Overview of Urbanisation in India

Historically, cities have been the driving force in economic and social development. At present approximately 307 million Indians lives in nearly 3700 towns and cities spread across the country. This is 30.5% of its population, in sharp contrast to only 60 millions (15%) who lived in urban areas in 1947 when the country became Independent. During the last fifty years the population of India has grown two and half times, but Urban India has grown by nearly five times. In numerical terms, India's urban population is second largest in the world after China, and is higher than the total urban population of all countries put together barring China, USA and Russia.

Table: 1 India: Urban Population 1901 – 2001

      Source: Ministry of Urban Affairs

At the 1991 census, two-third of the country's urban population lived in Class-I cities with more than 1,00,000 population.

Table: 2 Distribution of urban population by size class of towns

       Source: Ministry of Urban Affairs

About one-third of Urban India (71 million) lives in metropolitan cities (million plus). The number of such cities in India has increased from 1 in 1901 to 5 in 1951 to 23 in 1991 to 40 in 2001. Out of the total increase in the country's urban population of 58 million between 1981 and 1991, 44 million were added to Class I cities alone. 28 million persons were added in metropolitan cities.

Urban areas are the engines of productivity and growth in the country. This is manifest in the increasing contribution of urban sector to national income. 

Table: 3 urban contribution to national income

       Source : Ministry of Urban Affairs

Growth of employment (main workers) in urban India during 1981-91 was recorded at 38% against 16% in rural areas and 26.1% in the country as a whole.

Environmental impacts of Urbanisation

Some of the chief forces driving urbanisation today are shifting of jobs from agriculture to industry and the concentration of economic opportunities in the urban areas. Urbanisation is associated with higher incomes, improved health, higher literacy, improved quality of life and other benefits. Yet along with the benefits of urbanization come environmental and social ills. Since with urbanization the concentration of people is increasing in cities so is the demand for basic necessities like food, energy, drinking water and shelter. The result is in terms of poor quality housing, lack of water supply and sanitation facility and lack of proper waste disposal facility leading to spread of communicable diseases.

Urbanisation affects the environment in three major ways: implications due to urban poverty which is a result of migration, stressed infrastructure and management systems and finally incresing consumerism. These problems warrant major concerns on three accounts. Firstly the prevailing pattern and trend of Urbanisation is more material and energy intensive. Secondly the discharge of pollutants and generation of solid waste  in cities is particularly harmful because it is uncontrollable and thirdly the financial, institutional, technological and infrastructure systems available for help to control these problems in the region at present are inadequate.

Urban waste

Increasing urbanisation is resulting in the generation of increasing amounts of solid waste. It is estimated that 20-50 percent of the solid waste generated remains uncollected. In New Delhi, 3,880 tons of garbage is produced per day, yet only 2,420 tons is collected for disposal. Even if collected, municipal solid waste remains a problem in many cities.

As the living standards are rising the organic content in the waste is reducing and non-biodegradable wastes like metal, plastic and glass are on a rise (Figure -1).  Urbanisation and increasing trend of consumerism in cities are the main factors leading to generation of more waste.

Urban water quality

Ever increasing urbanisation and their growing amounts of waste have over taxed the natural recycling capabilities of local rivers and lakes. Of the many problems associated with urban effluents, nutrient loading or eutrophication of local waters is one of the most serious problems. Poor water resource management too contributes to water problems.

Source : World Bank Urban Development Sector Unit, Solid waste Management in Asia (1999)

Urban transportation

Transportation systems are a major contributor to the decay of urban environment and reduced quality of life in the metropolitan areas due to their contribution to atmospheric emissions, noise and risk of accidents. Increasing vehicular pollution in major urban centers is becoming an area of growing concern. Poor maintenance of vehicles, degraded condition of roads and use of un-pure fuels primarily precipitate the problems of air and noise pollution arising from operation of motorized vehicles.

Urban air quality

Urban air quality has deteriorated largely on account of growth in industrial activity, transportation needs and energy production. In India, ambient air quality status derived from a network of 290 stations covering 90 towns and cities in recent years indicates that while suspended particulate matter (SPM) is consistently critical in many cities, the concentration of nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide is also increasing and is already transiting from moderate to high to critical levels. As estimated, 2000 metric tones of air pollutants are emitted into the atmosphere everyday, vehicular sources contributing the maximum (Figure-2).

