VOX POPULI Issue N017

VOX POPULI  

by 

AAM ADMI 

Issue No. : N 017

Issue Date: 30 Jan 2023

Contents:

1. Indian Industry & The Adani Conundrum

2. India Going On Top In White Ball Cricket 

3. More On The Shankar Mishra In-flight Peeing Incident

4. With The BJP Government Everything Is Chargeable!

Indian Industry & The Adani Conundrum

It seems Indian private industry is rotten to the core except for some names like the Tatas, the TVS Group and maybe Birlas, with scandals dotting its growth over the years ranging from scams, falsification of accounts, avoidance of taxes and duties, selling of quotas during the licensing regime which all maybe in a large part has led to the generation and growth of black money or the second economy as it is called. Lately after the liberalisation of the economy in the 1990's there was a more permissive attitude and industry scandals did not create headlines too much until starting from Mallya the muck started hitting the roof. After that we had many others with bigger amounts that were scammed than Mallya like Choksi, Nirav Modi and others and now finally we have Adani. The Reliance shenanigans of Dhirubhai Ambani with his financial wizardry are well known but the mantle that was put across the elder son, Mukesh, to carry on the Ambani tradition has been well worn by him and the Reliance group has today legitimised most of its vastly diversified operations though the younger son, Anil, finds himself in rough waters for his forays into industry. People like Adani fail to realise that when they want to grow big, they will have to come into the limelight where arc-lights are focused on you. It is then difficult to hide anything, even a wrinkle in your operations will be visible. Chanda Kochhar and her husband made the same mistake at ICICI which being listed on the New York Stock Exchange had to submit regulatory reports from which the loans to the Videocon entities came up to the surface. These were pointed out by the US auditors and then the whole thing unravelled which we saw being played out with Kochhar and her husband arrested and subsequently released on bail. Similarly, Adani can preen as the 4th richest person in the world but he has to keep his books clear. Like it is said that Caesar's wife should not only be above suspicion but also appear to be above suspicion. The problem is people in India do not realise this and believe also that abroad you can get away with tactics they use here. That is first intimidate and throw your weight around, second flaunt your connections and third, buy your way out. Adani has also been threatening to sue Hindenberg which if he does in the US, he will be stripped naked and he will not even have the proverbial fig leaf to cover his privates. So Adani has to work out his retaliation plan giving a lot of thought to it but first he has to put his own house in order as far as his Cos. are concerned. A few months ago even in India a report had come out that the Adani Cos. are highly over-leveraged. There is one thing in all this that defies explanation and that is why did Hindenberg release the expose just before Adani was going to the public to raise funds of some Rs. 20,000 crores. That issue is in a mess now. If Adani solves this puzzle then he will know who his real enemies are. 

India Going On Top In White Ball Cricket 

The new crop of young cricketers are doing exceedingly well with Surya Kumar Yadav (SKY) named as the ICC Cricketer of the Year in the T20I format and Mohammed Siraj whose name is included in the ICC Team of the Year in the ODI format. In addition Siraj is currently topping the bowling rankings in the same ODI format. White ball cricket has changed the way cricket is played and these youngsters have made it their own. This augurs well for Indian cricket in times to come. 

More On The Shankar Mishra In-flight Peeing Incident

On the Shankar Mishra in-flight peeing incident, we see in the newspapers first the Air India Association responding to the de-rostering of the crew and the pilot as announced by the DGCA by objecting to the action. In its rejoinder the Association is trying to defend the crew and the pilot involved but they do not at all mention about the victim. This is rather sad. Further Air India has also got into the act and advised the DGCA that the action by the aviation body is excessive and that they will assist the pilot in his plea against the punishment. Here again there is absolutely no mention of the plight of the victim, who being an Air India customer is left in the lurch while at other times the management jargon mouthed is that - Customer is King (or Queen, in this instance). In addition, Air India has been fined another Rs. 10 Lakhs for not reporting the other in-flight peeing incident in Dec 2022 on their Paris - Delhi flight. Thus we see that the principle followed as above is every man or woman for himself or herself, and God save the victim or let them stand up for themselves. In all this the victim, a senior citizen, that too a lady, is left wondering what happened to the Tatas who has allowed her to be bounced around between the perpetrator, Shankar Mishra, the police and the courts and seriously consider keeping quiet accepting that it is common practice on Air India that passengers can pee on each other in flight. Overall, Tatas have completely mishandled the situation. Chandrasekharan when he made the public statement that Tatas could have done better in the matter should have put his words into action. Unfortunately nothing like that was done. Tatas are losing face in this matter and maybe it is time that Ratan Tata stepped in to recover the situation.

With The BJP Government Everything Is Chargeable!

I have been going to Delhi since 1970 off and on for business and stayed there for 3 years from 1988-91. From that time I have known that the Republic Day Parade is a time for joy and celebration and that the parade was free. It was only that if you reached late then you had to stand for the entire duration of the parade since all the chairs for the general public would be taken. Therefore I was shocked to see that for the current parade they sell tickets. Though the rates are nominal it is not correct to charge the public for attending this event. The celebration that India is a republic should be free for its common citizens. Not only that there was a new item in the papers that the number of common people that would be allowed for the parade this year would be limited to 25,000. We talk of a revamped Kartavya Path (the earlier Rajpath) which is bigger and better as we are told and we still limit the number of those who want to come and see the parade? Isn’t this contradictory? 

The other thing was that among students a painting competition was organised mostly for the Kendriya Vidyalayas on the theme of Pariksha pe Charcha which radio broadcast by the PM will be aired on 27th Jan. However the students have been asked to contribute money for their participation for the competition to offset the cost of paper and painting materials. Many of the students could not pay the entry fee and finally the schools decided to take out the cost from the Building Development Fund to which the students contribute through their fees every month. Why the government cannot fund even such things is not understood? 

Both these matters are a shame for the country where you are asked to pay for everything. Things which were free earlier and the others for which the government incurs a nominal cost and are towards a good cause are being made chargeable.

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If you have any issues with the contents of this blog, you can respond to: 

S Kamat

Mob: 0 7218698906  

Email: kamatsrinivas@hotmail.com

Vox Populi Issue N016

VOX POPULI  

by 

AAM ADMI 

Issue No. : N 016

Issue Date: 23 Jan 2023

Contents:

1. True Democracy vs. India's Managed Democracy

2. The Modi Agenda 

3. DGCA Fines Air India But No Compensation For The Victim

4. Lessons From The Joshimath Disaster & Others

True Democracy vs. India's Managed Democracy

Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is fined for not wearing a seatbelt while in a car. He obediently pays up after tendering an apology, advising the nation that it is important to wear seatbelts and that it was a lapse on his part. In contrast, Tejaswini Surya, the Karnataka BJP MP attempts to open the Emergency Door in flight and there is endless dialogue on whether it was the Cockpit Door or the Emergency Door, whether he did tender an apology to Minister Scindia or to the in-flight crew, whether the plane was taxiing or in flight. There is also no remorse from Surya for his action which could have endangered other passengers on the flight and in any case delayed the flight by a couple of hours thereby causing disruption and inconvenience to the co-passengers. That is the difference, my friend, there is true democracy in the UK while in India we manage democracy.

The Modi Agenda 

Narendra Modi has been talking that the Amrit Kaal for India has come. There is nothing special in that since the march of time is inexorable and it is but natural for India to reach the milestone of 75 years. However, even in this for a civilisation that is one of the oldest in the world to partition it for the sake of some trivial intent from an event of colonial import like the independence from the British yoke in 1947 talks of limited minds that insult the greatness of our civilisation. The occupation of the British of India for some 200 years was an aberration and has little significance in the context of our country’s 5000 years or more history and therefore we should erase it from our consciousness. We need to take it into our stride and move on ignoring it. As for the Amrit Kaal, hyperbole is easily mouthed but the situation on the ground as far as the country is concerned is not very good which Modi should realise and there are many improvements in the quality of life of infants, children, women and the poor that needs to be achieved. Come election time and with 8 States scheduled for polls in 2023, as usual we need to give Modi some leeway for big lies since all of us are still waiting for the Rs. 12-15 Lakhs to come to our bank accounts since 2014. 

Modi has also been talking about thinking big and that we were talking in the past about India’s poverty and the need for aid. It is always easy to be loquacious when you never intend to deliver what you are speaking about. Reality cannot be ignored is the policy that our founding fathers and previous governments followed. India had been looted by the British and a fledgling democracy had been left to fend for itself. You could not talk without exposing our poverty and the need for aid was crucial to grow. And because our past leaders did that we are today in the position that Modi can stand up and blow his own trumpet. Without that aid like the PL480 and others there would have been no Green Revolution, no setting up of the infrastructure of industrialisation, the fruits of which our present generation are enjoying like bumper harvests and overflowing granaries with food grains being stored in the open, we are also able to feed rats. Because the foundations of an industrial State were laid, we are talked about today as having one of the largest technical pool of people in the world. By denying this Modi is making the cardinal mistake of not recognising the efforts of millions of Indians who strived hard to put India on the map of the world so that future generations like Modi can live and enjoy a modicum of comfort and hold their heads high with self respect. These are the people that Modi is insulting. It is said that if you deny history you are rootless and will soon become a drifter. Modi suffers from that danger and if he does not correct his ways, he will go down that road and there will be no one to remember him. Thus give credit where it is due, criticise when it is necessary, encourage when required and most importantly stay rooted. These are the characteristics of great leaders which Modi has to learn though it may be a little late now. However, poverty has not gone from India of which Modi needs to be reminded. His government touts very loudly that India now feeds 800 Million and gives them free food grains. But this is given to those who are below the poverty line. Thus there are definitely 800 Million poor in the country out of a population of 1400 million. Thus more than 50% of the country is poor and deserving aid but Modi prefers to ignore it, not talk about it. 

