Srinagar 2nd train and international airport

Refer to my first article

Update on train link in Srinagar.

Now, Srinagar - Baramullah train link is complete..which means now the only stretch remaining is 148 km Katra Qazigund which is a technical challenge because of the Himalayan terrain. This marks the completion of 119+55 km rail link. This link (18 km) opened now is the HIGHEST BROAD GAUGE RAILWAY STATION AT 5166 ft above sea level. It has 113 major and minor bridges and 435 m Jhelum river bridge. Takes abt 2 hrs by train as against 4 hrs by car.

However, here is the complete picture of the railway map of Kashmir that connects north to south. So, you can travek from Jammu - Udhampur and then Qazigund to Baramullah. The speed of the train is 100 kmph. The Qazigund Banihal tunnel when completed by 2010 will be 11km and an engineering marvel because it will be made through Pir Panjal range which is one the toughest terrains in India.

Here is the video

Now, to the International Airport:

International airport was opened on Feb 14th 2009 (too late to post, but definitely worth it). It is important because Srinagar was known for militancy and for the past decade there is a steep decline in violence. Peace is everywhere in Kashmir. Here's the picture gallery of Kashmir airport(Srinagar airport) SXR is the code and the name is Sheikh Ul Alam (greatest saint of Kashmir).

Personally, looking at the pictures, it appears more beautiful than Bangalore International Airport. (Pic courtesy: skyscraper and google).

















All this was the hardwork and constant government support from both NDA in 2003 and UPA in 2004 that have ensured this project a grand success and has transformed the lives of Kashmiris.

Special Series - Indo China border Dispute - II

As promised earlier, here is the second in the series of articles that discusses the Indo China Border dispute. The first part discussed about Aksai Chin - The northern border problem with China. This article talks about the Eastern border issue - Arunachal Pradesh (formerly known as North East Frontier Agency - NEFA).

THIS AGAIN WILL BE A VISUAL JOURNEY TRAVERSING THROUGH THE MIGHTY HIMALAYAS


Where is Arunachal?
In the map below is the eastern most state of India - Arunachal(marked in red), bordering Bhutan on one end and Burma on the other.

This end of the dispute is as complex as the western one.

let's go back in time

------------------1826---------------------------------------
The first Burmese war and Great Britain got Assam as per Treaty of Yandaboo. The map below shows the eastern end of Indian boundaries at this time. The Ahoms - who were ruling that region came under British rule. You can see in the map, there was no Arunachal in the picture yet. The British for the first time called areas north of Assam as North East Frontier Tract(NEFT- called by this time till Nehru renamed as NEFA).

Later, the British agen Jenkins discovered that the western end of NEFA known as Tawang (now part of India) was ruled by a king/raja and was feudatory of Tibet.

------------------1872---------------------------------------
Keen to delineate borders, the British signed an agreement with Tibet agreeing that Tawang was Tibet's and it was a bilateral agreement. Note: TIBET COULD SIGN THIS AND WAS DEEMED LEGAL. Borne this point in mind because this will serve as an evidence for the later part of the flow.
------------------1873---------------------------------------
Britain passed Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation by which they created an Inner Line - purely for administrative purposes and Outer Line that marked the official boundary of India. Basically, Britian did not want to deal with the tribes who were staying beyond Inner line and strict instructions were given to officials not to cross this border.
------------------1904---------------------------------------
The dawn of 20th century brought Britain and Russia into the great game of ASIA. At this time, China and Tibet which existed as neighbors became areas of conflict for the 2 powers. Britain used to always consider that in order to check Russian influence or attack on India, it is necessary to make Tibet come under Britain i.e. a protectorate or sub-ordinate.

With this intention, Colonel Younghusband set on an expedition to conquer Tibet. China claims (till today) that Tibet neglected its advice else Britian would not have conquered Tibet. However, Tibetans don't agree. Younghusband without facing any resistance conquered Tibet and signed a treaty with it. Note: China didn't object to this nor questioned Tibet's independence.
------------------1906---------------------------------------
Britain and China sign a bilateral treaty confirming 1904 treaty and declaring Chinese suzeraintiy over Tibet. TIBET's SIGNATURE/ACCEPTANCE was not taken.
According to the treaty, 1904 treaty was cancelled and it was agreed that Britian will not annex Tibet and China would not allow any foreign interference in Tibet's foreign affairs or administration.