Source : TERI, 1996

Resource consumption

Energy demand: Urbanisation has profound effect on the amount and type of energy consumed. Along with population growth, economic development and industrialisation, urbanisation is one of the principal forces driving the increase in energy demand (Figure-3). Although the traditional rural societies rely heavily upon the human and animal energy and on nearby wood or fuel, today urban societies are characterised by their reliance on fossil fuels and electricity. These patterns of energy use lead to different environmental impacts.

Source : World Bank 2000, World Development Indicators

Water demand

India although has enormous reserve of water, but it still suffers from urban water supply problems. The growing demand of water, along with poor water resource management and mounting pollution levels contributes to water supply problems in and around cities. Urbanisation is leading to change in lifestyle and consumption pattern, which is leading to increased demand for water. As number of people in urban area increases, so does the demand for food and hence for irrigation in agricultural areas close to cities. These pressures can quickly result in demand for water that surpass local water supply. 

Poor water management practices exacerbate local water shortages. Inefficient water distribution system is another major source of water loss. Water scarcity is closely linked with water quality. Freshwater lakes and rivers provide affordable and easy accessible water, but uncontrolled discharge of domestic sewage and industrial effluents has left many urban rivers heavily polluted and their water is unsafe for use. Already struggling with uneven distribution of water resources and local water scarcity, the total water demand is projected to double by 2025 in India.

Responses

Rapid urbanisation accounts for most of the renewable and non-renewable resource consumption and waste generation. These long-term ecological concerns are relevant to urbanisation as they grow and prosper, their consumption of resources and generation of wastes will rise accordingly, unless action is taken now to promote the efficient use of resources and minimisation of waste. 

The challenge is to seek new management approaches that provide both for the needs of urban residents and protect environmental resources on which human life depends. Environmental Management Systems (EMS) is a new management approach for urban local bodies that can lead cities towards eco-cities.

Relevance of EMS to Township

India has entered the new century with a whopping 300 million urban population. Urbanisation continues to increase steadily bringing with it both the benefits of infrastructure growth and the environmental ills. The administrative units of small towns/cities, municipal towns and industrial townships are expected to satisfy a broad spectrum of citizens’ needs to provide various facilities and services. It has been observed that within their levels of jurisdiction they are unprepared to address the complex environmental challenges that are confronting them.

Why EMS for Urban Sector

Operation and development of urban areas involves:

• Infrastructure development

• Resource utilization

• Availability of support systems to sustain ever growing population

Therefore, to achieve sustainable development, each operational unit in an urban area needs to manage the environmental aspects arising from its activities and services in a systematic procedure. The EMS framework integrates the environment into everyday business operations, and environmental stewardship becomes part of the daily responsibility of employees and citizens across. At different levels of townships, the relevance of EMS is:

      At the township administration level:

To integrate environment management and promote the use of a systematic standard procedure in township administration.

      At the facility level:

To establish a management system in their day to day operation of the facility to minimise the environmental impacts, optimise resource utilisation and manage the waste in a standarised and continual procedure.

      At the residents level:

To involve all residents in a participatory manner for minimising the environmental impacts arising out of their use of the facilities and in the process of designing, establishing, implementing and maintaining the management system in a continual manner.

Till date, EMS as per ISO 14001 was widely accepted by industries. Realising the requirements of the management and the residents of the municipalities/towns/townships, Development Alternatives initiated facilitation of EMS in three Industrial townships of India and all the three has been certified for their ISO 14001 implementation. Implementation of EMS in townships is a good role model for other urban local bodies to replicate. Development Alternatives is grateful to the management, the staff and the residents of the following townships for giving an opportunity to demonstrate on ground the applicability of EMS concept and also for sharing the information.

• Kasturinagar Township : Indian Farmers Fertilizer Co-operative, Kalol, Gujarat

• Pirojshanagar Township : Godrej & Boyce, Vikhroli, Mumbai

• Tatachem Township : Tata Chemicals, Mithapur, Gujarat

IMPLEMENTATION OF ISO-14001 AT “ KASTURINAGAR”

                                   (TOWNSHIP OF IFFCO KALOL UNIT) 

By Mr.P.Chanchalani, Sr. Manager, IFFCO, Kalol

This article gives complete EMS benefit of the township

“ Kasturinagar” A residential colony of IFFCO Kalol. 

