As the saying goes - A picture says a thousand words - I found one such picture in the latest issue of Business World (23rd Sep, 2002). It was a picture of the Mumbai-Pune expressway that looked like a giant serpent snaking its way to some place beyond the horizon. At three different glances, the picture evoked three distinct feelings. At first glance, I found the expressway quite awe-inspiring. The expressway was state-of-art six-lane highway. On closer look, I found an over-turned truck right in the middle of the picture. Given the fact that the Business World cover story was meant to highlight the rapid developments of highway in India, the over-turned truck didn't give the right signals. Since the traffic moved at great speeds on the expressway, the truck over-turned was a potential traffic hazard. On even closer inspection, I found that the truck was cordoned off by appropriate signs and roadblocks thereby giving motorists adequate time and space to avoid the truck. The last point was quite satisfying indeed. An adequate proof that India's traffic management paradigms were moving in the right direction.
But Pune is far far away from Delhi suburb where I reside. Around my house, there are no signs of state-of-the-art technological developments. Nor is it visible in my commute to my workplace. This despite the fact that a major part of my route lies within the country's capital Delhi. In fact, the way things are, there seems to be no state government and no art in the madness. Everyday, I encounter a number of potential situations that could lead to accidents, major or minor. While a comprehensive list could run into pages, let me list four important ones:
1. On a long empty stretch of road without any road divider or central verge, there is a speed breaker that extends only half the breadth. This awful design implies that one side of traffic moves without breaking, while other side is forced to cross the ill-designed breaker. Ideally, this is not a bad situation. But, and a big but, as there is no road divider the unfortunate motorists, in order to avoid the breaker, come on the wrong side displaying their headlights seeking permission to cross. This breach of rule is not limited to motorcycles or cars (yours truly included), but also includes buses and trucks. One day, no wonder I found a badly smashed car near the breaker.
2. Another serious breach of traffic rules is overloading by shuttle operators. They have found unique ways of carrying more passengers than the load the jeeps can take. For one, they extend the rear and sides so that people can stand on them and hang around. Then, they also fit a carrier on top of the jeep that is then used to seat around 8-10 people atop the jeep. Seeing people on the train top is not unusual (seeing them dance, like in the song in Dil Se, is exhilarating), but seeing them sit precariously on a jeep is really unnerving. The most bizarre part of this drama is that the overloaded jeeps have to cross the Delhi-Haryana border where police continuously monitor the traffic movement. But I have never seen anyone questioning the errant drivers. In fact, once when we were nine of us were going to office in a Qaulis, we were caught and challaned because the Qaulis had license to carry only 8. While the inspector demanded something for tea, not willing to file a challan, an overloaded jeep carrying around twenty people crossed us. For the inspector, nor the jeep nor the violation existed. His monthly premium was already paid by the jeep driver. Only when he extracted his quota from us did he leave us. Once, tired of being daily witness to the violation, I logged on to the site (http://www.delhitrafficpolice.nic.in/witness.htm) and lodged a complaint. The site did not offer any means for the complainant to track the progress of the complaint. The complaint was lodged by me long time back. Needless to say, the overloading continues unchecked, unstopped, and unseen. And only God or Delhi traffic police knows what happened to my complaint. Given the state of affairs, one day, and the day may not be far, one of the many such jeeps that ply will meet a serious accident and twenty will die. The newspaper will then say - "Twenty killed in an accident due to overloading". And then the routine enquiry followed by routing analysis. And within months, if not days, the file will be dumped in some public office and the soul of the dead will live in peace.
3. As monsoon ends, the roads have cracked and pot-holes have become the order of the day. The methods adopted for repairing the roads is so outdated and abysmal that one wonders whether we are in the twenty-first century or in the early ages. The pot-holes are first left to fester so that water can stagnate and eat the road. When the holes are big enough to cause a flutter, small stones are used to fill them. To hold the stones together, soil is used. It is no-brainer that a fresh spell of rains washes away the soil. What remains is a situation that is worse than one that existed before repairs. When the situation becomes beyond control, the road rollers are brought in. In the process, the height of road keeps rising and comes in level of the footpath.
4. Talking about footpath, the less said about them the better. Suffice it to say that there is no bigger loot than the encroachment of public land by shopkeepers, residents, et al. Even the non-performing assets may pale in comparison to the loss of revenue due to encroachments. It is disheartening that no one bothers to keep the footpaths free for people to walk. The end result is that the poor pedestrians walk on the roads making them vulnerable to the fast moving traffic.
The threats mentioned above are not imaginary. The terrible Rajdhani train accident few days back highlights the utter neglect of safety in public movement. 120 people, supposedly well-to-do, perished in the accident. But the event was taken in a matter-of-factly way. The more accidents happen in India, the more they lose their relevance. It is like listening to news "BSE catches cold as NASDAQ sneezes; Two more die in fresh violence in Vadodra, CM blames Abu Salem who was caught in Portugal early this morning; Death toll in Rajdhani reaches 120."
