Some two and a half years back, I had enrolled myself in a club at a posh colony of Gurgaon. At that time, the club promised of ambitious facilities like horse-riding and squash courts. Since learning squash had been one of my dreams (which it even remains today), I had paid the registration fees of fifteen thousand rupees, out of which ten thousand was refundable. At that time, since I was out of liquid money, I had borrowed the money from a friend of mine and had paid more than fifteen-percent interest. In the two and a half years of my association with the club, instead of fulfilling the promises that had made me enroll, things have gone downhill. The first sign of this degeneration was visible last June when a major portion of the boundary wall was broken down. On making inquiries, I came to know that the wall stood on encroached land and hence was broken down by HUDA authorities. The broken wall was not the only casualty. Along with it, the changing rooms for the swimming pool also came crashing down. With no changing rooms, the recreation of swimming, especially in the scorching sun, became a difficult proposition. The crowd waned, as no one was ready to use the makeshift rooms that did not have even a latch to offer.
The next casualty was an ill-designed tennis court that had to be used for new changing rooms. The gymnasium, badminton courts and basketball courts too were relocated. All these changes meant that the architectural integrity that the club once boasted of was completely lost. All that remained were ad-hoc designs and incomplete amenities. Instead of the squash court, what is there is a twenty feet trench. Adjoining the trench is a blue board indicating "Squash Court", that some future generation may get to use. No horses are seen yet.
And if this damage was not enough, one day I found the parking lot encircled by a fence, and the entrance marked as that belonging to certain school. I wondered how entry to a commercial club could ever be through a school. My fears proved to be true as the school-gate too was closed, leaving the club with no parking space. The rear entrance was then used, along with the narrow lanes and vacant plots, to park cars of the club-goers. The single lane was inadequate to hold the parked cars resulting in major traffic snarls. Then, a part of broken school-wall came to everyone's relief. Till date, the broken wall is being used to park cars, presumably in the school's compound. The day is not far when this portion too will be sealed, leaving everyone back to using the vacant plots and single lanes for parking cars.
Tired of the deteriorating facilities and the shadiness that went along, I decided of withdrawing from the club membership. Promptly, I gave an application to the in-charge for refund of my security deposit of ten thousand rupees. One week later, when I went to inquire about the status of my application, I was asked to sit. In the meanwhile, the lady in-charge feasted the dhoklas that one of her friends had to offer. Some five minutes later, I was told that it would take three months to get my refund. The comment made me furious. This was the same club that had sent its executive to my office to get me enrolled. Now, when the work was offer, and it was time to pay, I was told that the rules of the game had changed and that I had to wait for three months to get my money back. The encroached boundaries that were eventually broken and the dubious parking lot do not inspire lot of confidence. Especially in the present days when one banking scam after another has become the norm. God wonders whether I will get my money back?
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Continuing with the previous topic, I have come to know that Indians are not good in forming associations and fighting together. History is littered with cases of betrayal, the classic example being the divide and rule policy of the Britishers. In the present case, if there had been a club members association, that could stop paying annual fees, the club owners could not retort to such dubious practices. But alas, that is not to be and so one has to contend with what is offered.
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In my life I have seen bad politicians and pathetic politicians. There have been few good ones too. But our prime minister belongs to a different genre. I wonder if there has been ever a strange leader than the one that presently rules the country. Two remarks are pertinent here. One, he says he should have settled scores with Pakistan just after Parliament was attacked in December. Two, during a Parliamentary debate, he said he thought about removing Modi but did not do so in the fear of a backlash. A man is not known for what he thinks he will do or what he should have done, but what he actually does. And if such a man is the Prime-minister of the country, God save us.
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Somewhere I was reading that thousands of Indians die or lose their limbs while crossing railway lines. The accidents could easily be avoided had these people used the overhead pedestrian bridges made for the purpose. This is not the solitary example. In another story, I read a mother lost her life when her year-old kid fell into an open manhole near which she was sleeping. The police refused to lodge an FIR stating the case as frivolous. Hundred of Indians die for strangest of reasons. A high-tension wire falling and killing a bus full of marriage participants. Forty die somewhere by consuming illicit liquor. My point in citing these examples is that when the denizens of this country do not value their lives, do we have a moral right to lament killings by militants? Loss of lives in India is partly due to our own recklessness and partly due to bureaucratic apathy. The rest is filled by a weak and defunct judiciary. Given this, external killings form only a small proportion of accidental death or death due to negligence. Will someone take these into account? Most importantly, will someone affix the blame behind these deaths?
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Chachu (26/5/2002)
Sunday, May 26, 2002
Sunday, May 05, 2002
Chachu's Column #6: Of APM, CNG, Politicians and Insurance
Strange are the ways of the world. From the time the Finance budget 2002-2003 was announced, the prices of crude oil have gone up from 20$ to around 26$. Ideally, the prices of petrol should have also gone up. More so because on April 1, the Administered Price Mechanism (APM), a tool to artificially control petroleum prices, was dismantled. But that has not been the case. What has in fact happened is that reduction on subsidy on LPG has been rolled back by twenty rupees. And public sector companies have been prohibited to increase the prices till further notice. So while the public sector oil companies make loss for every litre of petrol sold, the precariously placed BJP seeks brownie points from the populace for maintaining oil prices. And if the farce was not enough, our honourable Petroleum minister wishes to control the prices of petrol further by manipulating excise duties.
The farce enacted by APM dismantling is only one part of the story. Around a week back, the prices of CNG were increased by a staggering 30%. CNG has been well accepted as a fuel to be many times less polluting than diesel. So, environmentally, it would have been advisable to put a 'Pollution tax' on the more polluting diesel. However, what we have now is that the environment-friendly CNG has been slapped a very harsh hike. But the media seems to have struck with amnesia, as this hike seems to be of no concern to anyone.
