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Obama in Kabul
CBI on the mat |
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Untested vaccines
Iran’s gas diplomacy
Canopy of moments
Growing-up pressures
Managing the glut Mumbai Diary
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Obama in Kabul President Barack Obama’s first visit to Afghanistan on Sunday, without any prior announcement obviously owing to security reasons, has highlighted the fact that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda remain a potent threat to security. The US-led multinational military drive against the extremist forces has not been able to make even the country’s capital, Kabul, safe from suicide bombers.
The Hamid Karzai government’s writ runs in only a limited way. That is why Mr Karzai was informed of the US President’s visit only an hour before Mr Obama landed at a NATO-controlled airfield in Afghanistan. Mr Obama, who wanted to get an “on the ground update”, seems to be worried whether the enhanced military campaign in Afghanistan will actually produce the desired results before the withdrawal of US and other NATO troops begins in 2012 in accordance with the schedule he has set. There is realisation, as Mr Obama’s address to the US troops in Afghanistan shows, that depending on the use of force alone will not do. President Hamid Karzai will have to do whatever he can to win the people’s confidence, which can help minimise the Taliban’s influence. There will be tremendous pressure on Mr Karzai to fight widespread corruption at every level in his administration to improve the image of his government. So long as the Karzai regime remains in the grip of corruption, civilian efforts, which include Mr Obama’s Afghan policy, cannot bring about an improvement in the people’s daily lives. The Taliban factions have been exploiting the Karzai government’s weaknesses to keep their following intact. Though Mr Obama has vowed to reverse the “Taliban momentum” in Afghanistan, the US has not abandoned the idea of inducting in the Kabul regime some of the Taliban elements — the “good Taliban” — who are believed to be prepared to leave the path of violence once their grievances are redressed. He also reiterated the US desire for partnership with Pakistan as part of his post-troop withdrawal strategy. India, which has made an enormous contribution to the reconstruction of Afghanistan, also deserves a major role in the evolving scenario. New Delhi is not rigid in its Afghan policy, as it has started building bridges of understanding with one of the powerful Taliban factions, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar-led Hizbe Islami. India needs to rework its strategy in view of the changing situation in Afghanistan.
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CBI on the mat Chandigarh Special CBI Judge Darshan Singh’s refusal to accept the CBI’s “closure report” and his fiat to probe the judge-bribery scam properly and file a report by May 26 has added a new twist to the case. Apparently, the CBI had bowed to political pressure and given a clean chit to Justice Nirmal Yadav, who was transferred from the Punjab and Haryana High Court to the Uttarakhand High Court last month. In the course of its investigation, the CBI did find her to be the recipient of a bag containing Rs 15 lakh, sent by former Haryana Assistant Advocate-General Sanjeev Bansal.
Why it changed its stand subsequently is shrouded in mystery. Its rationale behind the case closure — the absence of official sanction for her prosecution — was unconvincing. It strengthens suspicion that the CBI, in collusion with the powers-that-be, had tried to let her off the hook. Former Attorney-General Milon Banerjee’s opinion that there was not a “shred of evidence” to prosecute Justice Yadav helped matters in her favour. Significantly, a three-member committee set up by Chief Justice of India Justice K.G. Balakrishnan — Chief Justice H.L. Gokhale of the Allahabad High Court, Chief Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court (now a Supreme Court Judge) and Justice Madan B. Lokur of the Delhi High Court — had earlier reportedly said that Justice Nirmal Yadav’s action was “unbecoming of a judge and amounted to impropriety and misconduct”. As the people justifiably fear a cover-up operation by the CBI, the agency should probe the case thoroughly as directed by Judge Darshan Singh and bring the guilty, however high they may be, to book. The Centre’s stand that the CJI’s advice to the Union Law Minister on Justice Yadav’s transfer to the Uttarakhand High Court is exempted from disclosure under the RTI Act amounts to depriving the people of their fundamental right to know. The RTI regime will fail if the government is not transparent in its style of functioning and hides matters regarding the dubious role of the constitutional functionaries. In view of increasing cases of corruption in the higher judiciary, the Centre ought to enlighten people about the judges’ misconduct and subject them to close scrutiny. |
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Untested vaccines Not too long ago the government made much noise about tightening the regulatory mechanism and bringing in tougher norms for clinical trials. However, the ground reality remains as dismal as ever. The death of four tribal girls in Andhra Pradesh after the alleged administration of HPV (human papiloma virus) vaccine for prevention of cervical cancer as part of trial run by an NGO is yet another glaring example of how precious human lives are time and again lost in clinical trials.
