Daily Excelsior... Editorial

EDITORIAL

By Malladi Rama Rao

our festival season coincides with an increase in air, water and sound pollution levels in our towns and cities. Vinayaka Chaviti, also called Ganesh Chaturdhi, heralds the pollution season. Diwali brings the curtain down when people celebrate the victory of good over evil by bursting crackers well past midnight. Of late, Ramadhan is also contributing to the noise pollution.. ...more

Garib rath AC trains

By I. K. Chari

TThe newly introduced Garib Rath Airconditioned Express trains have been designed to provide affordable service to lower and middle income group long distance passengers. These trains, introduced from October 4, 2006, are running between Chennai Central – Nizamuddin, Bandra (T) – Nizamuddin, Patna – Nizamuddin and Saharasa – Amritsar. The train is fully air-conditioned. . . .......more

Exporting Arms

By Arjan Singh

The World Development report in a separate annexure released recently, has castigated all the five members of the UN Security Council - the US, Russia, the Great Britain, France and China - as the dominant arms suppliers to developing countries. The United States of America in 2005 earned a mind bogging sum of $ 68 billion, that of the Great Britain $ 18 billion, that of France $ 22 billion and that of China $ 6 billion.. ......more

EDITORIAL

Find the remedy

The report of the killing of an Army officer of the rank of Lieutenant Colonel by a subordinate in Harwan in Srinagar is bound to shock many. This is the fifth incident of shooting within the forces in a fortnight in the State. Two of these gory events had taken place in Rajouri district. In one an Army man had gunned down three of his colleagues and made an unsuccessful attempt to take his own life. In the other a soldier had shot two fellow fighters before committing suicide. These happenings were apart from suicides by an Army combatant and a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan both of whom had eliminated themselves with their service rifles. Frequency of these occurrences after October 21 has been amazing. On an average there are seven cases of fratricide among the armed forces in a year. With three of them having taken place in October their number this year can be anybody's guess. So far as suicides are concerned there have been more than 80 before November this year. Their total was 77 in 2005 compared to 100 in 2004 and 96 in 2003. The number of suicides per lakh personnel in the Army has been calculated to be 10.8. One would not find this figure worrying if one takes into account similar rates in its counterparts that are considered more professional. The United States Army, for instance, accounts for 17 suicides per lakh and the British and French armies 14 and 18, respectively. Our Army may in comparison thus appear to be better placed given its size and a high degree of engagement with nearly two-thirds of it employed in active operations. It needs to be said that such unpleasant experiences become known only in democracies. Open societies thoroughly analyse them with the objective of finding a lasting solution. Military dictatorships and Communist nations apply a tight lid lest their self-professed iron fists were fully exposed.

Mr Pranab Mukherjee when he was the Defence Minister had chosen to call a spade a spade. Few would disagree with his opinion that suicide and fratricide in armed forces could be attributed to stress level. According to him: "Sometimes there are psychological reasons. There have been cases when persons coming after long holidays have also been involved in these kinds of activities." Parliament too has off and on discussed the issue in view of its seriousness. Welfare, medical and psychiatric measures have been initiative to help the uniformed men get rid of their tensions. The other causes like easy availability of firearms and strict leave restrictions are also being addressed. An American probe instituted at the request of the most powerful democracy's Congress into a fratricide incident during the Persian Gulf war had listed the following reasons for the phenomenon: (a) incomplete and confusing operation plans and orders, disintegrated coordination along the corps, and commanders that did not maintain control of their units; (2) the army did not conduct a complete and thorough investigation of the incident and one investigating officer had a predetermined conclusion concerning the case; (3) the army recommended that three officers be reprimanded and the executive officer of engineers be admonished, however, two reprimands were not made part of the officers' personnel files and the third reprimand was withdrawn; and (4) there was no evidence of internal document destruction, witness intimidation, or witness retaliation during the investigations, although questions regarding the completeness and accuracy of the investigations remain. It is a matter of record that less than one per cent American soldiers killed so far in Iraq and Afghanistan were victims of fratricide compared with 17 per cent in the Persian Gulf War and about 10 per cent in Vietnam.

