Mohra power station

Sir,

A news report was published in this paper titled, ‘‘Govt to revive South Asia's 2nd oldest power project (Feb 25)’’.

The decision to revive this unique project which incidentally is 2nd oldest project in the subcontinent is a wise one. Mohra project has many unique things to its credit. It has a wooden flume which again is no where seen in the world. This wooden flume conveyed water to a distance of about thirteen kilometers and impounded it on generators at Mohra.

To convey water through a wooden flume was a unique one, no matter it meant cutting down thousands of Devdar trees. The wooden flume needed constant care and maintenance as water leaked through it if not kept well maintained. Mohra Power Project commands a romance only because of this flume. If the Government has decided to revive the project the important question arises is that will the Govt dismantle the whole flume and replace it with a canal or a pipeline. To many people like me the decision to revive the project is welcome but care has to be taken that some portion of the flume is kept intact so that visitors who visit the State see and know about a unique way of conducting water for power generation which was employed more than a hundred years ago.

Mohra power station being the oldest in the whole of Northern and Western India needs to be preserved as a historical engineering monument so that our future generation know about the technology involved as well as effort needed to maintain power projects of such kind.

Yours etc...
Er T K Bhat
Akalpur
Jammu

Hawk induction

Sir,

Indian Air Force is one of the largest Air Forces in the world. In terms of its inventory it has a varied stock that needs upkeep and maintenence which is different from most of the other Air Forces.

Indian Air Force operates aircrafts of Russian, French, and British origin. With the induction of C-130J transport aircraft it will be one of the rarest Air Forces that shall be operating American, French, Russian and British Aircraft. But by and large the bulk of our aircrafts are of Russian design. IAF (Indian Air Force) flies many variants of Mig 21, 27, and 29 Aircraft. Two MiG variants Mig 23 and the highflying MiG-25. are being phased out. MiG 21 is the main fighter interceptor which is rated as one of the hottest fighters evee built. Even in a highly prestigious rating MiG 21 scored ahead of F-16 or F-18. But being a difficult aircraft to fly it has resulted in more pilot error related deaths than in any other aircraft.

Some people gave it an infamous name of flying coffin. Between stage 3 and stage 4 training the induction of Hawk will prove highly crucial. Because Hawk flies at near super sonic speeds it will give the pilots very badly needed experience before they fly the unforgiving MiGs. and other high technology aircraft. Hawk induction has filled in a vacuum which was felt by IAF for the last two decades. IAF will soon get new fighters for which Hawk will provide crucial training base. In the event of war Hawk can play the role of a combat fighter also thus giving IAF newer options.

Your etc...
Ft. Lt (Retd)
P L Mehra
Jammu

Women power

Sir,

Women are on the ascension. In every field of human activity women are seen performing even better than men. They have scaled Everest. They are in space. And they are seen even in the cold depths of the oceans. The famous English playright Shakespeare had once famously written, 'fraility, they name is women'. But today he seems to be out of place. Now the clarion call is strength, thy name is women!

Women comprise half of the humanity. They deserve the place that they are seeking for themselves. All through the larger period of recorded history they have been at the receiving end. In war or in peace, in calamity or in calm they were the worst suffers. They were subjected to all cruelties and inanities. They were denied education and equality. But the times have changed. Now times have heralded a new era. Now women and girl is given priority. She too has excelled in any given field. Today she heads top companies, and corporation. So Many women have excelled in politics and have helped change the destiny of people and nations.

Despite this rosy picture, still the old mindset that is biased against women has not completely gone away. Female foeticide is fast becoming a disease. Already sex ratio in states like Punjab and Haryana is changing against women. This will have catastrophic affects in the society. The need of the hour is to empower women so that the injustices against her are stopped.

Yours etc...
Arushi Soni
Trikuta Nagar,
Jammu