What is even more startling is that it has also come to light that the vaccine is being sold openly even though comprehensive safety trials have not been conducted. This is not the first time clinical trials have come under cloud. As India is fast becoming a destination for clinical trials, there have been instances of unsafe drug testing. Death of an infant in Bangalore and that of 49 babies in the AIIMS over two and half years ago have been grim reminders of pharma companies’ callous disregard of human life. The introduction of untested vaccines without proper medical research earned the ire of the Delhi High Court that issued a notice to the Health Ministry last year. Indeed, the benefits of vaccination are manifold as it not only reduces mortality but also morbidity i.e. illness and disease. The HPV vaccine too once proved effective would help a large percentage of women in India where eight women die of cervical cancer every hour. However, that is no excuse for negligence. There is an urgent need for a strict vigil over sale of untested drugs and its clinical trials that often go awry. The inquiry ordered into the death of tribal girls must fix responsibility and accountability and the role of the NGO concerned too must be thoroughly probed. Why the NGO was allowed to conduct trials in the first place is inexplicable. Under no circumstances should people, especially the vulnerable and ignorant ones, be made guinea pigs. Quest for better healthcare cannot be at the cost of precious human lives. Pharmaceutical companies too cannot shake off their responsibility. Be it sale of drugs or conducting trials, ethics cannot be forsaken and the ICMR and drug control authority must ensure compliance of rules. |
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The world is an oyster, but you don’t crack it open on a mattress. — Arthur Miller
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Iran’s gas diplomacy
Iran
and Pakistan signed an agreement on March 17 in Istanbul to launch the construction of the $3.2 billion Iran-Pakistan (IP) onshore gas pipeline project, which includes a provision for India's possible participation at a later date. Iran will deliver 750 million cubic feet per day (mmscf/d) of gas to Pakistan for the next 25 years under a controversial gas purchase agreement signed in Istanbul in May 2009 by the newly formed Inter-State Gas System (ISGS). The accord gives Iran great leverage and sets the price at $7 per million Btu (mBtu, at crude prices of $50), going up to $13 per mBtu (at crude price $100), making it far more expensive than the gas available from Pakistan’s domestic sources. The 900-km 42-inch diameter gas pipeline is planned to become operational by 2015 and run from the Assaliyeh Gas Field in southern Iran to Pakistan. The pipeline was initially planned to also run up to India, but due to concerns about the security of the project and deteriorating political relations India withdrew from the project in 2009. Pakistan and Iran have sought China’s participation but without success so far. China has decided not to participate due to questionable economic feasibility and technical reliability, as the pipeline will run through high mountains with complex terrain, giving rise to concerns of operational safety and maintenance requirements. China has indicated its preference for buying gas directly from Iran. It has also been tying up gas pipeline arrangements with Central Asia. The project raises several major issues — an intractable and bitter political conflict in Balochistan through which the pipeline passes, US concerns, high pricing and the threat posed by religious militants. People of Balochistan will not get commensurate benefits. Unless these issues are resolved, the pipeline will remain just a pipedream. India would like to access Iran’s large gas reserves in a secure and stable manner. Iran would like to have countries like India and China as long-term customers and to get a certain amount of political leverage with India vis-a-vis US efforts to isolate it. However, since the pipeline through Pakistan, the lowest-cost option, will not assure the security of supply, other alternatives have to be explored. India’s reaction to this development has been reported as the NSC’s advice to the Petroleum Ministry, suggesting a mixed land/sea pipeline, running undersea between points in Iran and India, thereby avoiding crossing Pakistan territory. This advice is flawed and poses formidable political, environmental and technical problems. These problems can be gauged by a look at the Nord Stream pipeline project for the supply of gas from Russia to Germany via a combined onshore and offshore pipeline, due to be completed in 2011. The political problem arises from the fact that transit through Pakistan’s EEZ requires its consent. This was the case with the Nord Stream project which involved consent of Finland, Denmark and Sweden. Given Pakistan’s attitude, the proposed undersea pipeline will have to avoid Pakistan’s EEZ as well, and possibly the “natural prolongation of its continental shelf” over which it might have economic rights under the Law of the Sea Convention. The technical problems arise from the depth of the water through which the pipeline will pass. The Nord Stream project has the longest undersea gas pipeline today, some 1200 km, with two legs of a 48-inch-diameter capacity, 27.5 billion cu metres per year each; and an operating pressure of 220 bars. Construction of the undersea portion of the pipeline is to start only in 2010, and the technical problems that occur will need to be assessed. The high pressure and wall thickness of 38 mm are needed to withstand water pressure, which increases at the rate of 1 bar per 10 metres depth. Pipelines require compressor stations to raise gas pressure at several points, and these cannot be built for the undersea stretch. The environmental concerns arise from the fact that the seabed needs to be stabilised for laying the pipeline by digging trenches. This would have environmental impact. The pipeline has to withstand possible seismic events in the seabed as well as severe monsoon weather in the region. Chemicals used for pipeline maintenance should not damage marine life. The Nord Stream project has been objected to by environmental groups on these counts. A consortium (SAGE) has done a preliminary study for a commercial project for deepwater pipelines that will cross the Arabian Sea to the south of the territorial waters and EEZs of all third-party countries and will mainly follow a route, reaching a depth of 3500m, linking India to the Gulf gas resources. Some estimates put the transit cost for gas at around $1.8 per mmBTU, which is probably too optimistic. These studies need to be clarified further. Transporting LNG as an alternative has many advantages. Firstly, India has already invested in LNG terminals and tankers for the transportation of gas from Qatar. This infrastructure can be scaled up to handle gas from Iran as well. The infrastructure built by Iran can be used for gas supplies to many other countries. The LNG system is competitive when transport distances exceed about 1200 km. The system is flexible and does not tie India down to one supplier, a useful option since Iran is known to be a difficult business partner, prone to bringing in political linkages and facing US-led sanctions. Nor does LNG tie Iran down to one buyer, but offers it export markets in Japan, South Korea and China. The LNG system can accommodate future large gas resources that may be discovered in other parts of the world, including in the Bay of Bengal, regarded as very promising for gas. The gas can be landed at points along the Indian coastline, where energy demand is greatest, or where facilities exist for movement to internal consuming areas. The system can accommodate gas supplies from countries such as Myanmar, avoiding transit problems. Thus, for both the exporting and importing country, gas movement by LNG offers many advantages; the technology if proven and time-tested and may be less expensive than deep-sea pipelines. On this basis, India should plan to step up its LNG facilities and seek long-term arrangements with all major LNG-exporting countries to secure its supplies as well as encourage countries such as Iran to go this
way. The writer is a former Ambassador and has participated in India-Iran gas pipeline talks. |
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Canopy of moments
DURING those days in Shimla when in the words of an Urdu poet, Duniya jawaan thhi mere ahde-shabab mein (The world was young in the days of my youth), I could never imagine that I shall be an octogenarian one day. This has come to me as an anti-climax as I know, being a novelist, that the protagonist in a work of fiction should remain a likeable, if not a lovable, person till the last days of his life. Just as truth is stranger than fiction, the reality bounces back whenever an attempt is made to ignore it in one form or another. I recall my interview with my would-be father-in-law when he came to Shimla in 1954 in search of a match for his daughter. He asked me about my salary which I told him by recollecting vaguely the amount which had never been registered in my mind. The reason was that during the five months of the year winter allowance was given to us and then there were variations in these figures off and on, due to increment or some raise in the dearness allowance. Luckily, I was drawing more than I had quoted. My father-in-law corrected me, as he had already made some enquiries of this sort. But