However, the Americans have their own interpretation of fratricide which is different from how the term is understood in this part of the globe. "Fratricide", in the US army parlance," is the employment of weapons and munitions with the intent to kill the enemy or destroy its equipment or facilities but which results in unforeseen and unintentional death or injury to friendly personnel." In the US military context, it is also used to refer to friendly fire incidents: the catastrophic failure and disintegration of one jet engine in a twin-engined fighter aircraft causing the damage or destruction of the second engine possibly leading to the loss of the entire aircraft. In either case the implication is that fratricide is accidental. How can such a heavy rate of casualties on this count in the American army be inadvertent? On the other hand, we see it is a deliberate act. The literal meaning of fratricide is "the killing of one's brother or sister" or "one who has killed one's brother or sister". Its origin is Latin "frater" meaning "brother" "cide" meaning "to kill". With the passage of time the expression has come to be used for describing the act of liquidation by a person of the members of one's own ilk or fraternity. Such usage stands to logic as well. How can a well-trained soldier always lose his grip over arms to let them fire in his and his associates' direction? We have to apply our yardstick and find a remedy to what is a worrisome problem. To err and disagree with each other is human. He can't be compared with a robot. But to slay oneself and others is an animal instinct. It must be curbed in every possible manner.

Kandi belt

If one drives through a large part of the Jammu region this time of the year one will come across an idyllic territory. The weather is salubrious. Shivalik hills look glorious with mountainous roads adding to the thrill and charm. Most of the area is called the Kandi belt. Behind this beautiful exterior there is something that has gone missing. What is little known is that Kandi has over the decades suffered decline in some of its famous agricultural produces. An article in this newspaper recently has pointed to this grim reality. The production of satu, kulth, moth, til, barley and green gram has witnessed a setback. It is only well known that there is scarcity of water. As a consequence the farmers practise dryland farming. The situation can possibly be saved by following certain suggestions like stopping felling of trees, adoption of soil conservation measures, plantation of grasses especially of local variety and setting up herbal gardens of amla, bahera and harar. In addition, there seems to be the need for educating farmers about the latest agricultural techniques. Every effort should be made for the prosperity of Kandi.

Festivities and pollution

By Malladi Rama Rao

About a year ago, the Supreme Court banned the use of loudspeakers, vehicular horns and fire - crackers between 10 pm. and 6 am. Responding to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition, a two-member division bench asked the government to consider restricting loud speakers even during the day.

Over the years, loud speakers and fire-crackers have become a part of our life. Whether it is a marriage reception or Bhagawati Jagran, loud speakers have become a must, if for nothing at least to keep the neighbourhood informed of the event. The barat arrival at the marriage pandal is marked by bursting of crackers and the music band striking a high pitched note.

A word about rock music will not be out of context while on pollution. Loud rock music causes hearing problems. Urban youth must realise this danger even as they are caught by Saturday fever. This advice is not based on any conjecture. Swedish government advised its sailors not to go in for loud rock music some twenty years ago. Reason: their addiction to ear piercing music was impairing their hearing faculty and it was coming in the way of monitoring the movement of (the then) Soviet submarines in Sweden’s northeast coastline.

Social Awareness Needed

Like several other laws on the statute book, the environment protection laws have become ineffective. Law by itself is no panacea to our ills, as experience tells us. We need social awareness. It can come about only when opinion makers take the lead.

Take the case of immersion of idols. Across the country, Ganesh Chaturthi, Navaratras, and several other festivals see the immersion of the idol mostly in local tanks and rivers.

Do we need an expert to tell us that such immersion over long period makes the tank water acidic? Visit the Hussain Sagar in Hyderabad shortly after the Ganesh festival to see the damage to the lake.

Bihar’s Sasaram town is another mute witness to water pollution. The five-story mausoleum of Sher Shah (1472-1545), who was hailed in his period as the Lion King, stands in a tank in the town. It is a national monument. UNESCO is considering to declare the tomb a world heritage site. Unmindful of this, locals are allowed to immerse idols in the tomb-tank. Like Hussain Sagar, this tank has been receiving sewage and effluents.

I may not be wide off the mark, if I say, we, in India, love sound. More the merrier. Mumbai has acquired the sobriquet of not only ‘rudest city’ but also the noisiest in the world. Delhi is not far behind. Most of the noise comes from vehicular horns. Our drivers take pleasure in honking horns at the loudest decibel level. It is said the way a person uses the horn of the vehicle indicates that person’s mood swings. In other words, there is a good case study waiting to be tapped for clinical psychologists. If there is a ban on using horn take it from me, our drivers, young and old, will find it difficult to navigate through our roads even in the night.

