CTC and Peter Van Geit - a victim of Sensationalism by Media and looking for a villain by public at large
In a bid to garner more TRP, it is not new for media, TV channels in particular, to sensationalize things. And we, the public at large, are always in an endeavor to find out the villain for every bad thing that occurred. In this quest, the victim has been CTC and its founder, Peter Van Geit in particular. I have been associated with CTC for over a year now and this blog is purely to let you all know of what CTC does and what Peter has done. If you are one of the saner voices out here who believes that there is another side out there and that has to be heard too, please hear out and if you find merit in my blog, do share this! You can comment/question me and I will try to answer what I know.
Firstly, the allegations being raised and my responses (I am NOT CTC official PR and this is my personal view from what I know)
Nothing can be far removed from the truth than this. CTC is a voluntary organization where people join in the group (FB/mail updates) by writing a mail to organizers. There is no cost for joining the group and people are welcome to receive the updates as and when someone initiates a discussion or a daily digest. Whenever there is a trek planned, the group is made aware of it and interested people sign up for the trek. The cost planned is for the bare minimum requirements for the trek. Any money left at the end of the trip from the collected money is returned back equally to the trekkers. All accounts are shared with the trekkers.
Government officials, in trying to escape/shift the blame are coming up with this version. The modus operandi for a kurangani trek is similar for anyone going for it. There is a check post to enter the area and the person collects Rs. 250/- per person, this does not change if you are CTC or any other group. I am not sure if this is official collection and whether records are maintained, but rest assured, after this accident, they will bury those records and claim non-adherence with procedures, which were nonexistent in the first place. This is not the first trek for CTC there and CTC is not the only group going for treks out there!
CTC has a fitness test being conducted on Pallavaram hills every month or so. I have been part of this fitness test and it is a steep climb. Any person who completes this in a stipulated time, carrying a 10kg backpack, only is eligible for CTC treks. CTC does not train anybody in trekking and this is not an organization trying to make a quick buck by training people on trekking. They only assess fitness and take you along to treks if you are found fit in the tests.
This is simply not a possibility coz CTC promotes trekking as an event where we are close to nature - and not as a business to make money. Every trekker is advised (and checked) to not carry any single use plastic - this includes plastic covers, spoons, plates, etc. The trekkers carry only items that can be reused or naturally disposable(steel water bottles, areca plates, etc) and also strictly no smoking/alcohol. With this level of awareness to not spoil the nature, it would be really foolish to assume that CTC trekkers would be careless enough to create a fire in the forest!
If you heard any other allegations, let me know and I can add responses to those too here.
Now, coming to what CTC does, other than this trekking...
1. CTC encourages a very active lifestyle for members. It conducts events like triathlon, ultra running in hills, etc. Every event that is conducted by CTC has a fee which is very moderate. For example, a triathlon conducted by a private organization, with swim leg in the sea with no protection, was at least 3 times costly compared to a triathlon organized by CTC with swimming in open waters inside the city, with proper protection like rope, rescue swimmers in boat, etc. Also, if not for CTC, Chennaites would not have even dreamt of open water swimming or triathlon.
2. CTC promotes causes, mostly local, and follows up on those. For every event that is organized as mentioned above, there is a voluntary fee added and the amount collected by that way is donated to a cause that needs attention, locally. For example, the Kodai Hills Ultra associated cause was providing sanitation facilities in a girls school in a village in Kodaikanal; another time, it was for providing support to those affected in floods. Oh, also try to read up about Cuckoo school and how CTC volunteers have been helping out the school!
3. CTC loves nature and we believe that we have a lot to give to nature. CTC has a separate group - Ainthinai, this group does tree plantations in various places and not just plantations but regular followup and assigning locals to water the plants.
4. CTC believes we have a duty to clean up the garbage that we humans have created. To this end, CTC volunteers are working every week on a given day at Srinivasapuram/Nochikuppam cleaning up the garbage at the mouth of Adyar river before it joins the sea and also educating the people living in the hamlet about waste segregation and to reduce plastic usage. Awareness about plastic reduction and proper waste segregation is at a high level in this hamlet now, thanks to the relentless volunteers. Additionally, one day of every year is allocated for coastal cleanup. The whole stretch of the Chennai beach from marina up to Akkarai and ahead is cleaned up. All plastic waste is collected separately and sent for recycling.
The strength of CTC is the volunteers who work towards one or more causes mentioned above. They derive their strength from Peter. Media keeps using the word foreigner ("Velinaatavar") when stating about him, as if to create some high-level conspiracy theory but the fact remains Peter is as much a Chennai'te as we all are. Which foreigner would without hesitating get into a blocked drain and clean it up, unless you feel you belong to that place?
You might do yourself a favor by listening to TED talk of Peter or the Vijay TV program on Peter - to understand more about that person.