In the first few years after 2014 when Modi got elected, he was never seen in India flitting in air planes around the world that it was said that once at that time when he made that rare visit to the Lok Sabha, he was looking for seat belts to clip on and armrests to lean upon. But over the last 6 months or so, you see Modi everywhere at Chief Ministers conferences, Chief Secretary conclaves, DGP meetings with physical as well as virtual presence and flying across the country mostly inaugurating new trains and announcing many projects, many of which may not see the light of day. He is also talking about employment this year when it was not heard earlier from him ever since 2014. And mind you he was the person directly responsible for the closing down of lakhs of industries in the MSME sector and the loss of jobs and livelihood on a larger scale in the unorganised sector and among daily wagers consequent upon Demonetisation which led to disruption in money supply leading to uncertainties in the business environment. The Demonetisation exercise was the largest pogrom in human history after Hitler's attempts to wipe out the Jews in Nazi Germany where the number of dead cannot be exactly established but in terms of unleashing misery and depriving people of livelihood, millions of people were affected by Demonetisation and even today remain affected though so many years have passed. What is the reason for this present hyper activity by Modi? The answer is plain and simple. It is elections that triggers Modi's hyper mode and there are 8 State elections during 2023. On the heels of that are the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. All these are crucial for Modi and the BJP if they are to lay the foundations of a 50 year rule of the BJP at the Centre in India as Modi has often prophesied. 

Like they say there is always something that will disrupt the well laid plans of mice and men and in the context of Modi has been the airing recently in the UK of the BBC report on the Gujarat riots of 2002. Truth and water leakage will come out at some time or the other since it always finds a way out. That is the nature of the BBC documentary. We in India know what the truth is despite the courts giving Modi and his henchmen a clean chit but are helpless to do anything. But putting the past behind us, we move on. But the voice of the world cannot be stopped. If there was no truth in the BBC documentary then there was no need to ban it in India. By the very act of banning it Modi and his government are giving credence to it. In normal circumstances it could have been dispensed off as old history. Like they say the truth hurts somewhere or the other. However, the timing of airing of the BBC documentary is curious. Why now? Why in a year when there are 8 States going for elections. The BBC as an organisation has no agenda but then who is behind this?

DGCA Fines Air India But No Compensation For The Victim

The DGCA has fined Air India Rs. 30 Lakhs for the Shankar Mishra flight peeing incident along with fines on the AI In-Flight Operations Chief of Rs. 3 Lakhs as also de-rostered the pilot for 3 months. In all this the disappointing thing is that nothing has been done for  the poor lady who was the victim and pee'd upon. Has she been given any compensation by AI? This is rather sad for someone who has had to suffer a disgusting experience and thereafter deal with it for no fault of hers and thus wasting her precious time. Our systems for dealing with issues is completely wrong, we do not go to the crux of the issue but remain on the periphery and indulge in action to garner headlines. Should our aviation authorities and AI not have considered this and compensated the victim, a senior citizen and a lady to boot? In fact the DGCA from the fine it receives from Air India should give a substantial amount to the victim. The same time that the above news came out we are told that AI has upped the ban on Shankar Mishra to 4 months. In fact the ban should be for life and on all airlines and not just limited to the airlines of the Air India group. 

Lessons From The Joshimath Disaster & Others

The Joshimath disaster should be an eye-opener for the government to not pursue an indiscriminate agenda of development involving construction of hydro-electric projects in the hills of the lower Himalayan region. In the Chamoli district where Joshimath is located, two other towns that of Karnaprayag and Gopeshwar have reported similar cracks and subsidence which supports the argument that the damage to the environments is not limited to just Joshimath. A few years ago with heavy rainfall during the monsoon we had seen massive floods and landslides in the hilly regions of Kerala and Coorg where rampant felling of forests had resulted in weak topsoil and consequent landslides. The hillsides had been cleared of trees and vegetation and damaged to make way for commercial development mostly tourism like resorts and for building individual dwellings. People move in like it is a gold rush whenever business opportunities like tourism and plantations are seen in any area resulting in an undue stress on the land and the environment. The government and authorities have to assess how much of these new activities that the land can bear and only allow establishments to be set up in the area in a limited way. If we do not do this then we have seen how the consequential costs are far higher than the marginal monetary benefits that people obtain by such random and rash development. The Joshimath-like situation is believed to have been created by the building of many hydro-electric projects in the region under the ostensible reason that they are much more nature-friendly than alternate means of power generation like with coal etc. This is not necessarily true if you look at these projects on an overall or total cost basis. Thus a holistic approach needs to be followed for planned development which takes into account almost all aspects of perceived benefits and disadvantages so that the future is more assured for our future generations that will follow. 