Controlling Noise Pollution

It is natural to wonder how our policemen on traffic duty cope up with the sounds not only from horns but also music blazing out of vehicles. Noise pollution can cause both physiological and psychological problems. Besides hearing loss, it can result in irreversible changes in the nervous system. It is not good for heart patients and it can add to problems of stomach disorder, according to several medical practitioners.

Undoubtedly, there is a strong case to give traffic police ear protection devices. Bangalore city police considered the suggestion some time back to help the traffic constables save their ear drums. Nothing much came of the exercise and it is possible that the proposal is still a PUC- paper under consideration.

Countries like the US, Australia, Japan and China have legislations to control noise pollution. So why not India, which is emerging as the super power in its own right? Simultaneously, the topic may be included in the syllabus for upper primary schools on wards to sensitise the future citizens of the country. May be what the present generation could not, they may do by the time they are grown up. Interestingly, this advice also has come from the Supreme Court about a year ago.

While on the issue of noise pollution, it is worth recalling that the Supreme Court has literally put a cap on ‘noise’ our crackers can emit. It is 125 decibels on an average. The ruling has had a salutary effect.

Whether the police are equipped to measure the noise level is not germane to the present discussion, though it is an issue that needs to be considered in depth.

Given the fact the policing needs of a modern cities are different from the conventional policing our police force is familiar with, it is time to create either specialised cadres to deal with specific tasks. Alternately, the strength of the police should be increased in proportion to the tasks they have to undertake and they should be given training. This brooks no delay.

Critically Polluted Areas

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has identified some 24 areas as critically polluted. Najafgarh Drain (Delhi), Singrauli (Uttar Pradesh) Dhanbad (Bihar), Chembur and Tarapur (Mahrashtra), Durgapur and Howrah (West Bengal), Digboi (Assam), Govindgarh (Punjab), Parwanoo (Himachal Pradesh), Pali and Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Ankaleshwar and Vapi ( Gujarat), Korba (MP), Talcher ( Orissa), North Arcot ( Tamilnadu), Bhadravati (Karnataka), Visakhapatnam and Patancheru- Bollarm belt near Hyderabad ( Andhra Pradesh) are some of these places which deserve focussed attention of the policy maker- administrator and civil society activists for improving the quality of life.

There is no denying that water pollution is caused by distilleries, sugar factories, tanneries, petrochemicals and other industries. Domestic sewage is no less pollutant. It is estimated that 75 to 80 per cent of water pollution by volume takes place because of domestic sewage. Ganga Action Plan (GAP) was designed to address this issue in particular at Varanasi.

Rural India Scenario

It is time we come to grips with two other related issues – pollution in the rural areas and indoor pollution. For reasons which remain in the realm of conjecture at least in so far as this writer is concerned, these two issues have not received much attention in India.

A recent report of the World Health Organisation (WHO) asserts that a pollutant released in doors is one thousand times more likely to reach people’s lungs than a pollutant released outdoors. It has been estimated that about ten lakh women and children die each year from indoor air pollution in our country. It works out to almost 28 per cent of such deaths world wide.

The only plausible reason for this phenomena is the fact that rural India mostly uses ‘dirty household fuels’ like animal dung, crop residues and wood, which are at ‘the bottom of the energy ladder’. Electricity, which is the cleanest fuel, is beyond their reach and so is natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Cooking on an open coal stove exposes women to risks of lung cancer, according to the WHO. A National Family Health Survey report says use of biomass fuels is contributing to pulmonary tuberculosis as well.

The point is pollution and its adverse effects are not confined to urban India alone. Rural India, which is, in a manner of speaking, the ‘anna data’ also is suffering from the fall-out of pollution. Its concerns too deserve urgent attention for a concerted action. (PIB Features)

Garib rath AC trains

By I. K. Chari

The newly introduced Garib Rath Airconditioned Express trains have been designed to provide affordable service to lower and middle income group long distance passengers. These trains, introduced from October 4, 2006, are running between Chennai Central – Nizamuddin, Bandra (T) – Nizamuddin, Patna – Nizamuddin and Saharasa – Amritsar.