Kasturinagar is the residential colony of IFFCO Kalol unit. This compact township with 315 residential quarters meets the housing need of the factory complex for essential production, maintenance and supporting service staff. The township is situated on Ahmedabad - Mehsana highway, having distance of 25 kms from Ahmedabad, 17 kms from State Capital Gandhinagar and 50 kms from Mehsana. Factory is 5 kms down towards Mehsana from township. The township has a wholesome establishment having full-fledged infrastructure. Such as bank, post office, drinking water supplies (Reverse Osmosis treated), electricity supply, sewage treatment, solid waste management, estate section (for maintenance & repair jobs), horticulture, recreation club (for indoor - outdoor games, swimming pool, reading room and multipurpose hall) and a temple complex. 

Initiating Environmental Management System for “Kasturi Nagar”

Kasturinagar residents (especially IFFCO staff) were well aware of the environmental issues threatening life existence, as they had exposure to Environmental Management System while IFFCO plant was going for ISO 14001 certification.  But the EMS implementation separately for township was considered much useful in formalising a system, which was having a scientific approach for solving environment issues with the community participation. The perceived benefits by the implementation of EMS were;  

• Commitment on the issues and programmes from all the levels,
• Categorization of environmental issues and understanding their short term / long term impacts on environment,
• Determining the gap between the desired performance and operational practices and improving upon the same.
• Setting an example, first of its kind in implementing EMS as role model.

The issues, which attracted attention for improving the environmental programme, were: 

• Conservation of resources with focus on electricity and water consumption,
• Eco friendly management of solid / liquid waste,
• Environmental improvement through enhancement of green coverage.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT - THE PRIMARY NEED

Implementation of EMS for township is much different from implementing EMS for the factory; primarily because the processes in factory are known and the same have controllable parameters measurable on certain yardstick. The processes in township are only partially controllable as the inputs having environmental impacts are generated at individual level (at household level) and the commitment to a cause is unlikely to be uniform. Organizational structure can modulate the output through methodologies adopted, but unless inputs have regulated performance which, could be otherwise inconsistent. 

The above mien called for comprehensive involvement of all the residents and to attain the same, core group was formulated consisting of: 

• Members representing house wives and from cross section (workers to officers) of residents,
• Members from employees directly involved in maintenance of township services like sanitation, water and power supply, sewage treatment, civil, electrical and horticulture maintenance.
• Members from medical and nursing staff,
• Members representing voluntary agencies like Co-operative store, Recreation club, Temple   committee, Senior citizen group etc
• Employees from out source service segment like Post office, Bank, Contracted security agency and schoolteachers.
• Management Representatives and Assistant Management Representatives were chosen based on their experience of implementing EMS in the IFFCO factory.

Core group members were given comprehensive training on each stage of EMS implementation. The training consisted of general environmental issues, ISO-14001 standard requirements, and initial environmental review, determining significant environmental aspects that helped in setting objective and targets and developing environmental management programme. Internal auditor team also constituted from the core group members. The core group members acted as a conveyor for propagating EMS message to the township community. 

coordinated effort – THE STRENGTH

Core group members effectively conveyed the message of EMS system to each and every resident and even the household servants were made aware. In this effort, roles of housewives were very important and effective.  All the participants from contracted agencies also took active interest in doing environmental review, which helped in identifying the significant aspect for township and helping for setting up of objectives and targets for environmental improvement.  In the township context all the objectives and targets required involvement of each resident and the response was overwhelming and very positive. 

Involvement of employees on township establishment role was also complete.  Each work area personnel actively participated in preparing documentation related to their area and in establishing the system confirming to EMS 14001 standard. 

Awareness-training programmes were covered to all the residents of Kasturinagar Township (from children’s to aged person).  The same were conducted in different ways like lecture, debate, elocution competition and spread of messages during celebrations like Navratri, Ganesh puja, Gokul Astami etc. 

Results spOKE

The first township in India to receive ISO 14001 certificate in May 2001 by accredited agency of repute like BVQI and also had a successful surveillance audit held in December 2001.  Kasturinagar Township was the role model on its kind to show the benefits on ground to the outside world. The highlights of it are mentioned in Table 1.  