then there was another surprise for me. He asked me whether the post I was holding was pensionable. That query gave me a jolt as I had never thought of my retirement at the start of my career. I blurted out something to which he was satisfied. Now when I draw my pension, I feel forlorn because this phase of my life had never been in my consideration. I often ask myself: Kya iss din ke liye zindagi ka safar shuru kiya thha? (Did I start the journey of my life for this day?). Although deep down in my heart, I console myself that I have the wherewithal for my old age, which I had disdained in the flurry of my youthfulness. Now my best endeavour is keep myself abreast of the march of time. The days when I considered myself ahead of time are gone. At that time the past had no significance and the present was on its rickety legs. Indeed, the future was full of promise as well as the harbinger of new possibilities. It was like floating on a raft towards a new horizon. A new world was scheduled to take birth on the debris of hackneyed beliefs and debilitated notions. A time came shortly afterwards when the present started rushing back to the past. As such, it became difficult to continue observing the contours of the present. In the process the future was also obliterated as the past seemed to be the ultimate reality. It was like receding into a tunnel, dark and damp. With the passage of time, this also turned out to be a passing phase. Now the phantom fears have vanished and new expectations have occupied the screen of my life. Ironically the new generation, not of sons and daughters but of grandchildren, is now pointing towards beauteous avenues of fulfilment and joyousness. As such, the fleeting moments have now provided me with a canopy, under which the long spans of time are huddled together. I recall, as if in a dream, Ben Jonson’s line: “In short measures life may perfect be”. |
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Growing-up pressures
Having dealt with several cases related to drugs in courts, I feel that drug abuse usually starts in the early teens, reaching a peak around the twenties and finally it becomes a routine habit. During adolescence it is either “peers as role models” or tendency to “take risk by breaking established rules and values” that draw them to this. Social influence plays a key role in making drug use attractive to youth. The first temptations for drug abuse may come in the form of pressure to “act grown up” and have a good time by smoking cigarettes or consuming alcohol and later drugs. It is rare that the first contact with illicit drugs happens on the initiative of the users. Drug peddlers generally befriend their victims before they offer drugs for the first time. Dealers recruit youngsters who, in a few years, become engaged in drug trafficking very effectively. Teens are lured by the easy money and the glamorous fast life of drug kingpins. They try to escape from the reality of school or college life, and the responsibility of their family as well as society at large. Although drug trafficking is controlled by adults outside educational institutions, the immediate source of drugs to most students is other students. Drug abuse frequently progresses in stages - from occasional to regular, then to multiple drug use, and ultimately to total dependency. With each successive stage, it intensifies, becomes more varied and results in increasingly debilitating effect. Psychological dependence not only erodes educational performance but can also destroy ties with the family. The child goes from taking drugs to feel good, to taking them to keep from feeling bad. Overtime drug use itself heightens the bad feelings and can leave the user suicidal. Behavioural disorder and parental disharmony are some of the common factors leading to drug abuse, besides over-ambitious, stressed adolescents having low academic aspirations and motivation or poor performance at school. Pervasive drug use creates a climate in schools and universities that is destructive to learning. It is closely tied to truancy and dropping out of school because regular use increases restlessness and demand for constant supply as a result of which skipping classes becomes a need and a habit. Also, drug use is intimately related to crime and misconduct, both at the school and college levels. These may range from criminal acts like stealing from one’s own house to team attempts at robberies for want of money to maintain the constant supply of drugs. If fact, it is the drug suppliers who are also responsible for drug abuse. They meet the demand for drugs by developing new strains, producing reprocessed, purified drugs and using underground laboratories to create more powerful forms of illegal drugs. Consequently, the users are exposed to