                                                      ****************

If you have any issues with the contents of this blog, you can respond to: 

S Kamat

Mob: 0 7218698906  

Email: kamatsrinivas@hotmail.com

Vox Populi Issue N015

VOX POPULI  

by 

AAM ADMI 

Issue No. : N 015

Issue Date: 16 Jan 2023

Contents:

1. Vande Bharat Trains Are Like The India Shining Slogan Which Came A Cropper

2. The Governor vs. Chief Minister Confrontation In The States

3. The Shankar Mishra In-Flight Peeing Incident

Vande Bharat Trains Are Like The India Shining Slogan Which Came A Cropper

Prime Minister Modi is on a binge to flag off Vande Bharat trains in different States. After Kolkata, he was in Bangalore and now in Hyderabad to inaugurate the  Vande Bharat train to Vizag. All in the span of a few weeks. One would believe that with elections on his mind the Prime Minister wants to be in the news as also signal that he is pushing progress and development. But this seems to be in line with the earlier BJP program promoted by the Late Arun Jaitley of - India Shining. That did not work and in the ensuing elections the BJP lost. This should not happen once again. The reason this is being stated is that the Railways should put out statistics on the occupancy of Vande Bharat trains since the Bengaluru - Mysuru train is running at below 50% occupancy. The travelling public seems to feel that the fares are not competitive and too high compared to luxury buses plying between the two cities. This may be the situation across the country where the Vande Bharat trains are running. The problem with the BJP is that once they are in government for a few years they become very elitist and want to hold their meetings in 5-star hotels and cannot live without air conditioning even for party conclaves held in tents set up in the open. Thus the Vande Bharat trains being equated to air travel is a similar initiative. It will serve the rich but not the Aam Admi who will have to suffer rickety coaches, dirty toilets, unhygienic food and then delays in train schedules because a Vande Bharat or Rajdhani train has to be given priority on the rail track. The Vande Bharat trains when first started on the Mumbai - Ahmedabad route killed some cattle mostly in Gujarat in its initial runs. Thus our Gau Mata Bhakts should recognise the bad omens of the trains being Gau Mauts. The government therefore has to re-orient itself and improve the standards of basic services before they introduce fancy services for which there will be few takers and justifying the economics of which is difficult. Moreover these services take away resources from much needed essential services. 

The Governor vs. Chief Minister Confrontation In The States

The Governors of Tamil Nadu & Delhi are yet again at loggerheads with their respective Chief Ministers. While R N Ravi in Tamil Nadu seems to be disregarding all conventions that are required to be followed by the Governor like in the instance of delivering a speech in line with the government’s draft which is supposed to have been pre-approved by him and then walking out of a convened Assembly session. In another instance he has gone and suggested that Tamil Nadu's name be changed to Tamizhagam and even used it in the Governor's invitation for the Pongal function. Now this is an overreach. No one person can decide the State's name even if he is the Governor. It has to come from the people and get approved by the State Legislature and also the Centre. Thus one would be compelled to say that Governor Ravi does not know what he is doing. In a similar manner at Delhi, the Lt Governor does not give quickly an appointment to the Chief Minister for a meeting with him. How will matters of State progress or get decided if the two most important persons in the State do not meet? There was also a news report a few days ago that said that the Delhi Lt Governor had refused permission for some teachers who had been sponsored for training to Finland. Then almost a day later there was a denial from the Lt Governor that he had not refused this program. Thus it is felt that senior and educated people holding high office should not fight like children. Governors should understand that they hold a titular position while the Chief Ministers are elected representatives of the people and thus should get precedence on matters unless they are found to be deliberately flouting government or Constitutional guidelines.

The Shankar Mishra In-Flight Peeing Incident

The Shankar Mishra peeing episode on a lady senior citizen on an Air India flight is getting curiouser and curiouser. What happened was unfortunate for the lady who was just returning from New York and this sad incident occurs for no fault of hers, catapulting her in an instant into a media circus. She must be cursing the day she boarded the flight. She has become the focus of attention not only within her family and social circle but also the larger public. It is a matter of grace that her name has not been released which would have added to her embarrassment and discomfort. Not only that Shankar Mishra's  family has been contacting her to add to her miseries. 