Table 1: Environment Management Programmes (EMP) undertaken to conserve and manage resources effectively 

Though the cost involved was huge in establishing EMS, the pay back period for all the above measure was in between six months to eighteen months, including the huge investment spent for wastewater treatment.  Apart from the initiatives mentioned in the Table 1, there were lot more taken by the township to reduce the adverse environmental impacts caused by its activities at various level of its operation, such as saying no to plastics and promoting the usage of biodegradable materials etc. The other major requirement of ISO 14001 was to follow the environmental and other legal requirements applicable to township. Such as dispensary in the township is managing its bio medical waste as per the Bio medical waste (management and handling) rules, 2000 by installation of needle shredder, disinfecting liquid waste generated before letting out in sewer line for further treatment etc.  Establishment of safety requirements for the LPG godown in the township as per “The LPG Regulation and supply and distribution Order, 1993”.  

The task had enough challenges.

After implementing EMS conforming to ISO-14001, when we look back at the process we are really amazed about the efforts put in and the challenges faced. Some of them are explained below

• Though the resources were not the constraint, every new proposal, which required upgradation / updating of facilities, had skeptical reviews, the foremost being if it is managed some how now why need to go for change? Here the support and wisdom of top management was of immense help. 
• Making the grass-root level employees / residents conscious about their role and importance in effective implementation of EMS.  Some of the theoretical concepts of environmental review, exhaustive identification of aspects/impacts, initially took more time for building the EMS structure.

a new experience.

The whole project was community oriented and the experience was much different from implementation of EMS at IFFCO plant.  Inputs received from Development Alternatives (DA) were of great help in designing the EMS structure for the township. DA’s active involvement at every stage of implementation right from EMS training to train and conduct of initial EMS audit was of tremendous help. As a whole it was a new experience, rich in content, exemplary and above all much more satisfactory. A role model has been created for others to see and initiate the same in their local bodies.

Training the Core Group on EMS components 

Treatment of wastewater by fluidized aerobic bio reactor process 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Rain water-harvesting structure 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

MAKING IMPLEMENTATION OF ISO-14001 AT “TATACHEM”

(TOWNSHIP OF TATCHEMICALS, MITHAPUR) 

By Dr. Ajith Nair, Asst. Manager, Tatachem Hospital

A healthy environment... in health care establishment

This article mainly emphasis the benefits that Tatachem hospital has drawn

Township details

Tatachem Township is an Industrial Township privately owned by Tata Chemicals Ltd. located 10 Kms south of Okha Port and Bet Dwarka and 20 Kms north of the holy city of Dwarka, along the coast of Arabian Sea.  Area of the Township is around 9 Sq. Km with a population of about 18000.  Township was developed into a self-sufficient green and modern inhabitant with its own municipal services, such as lighting, water supply, roads, sanitation, medical services and family planning facilities.

Hospital details

Tatachem hospital is a 52-year-old 150 bedded hospital owned and managed by Tata Chemicals Ltd.  It acts as referral centre for 1.5 Lakhs population of Okhamandal Taluka. Facilities in the hospital can be broadly classified as:

• Infrastructure resources – Out patient department and In patient department
• Staff Resources – 9 doctors, 15 paramedical staff, 26 nursing staff and 50 support staff
• Treatment Facilities – General, specialised medical care facilities, operation theatre and investigation facilities (laboratory, X-ray and ECG section etc.)
• Hospitality Services – Full fledged kitchen, laundry facilities
• Bio waste management and treatment facilities – needle shredder, autoclave, sterlisation equipments and bio-waste incinerator etc.
• Community Services  - family planning to community, mobile clinic for surrounding villages near with Okhamandal Taluka and
• Administration Facilities – to support hospital functioning

Getting hospital ready for ISO 14001

Recent research has proven that considerable amount of environmental pollution is caused by hospitals and large quantities of waste are generated for treatment. Above all lots of resources are consumed by hospitals such as energy, water, chemicals (disinfection agents) and detergents. The mixed-up link between environment and health has lead to environmental protection becoming a main concern for the healthcare community. However, healthcare facilities, especially hospitals, have ironically been identified as major sources of pollution.