heightened or unknown levels of risk. The support of the community is very essential in creating an anti-drug social environment. Society should be educated about the ill-effects of drug abuse through different social organisations, the mass media, school health programmes and even through religious bodies. A consistent message that drug use is wrong, dangerous and intolerable should be widely propagated and reinforced through strong disciplinary measure. The enforcing agencies should drastically reduce the availability of illicit drugs and smash the distribution network. Clinics can detoxify addicts and educational institutions guide their pupils how to get rid of this social evil. Today drugs have the potential to threaten the life of a nation as a whole, what to talk about Punjab alone Drugs are taking away our youth from socially useful and productive work, disrupting academic work, shattering families, increasing crime and overburdening social service agencies. So the best way to fight drugs is to begin preventive efforts right from the teenage in order to not allow the “bud” take the shape of an ugly and dangerously spreading need.
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Managing the glut
As the official procuring agencies of the Punjab Government and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) start procurement of wheat from April 1, the biggest task before them is how to tackle the problem of storage. Punjab has set a target of procuring as many as 115 lakh tonnes of wheat this year compared with the procurement of 110 lakh tonnes last year. The Punjab agencies are grappling with the situation as 60 lakh tonnes of wheat purchased last year is still lying in the open in the state. The state has a scientific storage capacity of 182 lakh tonnes. According to S P Singh, Secretary, Food and Civil Supplies, the Punjab Government has been pressing upon the Railways to lift maximum wheat from the state. By March 31, the state will be left with 57 lakh tonnes of wheat and 57 lakh tonnes of rice. There will be a shortage of 44 lakh tonnes for scientific storage. The government has received offers from private parties, including farmers, for the storage of about 13 lakh tonnes. The private parties were earlier paid a rent of 50 paise per quintal per month. Now the rate has been revised to 72 paise per quintal from this year because there was poor response when offers were sought. The reason for poor response was due to the rise in the land prices in the state. For storing 31.55 lakh tonnes – arrangements for unscientific storage have been made. Under this programme, 9.30 lakh tonnes will be stored with rice mills, three lakh tonnes in the yards of the grain markets in the state. There are some mandis like those at Moga, Jagraon and Khanna which have a sizeable number of yards available for storing wheat. Some 4.5 lakh tonnes will be stored at brick-lined plinths and two lakh at focal points in the rural areas and 9 lakh tonnes will be stored at katcha platforms. Besides, three lakh tonnes of wheat will be stored on the sugar mills premises. There are five sugar mills located at Jagraon, Rakhra (Patiala), Mansa, Budhlada and Faridkot which have been lying closed for the last few years. These have unused space on their premises which is being utilized for foodgrain storage. Of the 182 scientific storage capacity available with the state agencies, 106 lakh tonnes is covered and 76 lakh tonnes open (cap). The Punjab Government is encouraging private parties to construct additional storage capacity and NABARD gives 25 per subsidy for this purpose. The Adani group has constructed a silo with a capacity of 2 lakh tonnes, which was filled to capacity last year. The group proposes to construct more silos in the state. Punjab Food Minister Adesh Pratap Singh Kairon, who met Union Food Minister Sharad Pawar recently, has sought financial assistance from the Centre for the construction of more silos in Punjab. Iqbal Singh Sidhu, Managing Director, Punjab State Warehousing Corporation, says that they have a storage capacity of 52 lakh tonnes but only 12 lakh tonnes was available this year. Punjab is expecting a bumper wheat crop of 158 lakh tonnes this year and the marketable surplus may be around 115 lakh tonnes. The Punjab Government has set up 1,605 purchase centres and the RBI has sanctioned a cash credit limit of Rs. 13,000 crore for the procurement of wheat. Punjab has suffered heavy losses due to the damage of wheat stored in the open. The state lost 16,500 tonnes of wheat lying in the open between 2006 – 07 and 2008 – 09, says S P Singh. Renowned scientist M S Swaminathan has recommended to the Central Government to set up grain storage facilities at l50 locations in the country each with a capacity of a million
tonnes.