Her tormentor, one needs to call Shankar Mishra just that, had firstly no business to drink to excess since a person needs to be clearly aware of his capacity to hold liquor. This too when he is drinking on a flight which is a relatively public place and not in the privacy of his home. To keep changing his story as it has appeared in the newspapers that he admitted to having pee'd on the lady first, apologised to her while weeping and pleading her to think about his family, as reported of a wife and daughter. Offering to settle the case by  requesting the Air India crew to set up a meeting with the victim and also paying up the victim's air fare, as said in the newspapers. Mishra is also understood to have said that what he did was revolting but it is not amounting to outraging the modesty of the woman. These acts and statements are clear admissions of guilt. Not only that the perpetrator of an offence cannot comment on what charges should be brought against him. Depending on the crime, the law will set out the charges against the accused as per established jurisprudence. After doing all this, Mishra has the temerity to claim that after having a few drinks on the flight and getting drunk, he does not remember anything and what he did after the incident as recounted earlier was out of the pressure of anticipated consequences of his actions. He has now gone beyond this and said that he never pee'd on the lady and she must have pee'd herself. Now in such matters he should limit comment only as to his actions and not hypothesise on the action of the victim. This is first implied denial followed by outright denial which is a shame, further  compounded by his clear intent to obfuscate the issue. The next thing that Shankar Mishra and his lawyer would possibly claim is that since the incident happened in flight, the law of the country that the plane was overflying at that time would apply! That the man is completely confused is clearly established and that he is not even thinking of his and his family position in the social circle and society that he moves in. How will his daughter, if she is school-going, show her face to her classmates in school? How will his wife, if she is working, show her face at her workplace? The first thing that Shankar Mishra should have done is to cover his face and not have his full photos appearing in newspapers. The second thing is to take this issue off the media and not feed the gossip mills as is being done now. What purpose Shankar Mishra is pursuing is completely baffling and that too after having held a senior position in a large US Co. 

If you analyse this incident the larger blame is with the airline, Air India. Immediately the incident happened they should have put it under wraps. Initially they should have been sympathetic to the victim, crew break or no break, seat available or not, they with the pilot, the leader of the crew, should have provided relief to the lady senior citizen. Isolated her from Shankar Mishra and refused his overtures to have a meeting with the victim clearly stating that the law would apply and that he needs to wait for that. This would have protected the country's name and that of the Indian flyers who are right now on social media carrying the tag of being the worst flyers. Air India has therefore failed miserably in their handling of this incident. The old Air India work ethic seems to be prevailing and the Tata culture does not seem to have permeated into the Air India staff as yet. 

As for resolving this issue it is best that Shankar Mishra keeps shut and takes his punishment quietly and as dictated by law and as for Air India the de-rostering of the crew is an over-reaction. They had nothing directly to do with the incident and it was only their handling of it after occurrence in which they are at fault and therefore just a warning would have sufficed. 

                                                           ****************

If you have any issues with the contents of this blog, you can respond to: 

S Kamat

Mob: 0 7218698906  

Email: kamatsrinivas@hotmail.com

Vox Populi Issue N014

 VOX POPULI  

by 

AAM ADMI 

Issue No. : N 014

Issue Date: 9 Jan 2023

Contents:

1. Revising Indian History

2. Kashmir Is Not Normal

3. Having The Rupay Debit Card Widely Accepted

4. Supreme Court Judgment On Demonetisation Only About Following Due   

     Process & Legality Not On The Basic Premise Of The Measure 

Revising Indian History : 8 Jan 2023

There have been calls from Prime Minister Modi and his henchman, Home Minister Amit Shah that Indian history as we see it in our books and records is distorted and this needs to be corrected. There is no doubt about the first part of this statement since most Indian history is projected prior to our Independence through British and/or foreign eyes. Thus it introduces a slant or bias which is favourable to the colonialists. Therefore this needs to be corrected. But the manner of doing this should be through an objective and impartial basis since in the process of re-writing our history we should not over-correct the bias and swing the other way. There is a great chance of this happening since the Saffron Brigade has almost all and sundry of its members coming out with incidents and stories that they claim to be history and insist upon its inclusion. They fail to realise that legend is not history. This was the deficiency of the bakhars maintained in the courts of our kings and emperors including that of the Mughal dynasty considered one of the line of royalty that ruled India somewhat like what we know it is today and for long. With the explosion of social media it is easy to perpetuate this wrong history and like they say if you keep repeating a lie a thousand times it becomes the truth. Thus it is best that a Board may be set up to revise Indian History which can take a correct view and project it in an appropriate manner.

Kashmir Is Not Normal : 6 Jan 2023

The Rajouri terror incident exposes the lie that everything is normal in Kashmir. However much the government tries it is not easy to restore normalcy in the State with the porous border that we have with Pakistan. Other than the terror incidents instigated from across the border we have the targeted killings of Hindus & Pandits that are a matter of concern. The Pandits who had moved back to Kashmir are wanting to flee which the State government is desperately trying to stop since it contradicts their official line that the Pandits are coming back and are living normally in the State. Some of the Pandits have moved from the Valley to Jammu fearing attacks and have asked that their jobs be given to them in Jammu which the government is refusing. In all this the State government recently had a festival to promote tourism to the State for which they had lit up the surrounding areas around Dal Lake. This when with the onset of winter the people of the Valley have 12 hour power cuts and low voltage problems. The local people are asking where does the government get the power when it cannot give it to domestic consumers and has also banned the use of electric heaters at home during the winter. Thus the Kashmir administration is pursuing the false narrative that everything is normal and in that process depriving the local people of essential necessities like electricity.