The train is fully air-conditioned and each AC sleeper coach has 75 berths instead of the usual 64. Besides, the Chair Car has 102 seats. Inspite of the increase in the number of berths and seats in both sleeper coaches and Chair Cars, there is absolutely no discomfort due to reduction of space. This is because the width of a berth has been reduced by just one cm and the width of each cabin has been reduced by just 12 cm.

The space meant for bed rolls has been removed, which is also an addition to the existing space. The non-availability of the bedrolls will not affect the passengers at all, as the temperature inside the coach will be maintained at 27 degree to 28 degree C. Even the area occupying the power panel has been reduced by providing a sleek power panel. Provision has been made for power sockets and emergency lights. There is a separate air-conditioned compartment specially designed for wheel chair borne passengers. The entire inside of the train gives a fine aesthetic look and the train has the capability to run at the speed of 130 km per hour.

Though, the charges for travel in this train are lower by about 22-25 per cent compared to the ordinary 3rd AC trains, the railway’s revenue earnings will not be affected because of the increase in the number of berths and seats. The coaches have been built at Integral Coach factory, Chennai and Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala.

Economies of Scale

Though, it was widely believed, prior to the introduction of this train, that these coaches would have lesser leg space and would be congested, a look at these trains, after their introduction, belies this impression. Since these trains will be running between stations which have high density of lower and middle income people, the Railways expect to generate revenue in due course due to economies of scale.

Success Saga

Indian Railways, which were almost written off as a financially viable concern, continues to march ahead with its dramatic turnaround over the last couple of years or so. The railway renaissance has evoked admiration and curiosity of internationally renowned institutions and companies like the Indian Institutes of Technology, the GE and others.

Year of Passenger Service

The Year 2006 has been declared as the year of Passenger Service with a Smile. To make Indian Railways more aesthetic, comfortable and passenger friendly, the Ministry has issued a list of ‘touch and feel’ points to all the General Managers of Zonal Railways.

The ‘touch and feel’ points are – Improvement in cleanliness standards in trains and at stations; Improvement in lighting particularly on platforms, concourse, waiting halls, circulating area, booking, reservation and enquiry offices; Improvement in circulating area at all-important stations and making it congestion free and smooth with properly demarcated parking areas; Upgradation of waiting rooms, waiting halls and retiring rooms; Installation of Train Running Position Indication Boards at all important stations; Improvement in announcement systems at stations; Upgradation of Booking and Enquiry offices; Provision of more counters to substantially reduce waiting period; Decentralisation of booking tickets through internet; Ensure availability of drinking water at all stations; Development of adequate sitting space in waiting halls/platforms; Improvement in quality of food supplied in trains; and Improvement in quality of bedrolls in trains and redressal of public grievances. The schemes include round the clock grievance control rooms.

Earnings on the Rise

Consequently, earnings of the Railways are continuously going up. The total approximate earnings of Indian Railways on originating basis during the period 1-10 October, 2006 were Rs. 1508.45 crore compared to Rs. 1380.74 crore during the same period last.

Exporting Arms

By Arjan Singh

At one of the spectrum, these death merchants glibly talk about world peace, nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, at the other end, merrily indulge in disturbing the world peace by supplying deadly arsenals, thereby promoting the chances of regional arms conflicts. If Pakistan is in a defiant mood against India, in the process waging a proxy war in Kashmir, it is largely because it has been armed to the teeth by its benefactors - the United States, China and France.

One of the most striking developments since the end of the cold war is the emergence of United States as the dominant arms supplier in the world, and Asia in particular. From South East Asia to Saudi Arabia Americans have unleashed a barrage of arms exports. During 2004-05, the US made $ 55.7 billion in arms transfer agreements with Asia or 54.6 per cent of all such agreements. In the three year period before the cold war ended, 1986-89, the Soviet Union was the dominant supplier, making $ 44.3 billion in arms transfer agreements with Asia or 34.13 per cent. This dramatic shift is a direct consequence of the aggressive sales drive launched by the US after the Gulf War - primarily to prop up the declining domestic defence industry. The loss of confidence regarding Russia's ability to deliver support and spare parts for its advanced conventional weapons also helped.