The CNG buses are already known to be almost twice as costly as a diesel bus. The price advantage of CNG over diesel evoked interest among masses to opt for the former, environment considerations never coming into the picture. But after the price hike, the price difference has gone for a toss. So what we have is 1) a CNG bus that costs twice as much, 2) a fuel that costs almost as much, and 3) a dispensing station that takes anything between two to twelve hours, something that can make any bus conductor go insane; more so when diesel buses whisk away with diesel in their belly in a jiffy. The saddest part of the story is that there was no uproar in the parliament for CNG price hike, no demand for adjournment motions, and no agitation from the people.
The immediate fallout is that the fare of buses will increase. In our company too, the monthly fee is slated to be doubled. Already, there are increasing talks of people skipping buses, and opting for personal vehicles. This possibly explains why Delhi has 35 lakh vehicles, which is equal to the number of vehicles of other three metropolis put together. Apart from price, the buses are stuffy, not air-conditioned, and do not offer the flexibility of choosing your office timings. The end result will be more cars and scooters on the roads, more congestion, more pollution, and more damage to public health.
Across the world, countries are realizing that unless economics goes along with environment, no one gives a damn to trees and fresh air. So they employ the principle of "polluter pays". For example, if the use of polythene bags is to be dissuaded, then instead of banning it, which is almost impossible to implement, especially in a large country like ours, a pollution tax is imposed. As soon as use of polythene will come economically unviable, people will automatically seek alternatives. In the case of CNG too, it was expected to mix environment with economics. But alas, that is not to be. CNG has become a political football in which politicians play with people's health.
Also read http://www.cseindia.org/html/cmp/air/press_20020429.htm
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Among some good news, the Supreme court of India this week held that the people had a right to know about the antecedents of politicians standing for election to public offices. After a landmark judgement, politicians have to now file details of their criminal record, which includes whether they were ever convicted or not, and whether any chargesheet was pending against them in courts or not. Apart from this, they also have to file details about the wealth that they possess, including the wealth of their spouses/dependants. This verdict was being strongly opposed by the politicians, for obvious reasons. But ultimately, a good decision was given, and people can now expect cleaner government.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A friend of mine was recently given in a ticket in US for over-speeding. He had to appear in court to explain his point of view. The judge had to penalize him by giving him points. While there was a possibility of my friend getting four points, my friend beseeched for two points. The points would directly affect the insurance charge that the friend had to pay. Ultimately, two penalty points were awarded, and my friend marched back happy indeed, ensuring that the rise in insurance was under control. While we have our own no-claim bonus, I just wish something equally sophisticated finds its way in India.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chachu (5/5/2002)
The farce enacted by APM dismantling is only one part of the story. Around a week back, the prices of CNG were increased by a staggering 30%. CNG has been well accepted as a fuel to be many times less polluting than diesel. So, environmentally, it would have been advisable to put a 'Pollution tax' on the more polluting diesel. However, what we have now is that the environment-friendly CNG has been slapped a very harsh hike. But the media seems to have struck with amnesia, as this hike seems to be of no concern to anyone.
The CNG buses are already known to be almost twice as costly as a diesel bus. The price advantage of CNG over diesel evoked interest among masses to opt for the former, environment considerations never coming into the picture. But after the price hike, the price difference has gone for a toss. So what we have is 1) a CNG bus that costs twice as much, 2) a fuel that costs almost as much, and 3) a dispensing station that takes anything between two to twelve hours, something that can make any bus conductor go insane; more so when diesel buses whisk away with diesel in their belly in a jiffy. The saddest part of the story is that there was no uproar in the parliament for CNG price hike, no demand for adjournment motions, and no agitation from the people.
The immediate fallout is that the fare of buses will increase. In our company too, the monthly fee is slated to be doubled. Already, there are increasing talks of people skipping buses, and opting for personal vehicles. This possibly explains why Delhi has 35 lakh vehicles, which is equal to the number of vehicles of other three metropolis put together. Apart from price, the buses are stuffy, not air-conditioned, and do not offer the flexibility of choosing your office timings. The end result will be more cars and scooters on the roads, more congestion, more pollution, and more damage to public health.
Across the world, countries are realizing that unless economics goes along with environment, no one gives a damn to trees and fresh air. So they employ the principle of "polluter pays". For example, if the use of polythene bags is to be dissuaded, then instead of banning it, which is almost impossible to implement, especially in a large country like ours, a pollution tax is imposed. As soon as use of polythene will come economically unviable, people will automatically seek alternatives. In the case of CNG too, it was expected to mix environment with economics. But alas, that is not to be. CNG has become a political football in which politicians play with people's health.
Also read http://www.cseindia.org/html/cmp/air/press_20020429.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Among some good news, the Supreme court of India this week held that the people had a right to know about the antecedents of politicians standing for election to public offices. After a landmark judgement, politicians have to now file details of their criminal record, which includes whether they were ever convicted or not, and whether any chargesheet was pending against them in courts or not. Apart from this, they also have to file details about the wealth that they possess, including the wealth of their spouses/dependants. This verdict was being strongly opposed by the politicians, for obvious reasons. But ultimately, a good decision was given, and people can now expect cleaner government.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A friend of mine was recently given in a ticket in US for over-speeding. He had to appear in court to explain his point of view. The judge had to penalize him by giving him points. While there was a possibility of my friend getting four points, my friend beseeched for two points. The points would directly affect the insurance charge that the friend had to pay. Ultimately, two penalty points were awarded, and my friend marched back happy indeed, ensuring that the rise in insurance was under control. While we have our own no-claim bonus, I just wish something equally sophisticated finds its way in India.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chachu (5/5/2002)
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