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Mumbai Diary During
his two-decade long career Sachin Tendulkar carried a long line of products to success at the marketplace. From restaurants to cold drinks to toothpastes — nearly every product category has ridden on Brand Sachin. The state government is pushing a proposal by Chavan to build a sports museum, which will honour the master blaster. The CM conjured up the idea of building a museum honouring Sachin days after Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray attacked the sportsman for not being a “loyal Maharashtrian”. While Chavan’s proposal was initially dismissed as political posturing when it was first announced, the Maharashtra government has earmarked funds for the museum in the 2010-11 budget. Should the museum come up in the next few months, Tendulkar would be there at the inauguration and share the dais with the reigning Chief Minister. It will be an endorsement of the politician by Sachin for posterity and it is something Chavan is not keen to miss.
Bond’s babe?
Frieda, who was catapulted from obscurity to the Oscars via Slumdog Millionaire, is already creating a buzz with Bondman Daniel Craig. The two are sizzling the screens in Cowbows and Aliens due for release this year. If the Bond pic indeed materialises one can see the super spy trade guns and roses with Frieda in his arms on the craggy mountains of Afghanistan.
Starry nights
Cricketers and movie stars always make an explosive combination even if both are well past their prime. After scorching the society pages through a relationship considered unconventional more than two decades ago, the two slipped into near obscurity though the former cricketer dropped anchor in India to meet up with his old flame and their daughter, Masaba, who is now a budding fashion designer. But with Masaba hitting the headlines as a fashion designer, Sir Richards and la Gupta are being dragged back to the spotlight. There are photo-ops galore of a happy though somewhat still “unIndian” arrangement. From the new face on the Page 3 circuit are stories and interviews on her relationship with her extended family, her views on films, on Twenty20 cricket, etc. So will the proud parents also play the clothes-horse for their offspring? Stay tuned. |
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Corrections and clarifications l
In the report “Kings look for shining Knights” (Page 22, March 27) Winston Churchill, the former British premier, was erroneously mentioned as former US President. l
The headline, “Senior officials give a miss to state-level function” (Page 4, March 27) should have been “Senior officials give the state-level function a miss.” l
The headline “Congress, BJP exchange brickbats” (Page 8, March 28) is incomplete because we do not know what the brickbats were exchanged over. l
The photo credit (Page 1, March 28, Chandigarh Tribune) is misspelt as Pradeep Tewarisa and the headline of the anchor “Teacher exposed of baring” leaves the reader puzzled. Despite our earnest endeavour to keep The Tribune error-free, some errors do creep in at times. We are always eager to correct them. This column appears twice a week — every Tuesday and Friday. We request our readers to write or e-mail to us whenever they find any error. Readers in such cases can write to Mr Kamlendra Kanwar, Senior Associate Editor, The Tribune, Chandigarh, with the word “Corrections” on the envelope. His e-mail ID is kanwar@tribunemail.com. Raj
Chengappa,
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The
Will she or won’t she? Frieda Pinto playing James Bond’s babe, that is. Days after her publicist denied rumours that Frieda would be featuring as 007’s love interest in the forthcoming Bond 23, news from Hollywood indicates that the match is definitely on and production would be on the floor later this year under the baton of Sam Mendes. 
Sir Vivian Richards, whose legendary abilities with the willow only matched his scores with the fairer sex off-field, is back in the news with his old flame, former starlet Neena Gupta.