 
This made the management team here at Tata Chemicals recognise the need for an environmental management system (EMS) to be adopted under the scope of Tatachem township. When developing the EMS procedures, the detail environmental aspects and impacts for all the departments in the hospital were identified to check out its adverse environmental impacts caused by the operation. Each department was assessed on their consistency, frequency of environmental problems and the degree of control existing for mitigating such problems. This is organized into a comprehensive environmental management system document in the form of initial environmental review assessment. 

EMS implementation for the entire township was taken up by the Quality Systems of Tata Chemicals limited; the challenge faced was, to motivate staff and residents about the benefits of EMS and the effective implementation of the same.  

Benefits and challenges faced in implementing EMS….

Team building and training:

• Core group members for the entire implementation of EMS included three doctors, out of which one acted as a Waste Management Officer. But staff at various levels was trained regarding EMS and bio medical waste management, who intern trained the other hospital staff members.
• Transfer of the knowledge on management of bio medical waste to the lower levels was the biggest challenge.

Bio medical waste management:

• Detail operational control procedure on segregation, transportation, storage, weighing of waste, pre disposal treatment handling, spillage of waste and treatment of waste at on site was formulated as per the bio medical waste management and handling rules, 2000 and detail training was given to all concerned staff.
• Weighing of bio waste gave an idea to understand the quantity and the origin of waste generation, which helped later on to develop environment management plan to minimize the waste generation. All the staff members were made responsible for the effective implementation of the same.
• Needle shredder was installed at all the possible places, where the injections are given to patients.
• Different colour bags and bins have been installed at various bio waste generation sources in hospital.
• The OCP also included procedure to prevent injury, infection and health hazards to hospital personnel and promoted awareness among the staff about the safe practices to be adopted during their work. . All hospital staff members were vaccinated against Hepatitis.B.
• The Waste Management Officer conducts periodic waste audits and reports are forwarded and discussed with the Senior Manager Medical services for necessary action to be taken.
• EMS helped in improving Hospital hygiene.

Emergency preparedness and response (EPR)

• A detailed EPR plan was developed for the hospital emergency situations, such as fire, spread of epidemics, storage of pressurised cylinders and inflammable materials. Periodic mock drills are also conducted to test the effectiveness of the EPR plan developed.
• All the hazardous chemicals used in the hospital were identified and the Material Safety Data Sheets for the same was prepared in English and Gujarati and training was given to the concerned staff handling the chemicals.

The Future of the Environment in Tatachem hospital

EMS has the component of continual improvement, which will help us in periodic setting and reviewing of objectives and targets. Last year the main focus was on adopting Bio Medical waste Management and Handling Rules, 2000, which helped in identifying appropriate treatment facilities for various types of bio medical waste generated from the hospitals. Coming year the focus will be on conservation of other resources such as energy, water, chemicals etc. It is worth saying that ISO 14001 helped our hospital in streamlining the procedures & preparing us for the systematic functioning and handling emergency situation. We are proud to say that our small efforts towards environmental protection will help in saving the beautiful planet - our earth!

IMPLEMENTATION OF ISO-14001 AT “PIROJSHANAGAR TOWNSHIP”

(GODREJ & BOYCE, MUMBAI) 

By Ms Saraswathi Iyer, Ms. Diamy’D Sauza (School teacher, Pirojshanagar Township)

This article mainly emphasis the benefits that school has drawn

Township details

Pirojshanagar Township is the residential colony for the employees of Godrej & Boyce, Mumbai. The township consists of 3 colonies viz. Hillside, Stationside & Creekside. The Hillside colony is located on the LBS Marg and consists of about 1,300 flats of various dimensions  for different categories of Management Staff of Godrej Group Companies and is home for approximately 12,000 people.  The Stationside & Creekside Colony are located on either side of Eastern Express Highway as per attached plan and has approximately 1,000 flats each, which are reserved for the workmen of Godrej Group Companies.  

The other facilities of the townships are: -

1. Udayachal Primary & High School
2. Colony Dispensary
3. Consumer Stores
4. Pragati Kendra for welfare activities
5. Water and Electricity Department
6. Safety Department looks after the safety aspects of all the residential areas & sections
7. Garden Department for meeting the green cover requirement of the colonies
8. Housekeeping Department
9. Housing Department

The Pirojshanagar Township is a leading landmark in the city of Mumbai and has gained international importance due to its pioneering efforts for endeavoring to achieve ISO 14001 Certification. The Environment Policy sums up the core values of the management in accepting responsibility for living in close harmony with nature and community. The township environment does not compromise the earth's environment in any way, but rather enhances the fact that man can extract the best and yet live in harmonious compatibility with the surroundings.