In the post cold war era, there has been a general decline in the demand for arms. World wide military spending dropped from nearly one trillion dollar annually to roughly $ 800 billion in 2001. Among the western industrialised countries, defence expenditures have been falling in the past few years.

This decline can be explained largely by the end of the East-West conflict subsequent to the collapse of Soviet Union. In the US, defence spending fell by 13 per cent 2000-05. And the projected defence budget for 2007 is almost 40 per cent smaller in real terms than it was in 2004. Similar though smaller cuts are going on in Britain and Germany. Among the Western allies, only France and Japan have maintained the size of their defence budget. During the cold war days the only other country that had a defence budget equivalent to the US was the Soviet Union. However, according to experts, the Russian defence spending in recent days has fallen through the floor.

The decline in domestic defence expenditure, and thereby defence procurement, of major arms suppliers has resulted in desperate competition to export arms. It was hoped that with the drop in domestic demand arms producers would respond by converting defence industries into those offering civilian products. However, we find that both government and industry, particularly in the US, are pushing arms exports.

Currently, roughly 20 per cent of US production of conventional weapons is exported. This is sharply higher than the historic norm for the US. Over the remainder of the decade this number is likely to climb to 25 per cent. Reasons for this rise are several.

While the defence budgets in some regions of the world are decreasing in others they are increasing. Countries along the Pacific rim, from Japan to Australia, eye with concern the declining US presence and the uncertainty of the future nature of policies of Russia, North Korea and China. In the aftermath of the Gulf war it seems that the arms transfer to the Gulf Cooperation Council States, Egypt and Israel are likely to continue and in some areas increase.

The US arms industry is pushing the argument that arms exports are necessary for they cut down the unit cost of the defence department's purchases and also keep the production lines open. Most of the US weapon systems which were proven successful in the Gulf war, like the AWACS, F-16, M-1 tank, Patriot missile, etc. are based on the 1970s' technology and their replacement based on the 1980s' technology will not move into production phase till the late 1990s. Therefore, the arms transfers would help in filling this gap and keeping the production lines warm.

The first indication of the US government's desire to push exports can be found in the 2002 presidential campaign. In his campaign, President Bush espoused the idea that "arms sales equals jobs." Job security being a major issue, the employment and income benefits of the new Middle East arms deals were considered.

There were hopes that the Bush administration might reverse the policy of promoting arms sales. However, these didn't materialise, primarily due to the fact that there is a strong support for arms exports on economic grounds. Bush had pledged to pursue a comprehensive non-proliferation policy, encompassing both conventional arms and weapons of mass destruction. Nevertheless, these commitments soon got watered down. They didn't want to do anything which would "disadvantage the arms manufacturers." To their credit the administration has till now resisted the industry's demand for legislation that would provide loans guarantees to assist then in arms exports.

But the US arms export policy, where economic concerns are taking precedence over geopolitical goals, has raised serious questions regarding proliferation. The arms sales push is increasing chances of destabilisation and disorder in the regions where they are destined.

Moreover, doubts are surfacing regarding the help provided by arms exports in improving the nation's employment levels. Despite all the brouhaha about "arms exports equals jobs," the US government's export drive has, in reality, not changed the job situation. Rather, the slide in defence related employment is continuing. Such jobs have fallen 20 per cent since 2003, including an 11 per cent drop in 2005 alone. One of the reasons for the drop is that the arms exports have been accompanied by technology transfers. These agreements allow buyers to do more of the manufacturing work in their own country and help them set up their own civilian industry.

The Malaysians, for example, while purchasing McDonnell Douglas's F/A-18s also sought advance composite parts technology, work on commercial airplanes and establishment of a pilot training and maintenance centre. Such deals heighten the troubles of the US industry.

This recent trend towards commercialisation of arms exports has swept aside all talk of controls of arms transfers. After the Gulf war the Senior Bush had launched an initiative to control the arms transfers to the Middle East.

However, the Bush initiative collapsed in 1992 due to inability of the participants (the US, the UK, France, Russia, and China) to agree on how to achieve the goal. The only achievement so far has been the initiation of the United Nations Arms Transfer Register. But, the UN register is a measure for enhancing transparency in arms transfers, not for restraining them.

In the short term it appears the economic benefits of arms transfer will continue making major suppliers turn a blind eye towards controlling the arms trade. INAV