Having The Rupay Debit Card Widely Accepted : 5 Jan 2023

We have the Rupay Debit card which we find cannot be used with our own government agencies and websites. For renewing my Driving Licence the Goa government Transport Dept. told me that I should bring a Visa or MasterCard and that my Rupay Debit card is not acceptable. Finally I had to take a Visa card since the Transport Dept. has stopped accepting cash. This involved 2 visits to their office with consequent standing in queues etc. for a senior citizen like me which is a nuisance. Similarly, for linking your PAN Card with your Aadhar Card, the Income Tax Dept. website does not accept the Rupay Debit card or have our bank, Union Bank of India, a scheduled PSU Bank on the list of Banks that they accept though a number of private banks appear on the approved list. It is another matter that for linking your PAN Card with your Aadhar Card the newspapers said that you can do this free until 31 March 2023 and only after that there is a charge levied for the exercise, Rs. 500 until  31 March 2023 and Rs. 1000 after that. But the website asks for Rs. 1000 to be paid even now. As for the Rupay Debit card when we had to do some hotel bookings, the website booking.com also refused the card. Thus something has to be done so that the Rupay Debit card is accepted at all locations particularly government and commonly used websites. This is being advised since our FM Nirmala Sitharaman recently while abroad had plugged for the Rupay Debit card to be accepted internationally since it is an India origin card. But should she not see that it is used across the board in India particularly with government for the convenience of its users before she goes abroad with it.

Supreme Court Judgment On Demonetisation Only About Following Due Process & Legality Not On The Basic Premise Of The Measure : 3 Jan 2023

The Supreme Court in its judgment on Demonetisation cleared the mechanism of taking the decision by the government and whether due process was properly followed but it did not give a clearance on the necessity of Demonetisation and in the manner of its implementation. That Demonetisation was misconceived and not at all necessary has been brought out in many a forum. That the introduction of the Rs. 2,000 note created snafus at ATM's, was out of context with shopping practices resulting in many small shopkeepers refusing supply of goods when proferred this note and that instead of reducing black money it allowed more black money to be stored in the same space. These facts have now been implicitly proven since the Rs. 2,000 note is almost out of normal circulation. The government is not able to demonetise or withdraw this note since it would immediately attract attention to Demonetisation with accusations that no purpose was served by this measure. Apart from this the pain inflicted on common people during the withdrawal of the old currency notes and replacement with the new notes that led to many lives being lost even in the queues formed in front of banks to exchange the notes. Thereafter the disruption of businesses leading to the closure of many MSME's is a fact that cannot be denied. These aspects are not part of the legal scrutiny by the Supreme Court. Thus Demonetisation remains the most misconceived of policy decisions in independent India which had drastic ramifications on the people of this country from all walks of life without meeting even a single stated objective as set out by the incumbent government.

                                                           ****************

If you have any issues with the contents of this blog, you can respond to: 

S Kamat

Mob: 0 7218698906  

Email: kamatsrinivas@hotmail.com

Vox Populi Issue N013

VOX POPULI  

by 

AAM ADMI 

Issue No. : N 013

Issue Date: 2 Jan 2023

Contents:

1. A Tale Of 2 Bridges In Goa & How Not To Do Development

2. China Starting Yet Another Circumnavigation Of Covid Around The World

3. BJP Should Stop Slandering Our Past Icons

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL YE WHO VISIT MY BLOG. HAVE A GREAT 2023. 

SNIPPETS AGAINST NEWS HEADLINES:

A. Headline in The Statesman 1/1/2023: 'BSF orders enquiry after sniffer dog gets pregnant'. This is Modi's India where officials do not know how to handle things and more so the media to interpret what is real news.

B. Amit Shah while speaking at an ITBP function at Bengaluru on 31/12/2022 said that we will not even give an inch of our land to China. The problem in the statement is one of units of measurement, the Chinese have taken kilometers of our land not inches. Amit Shah probably does not know that there are different systems of measurement!

A Tale Of 2 Bridges In Goa & How Not To Do Development: 2 Jan 2023

There are 2 major rivers : the Zuari and the Mandovi in Goa, and there are 3 bridges on them which are crucial for connecting South Goa to North Goa, 1 old and tottering bridge on the Zuari and 2 parallel bridges next to each other, one old and one new, though the latter is also more than 25 years old, on the Mandovi, both close to Panaji. All the bridges are on the National Highway that connects Kanyakumari to Mumbai.

The old Zuari bridge has been having regular problems given its age with periodic load bearing checks, repairs of the deck as also that of the structural members where cracks had emerged. With concerns on its stability a few years ago heavy traffic like trucks and even tourist buses were banned from use of the bridge. This meant that these vehicles would have to travel an additional 15 Km. on the detour between Panaji and Madgaon. The road on the detour was also none too good and there was also yet another bridge, the Borim bridge on the route which had structural issues. Thus traffic would muddle through over the old Zuari bridge with the authorities recognising that a new bridge was absolutely necessary.

As for the 2 parallel bridges over the Mandovi, the old bridge now considered weak was banned for heavy traffic including trucks and buses, even public buses for local commute. Randomly the old bridge would be made one way to ostensibly save it from the load of vehicles which continued to grow apace. Currently this bridge carries both way traffic. The new bridge in contrast would soldier on. Interestingly both bridges had fallen down at the time of construction and were re-built again. In Goa its a tradition that all bridges fall down first and are then re-built!

