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Chan,
As I mentioned earlier, I do agree with you and IF
I had ready answers to the questions you ask, then I wouldn't be here teaching
in a foreign country, but aspiring to be a "raj neta" of sorts.
But tell me one thing, as an architect, do you sit
down with pencil and paper (assisted with Auto-CAD/CAD-CAM or whatever) and come
up with a design that can be constructed right away even if you had all the
parameters like soil condition, wind velocity, strength of materials, details of
construction etc. in front of you? I believe that even I.M. Pei's Chicago
Towers had problems and recently the artium of the Paris Airport caved in fo no
apparent reason.
In my belief, nation building is even more
difficult. One may know all the parameters, sink in piles to strengthen
the base/foundation, cradle it to withstand 10 richter earthquakes and
what-have-yous, and yet the edifice may collapse with the breath of the people,
more so in a democracy than in an autocracy. BUT, does this mean that we
should not talk about it and throw up our hands in the air with a "hobo
diok?"
What we are trying here is to see things as they
are and hopefully others might see it in the same perspective; if momentum
gathers then perhaps .... Hah, wishful thinking, you say and I say, if one
does not try then one does not succeed. Wasn't it Archemedes who said:
"Give me a place to stand and I will move the earth!" Surely, people are
not expected to believe that!
Rajen, Kamal, and self may not be able to lead the
masses, but Hai Ram, there may be a Xonkordev, Buddha, Gandhi, Moses or Jesus or
even a Bismarck or Napoleon amongst us. Why not CM himself (no jokes and
taunting on my side)? You notice, none of the above mentioned (except
perhaps, Bismarck) achieved total success in their lifetime. A policy of
blood and iron would help though. BLOOD -- better circulation so that we
work harder: IRON -- more industries and better haemoglobin
readings!
AKN
AKN
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2005 9:35
PM
Subject: Re: [Assam] roads in assam
Anjan:
It tells us nothing.
We DO know how dysfunctional Assam govts. past and present have
been.
We also know how the hands of the capable of Assam are tied and are
unable to change anything, working within the framework of the Indian
governmental system that is.
That is where the problem is.
You might ask, why is that so?
If you have to ask that, the simple way to figure that out will be:
1: Put
yourself in the shoes ( or sandals) of an able and
upright PWD official. And
using your citizen's awareness of
how your govt. works, run thru
the process of attempting to
change things. Do share it us
though. Because if you don't,
no one will know the fallacy
of my arguments. Yours should be
an attempt to educate
us.
2: Put yourself
in the position of a concerned citizen, and show us how
you will go
thru the process of demanding and obtaining accountability
from those in authority and
those who have the resources to get
things done. Again show us the
steps you will take.
Either of the exercises above that will demonstrate how things could be
turned around would validate the positions you, Rajen, Kamal etc. have taken,
even though theoretically. That would not however be a disqualification. If
something could be shown, even only theoretically, but taking into account the
operating realities, it would prove that assertions or mere implying of
certain truths by the likes of Kamal, Rajen and even yourself are valid, and
that the arguments like yours truly makes here are bogus.
So go at it guy. Show us. And don't forget to have Kamal , Rajen etc.
assist you with something concrete instead of taunts from the sidelines or
pitiable excuses.
BTW, Ram went thru that exercise recently, on exacting accountability
from the elected officials. He had all the powers of a great democratic govt.
at his disposal to go thru the exercises. We don't know what he found, because
he did not share it with us. But he might not have wanted to give out the
secrets prematurely. But as a 'xohojatri'--(fellow traveler) he might share
his findings with you all.
:-) :-)
c
At 8:37 PM +0800 4/14/05, Anjan K. Nath wrote:
Compare the two fly-overs in Guwahati; one
over Ganeshguri crossing and the other over Ulubari crossing. One was
given to an outside contractor who completed the project on time while the
other was given to a local who took many years more than the targetted time
to complete it and that too with the help of the first
contractor.
AKN
----- Original Message ----- From: "Barua25"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Anjan K. Nath"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Alpana B. Sarangapani"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>;
<[email protected]>; "Chan Mahanta"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2005 1:16
PM
Subject: Re: [Assam] roads in assam
>They are contracted out to private
contractors. Bigger the project, >higher
the chances it
will go to contractors in Kolkata or
Delhi or wherever. So, just because it
is executed by outside contractors, does
not >automatically mean the quality
of work would meet minimum
requirements
Xutrodhar - Ei xobhaxodo! Putting words in mouth of
raiz!!!
Bhaworia - Aha! It seems, we are almost getting there. The
probl;em is the
big contracts go outside Assam, and that is the
problem. The poor people of
Assam are being exploited and they simply
donot have any voice in the road
construction specially of the big
projects. For the PWD engineers, their
hands are tight. What they will
do? They cannot do anything. If somehow we
could hold these contracts
within Guwahati or Jorhat or Janji or Namti, we
could make it. The GOI
will not support us. Only way we can do this is to
grab power in our
hand.
Xutrodhar - Xuvo xuvo!!!
Bhaworiar
prosthan!
