for her at half the price.  Thanking her she walked away.  She bought some aubergine, French beans, long beans and lady’s finger from other stalls.  She continued along the rows and stopped at a stall selling bitter gourd.  The price displayed was way too expensive.  While she was contemplating whether to buy or not, an old woman came and asked the merchant whether he will reduce the price.  The man looked away and Sheila and the old lady exchanged glances before moving away.  Sheila was few stalls away from the beautiful looking tomatoes.  Many people were crowding the stall.  She glanced at the price and thought she would take half a pound (1 pound = 500 gms), too less but would serve to garnish some of her preparations.  She started to choose some and gave the seller.  The man noticing such a small amount smirked and curtly told her not to finger the tomatoes as this may spoil them.

A section of the market was earmarked to sell fresh or frozen meat and fish.  Many people crowded inside ignoring the strong smell emitting from that area.

Cruising along she bought a pineapple, some apples, oranges, coriander leaves, thyme, parsley, and curry leaves.  She also found some good pumpkin, chou chou (a local vegetable) and sweet gourd.  By the time she had bought potatoes, onion, ginger and garlic and was leaving the market most of the merchants had already packed and left though it was only 10 a.m.  By 11 nobody will be seen in or near the market.

Sheila remembered she needed pajamas and a pair of socks for her daughter.  She went upstairs to take a look at the “la foire”.