We need to understand that what happened in this trek was really unfortunate but it was an act of God and I am not sure anything that CTC did could have saved the situation. I offer my condolences to the families that have lost their near and dear ones and also I hope that all who are injured seriously will survive with ordeal - one of my running buddies from Tambaram is also in this list. We are all praying for her and the others.
Firstly, the allegations being raised and my responses (I am NOT CTC official PR and this is my personal view from what I know)
- CTC is a travel agent trying to make money from treks
Nothing can be far removed from the truth than this. CTC is a voluntary organization where people join in the group (FB/mail updates) by writing a mail to organizers. There is no cost for joining the group and people are welcome to receive the updates as and when someone initiates a discussion or a daily digest. Whenever there is a trek planned, the group is made aware of it and interested people sign up for the trek. The cost planned is for the bare minimum requirements for the trek. Any money left at the end of the trip from the collected money is returned back equally to the trekkers. All accounts are shared with the trekkers.
- CTC did not take permission for this specific trek
Government officials, in trying to escape/shift the blame are coming up with this version. The modus operandi for a kurangani trek is similar for anyone going for it. There is a check post to enter the area and the person collects Rs. 250/- per person, this does not change if you are CTC or any other group. I am not sure if this is official collection and whether records are maintained, but rest assured, after this accident, they will bury those records and claim non-adherence with procedures, which were nonexistent in the first place. This is not the first trek for CTC there and CTC is not the only group going for treks out there!
- CTC takes all and sundry for treks, risking their lives
CTC has a fitness test being conducted on Pallavaram hills every month or so. I have been part of this fitness test and it is a steep climb. Any person who completes this in a stipulated time, carrying a 10kg backpack, only is eligible for CTC treks. CTC does not train anybody in trekking and this is not an organization trying to make a quick buck by training people on trekking. They only assess fitness and take you along to treks if you are found fit in the tests.
- These CTC'ians went to make fun and would have been irresponsible to cause the fire.
This is simply not a possibility coz CTC promotes trekking as an event where we are close to nature - and not as a business to make money. Every trekker is advised (and checked) to not carry any single use plastic - this includes plastic covers, spoons, plates, etc. The trekkers carry only items that can be reused or naturally disposable(steel water bottles, areca plates, etc) and also strictly no smoking/alcohol. With this level of awareness to not spoil the nature, it would be really foolish to assume that CTC trekkers would be careless enough to create a fire in the forest!
If you heard any other allegations, let me know and I can add responses to those too here.
Now, coming to what CTC does, other than this trekking...
1. CTC encourages a very active lifestyle for members. It conducts events like triathlon, ultra running in hills, etc. Every event that is conducted by CTC has a fee which is very moderate. For example, a triathlon conducted by a private organization, with swim leg in the sea with no protection, was at least 3 times costly compared to a triathlon organized by CTC with swimming in open waters inside the city, with proper protection like rope, rescue swimmers in boat, etc. Also, if not for CTC, Chennaites would not have even dreamt of open water swimming or triathlon.
2. CTC promotes causes, mostly local, and follows up on those. For every event that is organized as mentioned above, there is a voluntary fee added and the amount collected by that way is donated to a cause that needs attention, locally. For example, the Kodai Hills Ultra associated cause was providing sanitation facilities in a girls school in a village in Kodaikanal; another time, it was for providing support to those affected in floods. Oh, also try to read up about Cuckoo school and how CTC volunteers have been helping out the school!
3. CTC loves nature and we believe that we have a lot to give to nature. CTC has a separate group - Ainthinai, this group does tree plantations in various places and not just plantations but regular followup and assigning locals to water the plants.
4. CTC believes we have a duty to clean up the garbage that we humans have created. To this end, CTC volunteers are working every week on a given day at Srinivasapuram/Nochikuppam cleaning up the garbage at the mouth of Adyar river before it joins the sea and also educating the people living in the hamlet about waste segregation and to reduce plastic usage. Awareness about plastic reduction and proper waste segregation is at a high level in this hamlet now, thanks to the relentless volunteers. Additionally, one day of every year is allocated for coastal cleanup. The whole stretch of the Chennai beach from marina up to Akkarai and ahead is cleaned up. All plastic waste is collected separately and sent for recycling.
The strength of CTC is the volunteers who work towards one or more causes mentioned above. They derive their strength from Peter. Media keeps using the word foreigner ("Velinaatavar") when stating about him, as if to create some high-level conspiracy theory but the fact remains Peter is as much a Chennai'te as we all are. Which foreigner would without hesitating get into a blocked drain and clean it up, unless you feel you belong to that place?
You might do yourself a favor by listening to TED talk of Peter or the Vijay TV program on Peter - to understand more about that person.
We need to understand that what happened in this trek was really unfortunate but it was an act of God and I am not sure anything that CTC did could have saved the situation. I offer my condolences to the families that have lost their near and dear ones and also I hope that all who are injured seriously will survive with ordeal - one of my running buddies from Tambaram is also in this list. We are all praying for her and the others.
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