Role of School for ISO 14001

The Pirojshanagar township, Mumbai, has adopted the ISO 14000 series as a tool to operate in an environmentally responsible manner. Udayachal Schools, being an integral part of the township, have joined in the venture to enhance the effectiveness of the programme : the goal being to create environmentally sensitive individuals.  

The schools work as one family towards the common goal of setting the wheels of the Environmental Management System (EMS) in motion. The Principals, teachers, the non-teaching staff and the students, forming core groups and sub-groups work together in a co-operative and friendly manner, in an atmosphere of openness where children explore their creativity, offering interesting solutions to various problems.  

The schools at the Pre-Primary, Primary and High School levels have undertaken various programmes and activities. As part of the Vanmahotsav celebrations, the budding blossoms of the Primary School put up interesting songs on nature, including a song on Earthworms and how they help the farmer. The exhibits had an interesting display of visual-aids on burning issues of environmental problems.  On the occasion of Vanmahotsav, the scouts, guides and colony residents participated in a tree plantation drive. Holi is celebrated with gusto but with a difference. Students visit the township, put up posters, enact street plays and sing songs and discourage people from cutting down trees. `Save the Trees’ campaign is a part of Holi celebrations. World Forestry Day is also celebrated with great enthusiasm. A week long campaign on Anti-Noise Pollution is held to sensitize the children about the hazards of noise pollution.  

Mangrove conservation is undertaken by the Godrej Group of Companies and the schools highlight the importance of preserving our mangroves. The Nature Club celebrated the World Wetlands Day. The students visited the mangroves at Vikhroli and were encouraged to participate in a drawing and creative writing competition at the site. 

Projects for creating awareness is a four-thronged approach. Initially teachers gather information through workshops and resource personnel related to the various fields of environment. Then this information is shared with the children through a collective sharing process. A display of the output extends to a further learning process. Later the learning-sharing process is extended to the parents, who in turn, benefit from such an interaction and sharing of information. Finally, the communities at large (e.g: other schools) visit and try to absorb this environmentally friendly culture.  

Creative writing and recitation competitions are held for the children on various environmental topics. These serve as a platform to express their views and opinions. Some of topics for the competitions were:   1. If trees could speak, 2. Sshh! The woodcutter is busy in the forest, 3. Cities - Are they garbage factories? 4. Plastic Fantastic?  5. There’s not market where we can buy another planet. 

A fire fighting demonstration was conducted as part of the On-Site Emergency Plan at Pirojshanagar for teachers and non-teaching staff. The Dos and Don’ts of safety rules were discussed. It was indeed a learning experience for students and teachers. A mock evacuation drill was conducted at Udayachal Primary School to educate the children on how to carry out an evacuation safely during a crisis. The Safety Department also conducted a session on First Aid for the Primary School children.  

The Management being highly environmentally conscious and committed to sustainable development, have encouraged our ardent efforts to achieve our objectives and targets.  

In our attempt to operate in an environmentally responsible manner, the schools are committed to turning waste to wealth. Everywhere one turns, the use of waste is evident. We have made a conscious effort to conserve paper, water and other resources. Re-used drawing paper from the High School, used computer sheets from the company, waste material and household scrap is used in the Creative Hall. Waste materials are also used to make musical instruments, which the children use in the Music hall. Organic waste from the school canteen is segregated into wet and dry waste and sent to the Vermicompost Centre. This practice is also being translated through the children to the parents. 

Co-ordinating in harmony with the ISO 14001 team was indeed a grand learning experience for the schools. Working as internal auditors and attending Management Review meetings were an ideal setting for new learning experiences, major improvements and better performances. It has been rightly said `Catch ‘em Young’. We at Pirojshanagar Township have tapped the budding and blooming minds of the young generation and kindled the flame of the noblest ideal – to conserve and preserve the environment so that they can embark into a future full of promises with the blessings of the one and only one creator of this beautiful earth. 

Oh, what glory in a sunrise –

Golden hues from God above!

More amazing still the beauty,

Of a life filled with His love! 

                                                                  - D. De Haan