In an interesting article "Cracks in the Tracks" (see http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/sep/19dilip.htm), the writter Dilip D'Souza highlighted how a small accident in Britain that killed only four people played havoc in the minds of the people. "The accident led to a national soul-searching that went beyond just rail accidents. How had this happened, how could it be prevented, what is the malaise with the rail system the world once envied? In fact, what is the malaise with the British themselves? The unsettling impression grew of Britain as an unsound country, weakly equipped, under-skilled, easily made chaotic and only superficially modern; an incompetent society. It was this, even more than the toll in the accident that got the English talking. What had happened to this advanced country, one that had once been the mightiest industrial and military power the world had ever seen, one that itself took the railway to large swathes of the world? Was it now really no more than an "incompetent society"?"
The bitching and cribbing can continue on and on. But I will stop here and come back to the original topic with which we started. The highway revolution started by PM Vajpayee and monitored by Major General B. B. Khanduri, Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways is going to be one of the biggest achievements of NDA government. With a staggering investment of 54,000 crore, India will have 5846km of Golden Quadilateral and 7300km of North-South-East-West built by the end of 2007. And for once, the work is going to finish before schedule.
Chachu (23/9/2002)
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Monday, September 23, 2002
Wednesday, September 11, 2002
Chachu's Column #12: Of Sporting Stars "Dhanraj" and "Dravid"
Strange are the ways of the world. A man is awarded the best player in a tournament that is one of the premier international tournaments. But this achievement doesn't even find a mention in the leading newspapers. On the other hand, a double century scored in a drawn match in a drawn series gets front-page news and photograph. This is step motherly treatment to the former. But then who said life is fair.
So in this unfair world, let us stop innuendoes and come to the point. The 24th Champions trophy hockey concluded recently at Cologne, Germany. The event generated lot of interest among Indians because India was taking part in the tournament after a gap of many years. Champions trophy is a annual hockey tournament in which only top six teams of the world take part. Given the fact that only the best fight for the trophy, the event is viewed to be more exalted than the World Cup or Olympics. This time Germany, Holland, Australia, Pakistan, Korea, and India were the teams in fray. India’s best performance in the tournament till date was a bronze medal, that too two decades back. Given the strong opposition and an unfavorable pedigree, a good performance in the tournament meant a lot to India, a team that was trying its best to be back among the best.
The prelude to the tournament couldn't have been worse for India. India came last in the four nation Rabobank hockey tournament held at Amstelveen, Holland fews days before Champions trophy. The tournament was won by hosts Holland followed by Australia and Korea. Since all the three teams were taking part in Champions trophy (besides Germany and Pakistan), a last position at this tournament meant that India's chances in Champions trophy too were very slim.
However, in a remarkable turnaround, the first match saw India drawing against Holland 3-3, a team to which it had lost 2-5 only days back. India could have even won the match had it not conceded a last minute goal. Conceding last minutes goals became India's bane as this disturbing feature continued till its last match. In the next match, India repeated its mistake to lose to Germany 2-3. Germany on the other hand showed remarkable fighting strength and won 3-2 against India, Pakistan, and Australia by scoring last minute goals.
A solitary point in two matches did not augur well for India. The team that stood last was relegated from tournament and a new team was given chance. If India was relegated, it would have to wait for many years to gain entry. India's fortunes changed when in the next match it won 3-2 against Australia. But this win was not without its tensed moments as India conceded many penalty corners in the dying moments. Only a great goal keeping by Divesh Chauhan helped India maintain its lead. In the next match too, India continued its good form and won 3-2 against archrivals Pakistan.
With seven points from four matches, India had an outside chance of qualifying for the finals. But the calculation, as usually happens with India, did not prove favorable and the result of the next two matches meant that Germany and Holland qualified for the final. In an inconsequential match against Korea, India lost 2-4 in its last league match.
In the final standings after the league stage, India and Pakistan came third and fourth respectively to set up the bronze medal clash. Since India had won the first match, I had a gut feeling that India would lose this time. However, some fine conversions meant India leading 3-1 against Pakistan till the 53rd minute. But the lament that India lacks killer instinct proved to be true as India allowed Pakistan to score three goals in a matter of just five minutes. And from a score line of 3-1, much to the dismay and nightmare of Indian hockey fan, the scoreline read 3-4 after five minutes. The score line remained the same till the end as the hooter saw Pakistan fans cheering the victory of their team when it mattered most. "India loses when it mattered most" was what the next day's headlines screamed.
Coming to the analysis, I found India's shedding some of its perennial problems. The trapping of hockey ball was quite good and some of the counter attacks were breathtaking, especially the last goal against Holland. The passes were also short and quick. Penalty corner conversion was also decent with stars Jugraj Singh and Dilip Tirkey coming good on several occasions. Forwards Gagan Ajit Singh and Sandeep Thathur also showed lot of promise. The fact that most of the members were young and below twenty-two years of age implied that India is building a young hockey team that can serve India for many years.