Rajen
----- Original Message ----- From: "Chan
Mahanta" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Anjan K. Nath"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Barua25"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Alpana B.
Sarangapani"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>;
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>;
<[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2005 9:39
PM
Subject: Re: [Assam] roads in assam
Anjan:
I understand
everything you say. And I have no doubt that your
anecdotal accounts
do indeed represent the state of affairs.
But you are missing
the point that the defaulters are integral part
of the Indian system
of governance, where those entrusted with
responsibilities never have
to account for anything. And they do not
represent the people of
Assam.
There are many fine people in Assam, just like you and
Rajen and
Kamal. They are moral, they are able and given the
opportunity, will
serve the people just as well or better than
Rajasthanis, Tamils or
Karanatakis. And they are in the Govt, too,
even in the PWD.
But the Indian governmental system would not
support or reward the
able, the honest, the dutiful. On the other
hand, corruption and
dereliction of duty pays. Those who indulge in
it get ahead.
It is not like that the people of Assam are less
moral than
Rajasthanis or Tamils or Haryanis. Their circumstances are
different.
Only the intellectually challenged and the deeply ignorant
would
judge them in comparison .
Finally road building
technology is one of the lowest of
technologies. It is all in
execution. Execution needs quality
assurance. And the final product
must be warrantable. If it fails
somebody must account
for it. In Indian government there is no such
requirement of
accountability. If the road fails in one monsoon,
tough
s--t.
And guess what--most of the work run by the PWD or other
govt.
agencies are NOT executed by govt. employees. They are
contracted out
to private contractors. Bigger the project, higher the
chances it
will go to contractors in Kolkata or Delhi or wherever.
So, just
because it is executed by outside contractors, does not
automatically
mean the quality of work would meet minimum
requirements.
The proof is everywhere you look at. Because quality or
price are
rarely the criteria for winning these contracts:
bribery , nepotism
and corrupt practices are. Again, how would you
hold the responsible
accountable?
It all boils down to
enforcement of accountability. If it does not
exist, quality would
always be on a downward spiral. Does not matter
if it is the Narmada
canal that breached the moment water started
flowing or Dhwdor Ali
pavement that fails right after the
first
monsoon.
c
At 6:11 AM +0800 4/14/05,
Anjan K. Nath wrote:
>Chan,
>Take heart man, things are
going right and all is well with the
>roads in Guwahati, at
least.
>
>I suppose some of us are not aware that the major
roads of Guwahati
>are now being maintained by a private company
and that the money is
>disbursed directly from Central
funds. Only the smaller roads and
>"municipal" roads are now
"supposedly" looked after by the PWD
>(People With Disabilities).
So, in a way, Rajasthan has come to
>Assam.
>
>Again,
the stretch of the National Highway that runs from the
>Beltola
area to Jhalukbari (10 km or so) has been constructed by
an
>"outside" construction company under NHI specifications and it
is
>standing up to the test of the Assamese soil and rain (so far
at
>least). I would have liked to see the road elevated
slightly more,
>but then ... who am I to question
it.
>
>Remember the time when the PWD went into throes over
this issue and
>the PWD Minister and Secretary PWD announced in
the Legislative
>Assembly that the Assam PWD was fully capable of
"road construction"
>and disbursing the Rs 1,000 cr allocated for
the purpose. There
>were so many "letters to the editors" of
the various newspapers
>laughing at the PWD that they did not dare
protest any further as
>the contract went out to the "foreigners"
with "proven track
>records."
>
>No, you are not wrong
in thinking in that vein. It is actually
>happening. Now we
can call bandhs, blow up a few bridges, disrupt
>public life, and
say that Delhi treats us in a step-motherly
>fashion. Or what
next?
>
>Anjan
>----- Original Message ----- From:
"Chan Mahanta" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: "Barua25"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Alpana B.
Sarangapani"
><[EMAIL PROTECTED]>;
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>;
><[email protected]>
>Sent:
Thursday, April 14, 2005 4:23 AM
>Subject: Re: [Assam] roads in
assam
>
>>Oooh, looks like I touched a raw nerve
:-).
>>
>>But the theory of 'People are Bad, the
System is Fine', is not
>>mine. I like to receive credit for
credit-worthy things, but can't
>>take credit for what is not
my discovery or invention.
>>
>>Since Assam road
conditions have been firmly attributed to the
>>absence of
morality among the people of Assam, its politicians, its
>>PWD
and ineptitude of Assam Civil Engineers and no mention was
made
>>of the system that promotes and sustains such
attributes; one would
>>have to conclude the Assamese are not
qualified to build their
>>roads and do not deserve to govern
itself.
>>
>>Under the circumstances, would it NOT be
reasonable to entrust
>>Assam's road work with people with
proven track-records, such as
>>Rajasthanis or
Delhiwallas?
>>
>>Or could there be some fallacy in
this thought process? If there
>>is, what is
it?
>>What then would be the AMENDED theory of 'People
are Bad, the
>>System is Fine'?
>>
>>Can't
wait to hear that :-).
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