Thus this brought home the fact that something needs to be done about these bridges over the Zuari and Mandovi rivers. As for giving a priority as to which bridge would have to be built first to replace the ageing bridges, the logical choice should have been the 2nd Zuari bridge since if this bridge were to collapse the traffic on the national highway 17 would be severely disrupted and South and North Goa would be cut off leaving only the tenuous link of the detour via the Borim bridge. It was expected that the 2 bridges over the Mandovi would be able to pull along for the 5-7 years until the new Zuari bridge would be completed. Unfortunately logic had no place in the overcharged political atmosphere prevailing then in Goa.

The late Manohar Parrikar was then the Chief Minister of Goa and the 2014 elections to the Lok Sabha were looming. He got a bee in his bonnet that Panaji, the capital city, needed a showpiece bridge since the existing 2 bridges were crumbling particularly the old bridge which in his understanding was on its last legs. Thus the new 3rd bridge on the Mandovi was cleared with a budgeted expenditure of Rs. 400 crores and the contract placed with Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Mumbai. Operational and environmental concerns were swept aside since Parrikar wanted it at any cost to be inaugurated as the first project by Narendra Modi, the new Prime Minister after the BJP won the Lok Sabha elections. This was done and the construction of the bridge started apace. Many difficulties were faced by the citizens while the bridge was being built since on the road approaching the bridge from the North Goa (Porvorim) side the carriageway was on which the main pillars of the bridge were constructed that would support the road above. After initial troubles maybe because it was L&T being the principal contractor, the difficulties were eased and travel on these stretches became bearable. The bridge was stated complete with marginal delays but the cost had shot up to somewhere in the region of Rs. 600-650 crores. 

The completed bridge stands today with no connectivity to Panjim city from the North Goa side which was a major design flaw from inception, there are major potholes on the bridge with big portions of the tarmac coming off which neither L&T or the IIT's are able to figure the reason for, water collects on the bridge on some stretches and during the rainy season from the Merces or South Goa side you cannot climb onto the bridge since that stretch gets waterlogged. Apart from these serious issues which have led to multiple accidents on the bridge, there is hardly any traffic on the bridge since as said earlier the primary school and office traffic from North Goa to the capital city, Panaji in the morning and the reverse in the evening is diverted via the 2 old bridges. Thus the crying need to de-congest traffic in front of the Panaji bus stand is not served by the new Mandovi bridge and it remains as it was chaotic, accident prone and dangerous. 

Thus the new Mandovi bridge built at a cost of Rs. 650 crores handles a maximum of 500 vehicles in a day and at different periods is shut down for some sections for some reason or other. Yes, there is a use for the cable stayed bridge which is an imposing structure and that is for tourism promotion. On days like Republic Day, Independence Day or on festival days or on special occasion days the bridge is illuminated in different colours and is truly a beautiful sight. Thus we have an expensive toy to play with right at the entrance of the capital city of Goa, Panaji to exhibit our stupidity which serves no utilitarian purpose and all for the stubbornness of one man who is no more. 

Representations were made giving alternate suggestions right up to the next Chief Minister, Laxmikant Parsekar, whose response was that this was decided by Manohar Parrikar and I cannot think of even changing it. A simple flat bridge like those existing and in between them, at the same deck level and with 2 arms connecting on one side the Panaji city and the other towards Merces and further on to South Goa would have been ideal. This would have been more compatible with the environment and merge with the scenario as existing and not look like a monstrosity that the present new 3rd bridge represents. With the limited utility of the new Mandovi bridge there is talk of a need for yet another bridge across the Mandovi in Panaji. There is also a proposal of a rope way across the river connecting Campal to Reis Magos. But all this will be disastrous for the capital city since there are not enough landing points on the Panaji side for these structures without creating major traffic problems. 

As for the 2nd Zuari bridge, the contract was placed after some time of the 3rd Mandovi bridge construction commencement on Dilip Buildcon, a Co. not heard of. Not only that the approach roads for the new bridge on both sides of the river was given to the same Co. Thus all eggs were put in the same basket. Considering that the existing Zuari bridge was the only link between South and North Goa, alternatives were talked about at various times. These involved having ferries operating on both sides of the bridge to take off some of the load of traffic on the old bridge. On the Cortalim side a road parallel to the existing one through the fields that would connect to Verna was also mooted that would release the pressure on the existing road. But surprisingly nothing was done and all the talk of alternatives died down leaving the travelling public with just the old Zuari bridge and the mess of construction of the approach roads right from Agacaim to Verna. Its been more than 6 years that the travelling public have been suffering day in and day out with traffic jams at the old Zuari bridge, the dust and pollution while commuting, the uncertainty of reaching their destinations and health hazards. To be fair the Covid pandemic contributed to a hold-up in the construction which was approximately 2 years and at that time traffic was also less and the nuisance to the people consequently tolerable. But when the pandemic eased people started travelling with a vengeance including tourists and the difficulties multiplied compounded by one or other traffic accidents on or near the bridge. These nuisances borne by the people cannot be forgotten easily. Personally the undersigned (author) was stuck in a jam on 26 Nov 2022 travelling from Verna to Agacaim which took us 3 and a half hours. We later understood that there had been 2 accidents on that day on the bridge. 