However, the problem areas still remain; the biggest being the inability to consolidate upon lead and to come under heavy pressure from the opposition. The discipline was also lacking, especially in the last match against Korea. The highlight of India's foray in the competition was the award of "Best Player of the tournament" to India's mercurial forward Dhanraj Pillay. His ability to beat at least two or three defenders was a sight to watch. Now, that he is reaching 35, it is time the youngsters took his mantle and carry the responsibility forward. The tragic part of the award was that it was left for Dhanraj to proclaim himself in a featured article in Times of India that he authors that he had won the coveted award. All this happened while Dravid's double ton at Oval and ICC contract row hogged most of the
attention and front page news. For once I do not wish to glorify the double century and let the talking on cricket to be done by someone else.
Chachu (11/9/2002)
So in this unfair world, let us stop innuendoes and come to the point. The 24th Champions trophy hockey concluded recently at Cologne, Germany. The event generated lot of interest among Indians because India was taking part in the tournament after a gap of many years. Champions trophy is a annual hockey tournament in which only top six teams of the world take part. Given the fact that only the best fight for the trophy, the event is viewed to be more exalted than the World Cup or Olympics. This time Germany, Holland, Australia, Pakistan, Korea, and India were the teams in fray. India’s best performance in the tournament till date was a bronze medal, that too two decades back. Given the strong opposition and an unfavorable pedigree, a good performance in the tournament meant a lot to India, a team that was trying its best to be back among the best.
The prelude to the tournament couldn't have been worse for India. India came last in the four nation Rabobank hockey tournament held at Amstelveen, Holland fews days before Champions trophy. The tournament was won by hosts Holland followed by Australia and Korea. Since all the three teams were taking part in Champions trophy (besides Germany and Pakistan), a last position at this tournament meant that India's chances in Champions trophy too were very slim.
However, in a remarkable turnaround, the first match saw India drawing against Holland 3-3, a team to which it had lost 2-5 only days back. India could have even won the match had it not conceded a last minute goal. Conceding last minutes goals became India's bane as this disturbing feature continued till its last match. In the next match, India repeated its mistake to lose to Germany 2-3. Germany on the other hand showed remarkable fighting strength and won 3-2 against India, Pakistan, and Australia by scoring last minute goals.
A solitary point in two matches did not augur well for India. The team that stood last was relegated from tournament and a new team was given chance. If India was relegated, it would have to wait for many years to gain entry. India's fortunes changed when in the next match it won 3-2 against Australia. But this win was not without its tensed moments as India conceded many penalty corners in the dying moments. Only a great goal keeping by Divesh Chauhan helped India maintain its lead. In the next match too, India continued its good form and won 3-2 against archrivals Pakistan.
With seven points from four matches, India had an outside chance of qualifying for the finals. But the calculation, as usually happens with India, did not prove favorable and the result of the next two matches meant that Germany and Holland qualified for the final. In an inconsequential match against Korea, India lost 2-4 in its last league match.
In the final standings after the league stage, India and Pakistan came third and fourth respectively to set up the bronze medal clash. Since India had won the first match, I had a gut feeling that India would lose this time. However, some fine conversions meant India leading 3-1 against Pakistan till the 53rd minute. But the lament that India lacks killer instinct proved to be true as India allowed Pakistan to score three goals in a matter of just five minutes. And from a score line of 3-1, much to the dismay and nightmare of Indian hockey fan, the scoreline read 3-4 after five minutes. The score line remained the same till the end as the hooter saw Pakistan fans cheering the victory of their team when it mattered most. "India loses when it mattered most" was what the next day's headlines screamed.
Coming to the analysis, I found India's shedding some of its perennial problems. The trapping of hockey ball was quite good and some of the counter attacks were breathtaking, especially the last goal against Holland. The passes were also short and quick. Penalty corner conversion was also decent with stars Jugraj Singh and Dilip Tirkey coming good on several occasions. Forwards Gagan Ajit Singh and Sandeep Thathur also showed lot of promise. The fact that most of the members were young and below twenty-two years of age implied that India is building a young hockey team that can serve India for many years.
However, the problem areas still remain; the biggest being the inability to consolidate upon lead and to come under heavy pressure from the opposition. The discipline was also lacking, especially in the last match against Korea. The highlight of India's foray in the competition was the award of "Best Player of the tournament" to India's mercurial forward Dhanraj Pillay. His ability to beat at least two or three defenders was a sight to watch. Now, that he is reaching 35, it is time the youngsters took his mantle and carry the responsibility forward. The tragic part of the award was that it was left for Dhanraj to proclaim himself in a featured article in Times of India that he authors that he had won the coveted award. All this happened while Dravid's double ton at Oval and ICC contract row hogged most of the
attention and front page news. For once I do not wish to glorify the double century and let the talking on cricket to be done by someone else.
Chachu (11/9/2002)
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