Thus with all the torture faced by the travelling public over the last 6 years between Panaji and Madgaon when the government opened the new Zuari bridge to the public on 28th for people to visit before the formal opening of the bridge on 29th and thereafter for traffic, the people should have boycotted this offer. Black flag demonstrations should have been held on the bridge in sympathy and commiseration of the travelling public's plight over the years. Instead with the lights put up at the bridge we had some band playing music while just below there was a 5 hour traffic jam in operation. This is the contradiction in Goa, call it stupidity or frivolousness but people fail to see the issue at hand in its reality. The message that the government takes out of this is that the people have forgiven them and once the facility is ready will forget the problems and will repeat the same nuisance at another place and at another time in the name of development. Even the timing of the inauguration and the manner of doing it could have been done differently as given in the content below. The Chief Minister during the inauguration said that in the last 60 years Goa has not seen such development. True and neither have the travelling public over the last 6 years between Panaji and Madgaon have seen such misery in the last 60 years! 

Concluding, the 3rd Mandovi bridge highlights the waste of public money when other urgent projects of the people are starved for money and resources and the new 2nd Zuari bridge represents the symbol of torture on the people by elected governments with their crass insensitivity and inability to handle large and critical projects. This is no way to handle development and the earlier the government understands it, it is better. 

The Mess On The Partial Inauguration Of The New Zuari Bridge

The incompetence and cussedness of our government in Goa is being repeatedly shown in the traffic woes that people have to face while crossing the Zuari bridge over the last few days and particularly since Christmas. The other day newspapers reported a 5 hour traffic jam at the bridge. Recognising the misery heaped on commuters over the last 5 years while the new bridge was being constructed and with plans to open one side of the bridge by end Dec 2022 for traffic, should the government not have examined expediting the opening to around 20th Dec before Christmas when the holiday season traffic increases? It is known that people including tourists arrive over the Christmas - New Year and thus anticipating this would have shown that our government had more sense and conveyed sympathy to the travelling citizens plight. Instead of that they took the approach that the people have suffered for so long and how does another few days matter. One also cannot understand how the date of 29th was chosen for Nitin Gadkari to inaugurate the bridge. Was it because of his tight schedule since he zips around the country with his last known position being somewhere in the Terai region of the Himalayas? If so the Goa government could have taken a decision to start the bridge traffic as soon as the facilities were ready by say around 20th Dec. Then Gadkari could have come at any time later and did a formal inauguration. This method would have shown that our government is responsive to citizen's woes and takes positive action to resolve them. Even now after Gadkari inaugurates the bridge on 29th, the papers say that the bridge will be thrown open to traffic the next day, on 30th. Why add another day? Let Gadkari inaugurate the bridge and let the traffic flow from 29th Dec itself. It is time also that the Goa government show that it has some spine and stands up to the Centre. After all it is for the people of Goa and even the PM the other day said that his is a people or citizen centric government. 

China Starting Yet Another Circumnavigation Of Covid Around The World: 30 Dec 2022

With China admitting that there is a Covid surge, we are back at square one. Not only that China has confirmed that it has given up the 'no Covid' policy in the wake of local public protests and has commenced processing passports and visas for its citizenship travel abroad. The Chinese newspapers lately reported that given the restrictions faced by them over the last 3 years and the current relaxations as above their citizens are planning to travel to foreign countries with a vengeance. This would mean that the Covid carried by some of them would spread around the world in another devastating repetition of what happened during the opening days of the pandemic where it all started in China and then circumnavigated the globe carrying in its wake disease, misery and deaths, though the Chinese government officially denies that the virus started in their country. We need to try and put in some strictures on China through the offices of the UN if necessary so that they exercise better and more improved methods to restrict the Covid virus to their own country. 

BJP Should Stop Slandering Our Past Icons: 28 Dec 2022

The slandering started by Narendra Modi against the Nehru-Gandhi family is coming back to roost on the BJP icons like Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Recently one of the Congress functionaries spoke ill of Vajpayee which was not desirable. This is like the old Hindi saying that if you throw a stone in muck a little of that is bound to fall back on you. Modi and his compatriots should stop this deliberate habit of insulting their opposite counterparts particularly those who are dead and gone for cheap headlines. Otherwise our youth and children will end up confused not knowing who are our true icons. 

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If you have any issues with the contents of this blog, you can respond to: 

S Kamat

Mob: 0 7218698906  

Email: kamatsrinivas@hotmail.com