Could China do this? Without getting the consent of Tibet, how could China decide this? For centuries, Tibet was treated as an independent state. And Tibet never sent any approval or signature or seal to China allowing it to control it. This is confirmed by the letter sent by Tibetan government to Mc Mohan (British general) in 1914. Pasted below is excerpt from that letter (taken from "History of Modern Tibet" by Goldstein)

------------------1907---------------------------------------
Russia sign treaty with Britain agreeing to the fact that any issue of Tibet would have to be discussed only through China. This was done to ensure neither Russia nor Britian would influence Tibet.

First of all, 1907 was an extension of 1906. If 1906 itself has no validity because Tibet was not consulted how could this treaty be legitimate? China till today claims 1907 treaty as the basis on which Tibet could not be declared independent and hence could not sign any treaty with anyone without its consent.

------------------1908---------------------------------------
An Indian map is published showing Tawang as a part of Tibet and Indian border extended from bhtuan to baroi River (32 miles) eastward and the whole of NEFA. Observe the map and see TIBET is named as a different territory and not as a province of China. The Outer line was the boundary and till now China never claimed this area nor ever occupied(Refer to map on wiki on sino-Indian War).

Repeatedly, the British officers tried to cross Outer line despite the warnings got from London.
------------------1909---------------------------------------
The situation in Tibet has been best described by Swedish explorer Sven Hedin -(wiki on History of Tibet)

Currently, Tibet is in the cramp-like hands of China´s government. The Chinese realize that if they leave Tibet for the Europeans, it will end its isolation in the East. That is why the Chinese prevent those who wish to enter Tibet. Dala Lama in is currently also in the hands of the Chinese Government"..."Mongols are fanatics. They adore Dala Lama and obey him blindly. If he tomorrow ordering them go to war against the Chinese, if he urges them to a bloody revolution, will all like one man follow him as their ruler. China's government, which fear the Mongols, hooks on to Dala Lama."..."There is calm in Tibet. No fermentation of any kind is perceptible."(translated from Swedish) Sven Hedin had as a European in parts of his travels in Tibet been forced to camouflage himself to a Tibetan shepherd and he also visited the 9th Panchen Lama

------------------1910---------------------------------------
Chinese for the first time cross NEFA and post flags around Walong (eastern Arunachal). Walong is the eastern most town in India and is where the bloodiest battle took place in 1962.

For the first time in centuries, China sent troops to Tibet to capture. All the goodwill that existed ceased now (as narrated in The Cambridge History of Tibet). This clearly indicated that China had not direct control over Tibet till then.

------------------1911---------------------------------------
The British General Major Hamilton led an expedition trying to cross Outer Line was killed by Abhor tribes in NEFA. The British Government wanted to avenge the murder and hence started an expedition. As they proceeded they saw Chinese markers at Walong and placed British markers (flag) there.

Now, simultaneously, Chinese Xinhai Revolution - that ended Ching/Qing dynasty rule - erupted in China and China weakened. Its influence over Tibet, Assam etc, all weakened making several provinces independent.
------------------1912---------------------------------------

China for the first time became REPUBLIC OF CHINA. The new king sent troops to annex Tibet.

For the time, Tibetans felt they were bretrayed, cheated by the Chinese. Now, the 13th Dalai Lama along with all Tibetan soldiers threw the Chinese out and proclaimed independence. Even Mongolia at that time was an independent province.

The sending of troops was against the previous king Sun Yat-sen orders who stated that "All non-han (non-chinese) provinces would be free to join China or if not be independent". This was backtracked by the new king Yuan-shik-hai who proclaimed

in January 1912: "The foundation of the state lies in the people's power to incorporate the areas inhabited by the Hans, Manchus, Mongolians, Huis and Tibetans into one country and to unite the Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Hui and Tibetan nationalities into one nation. That is called the national unification." (As taken from Chinese embassy website).
------------------1913---------------------------------------
In Jan 1913, Tibet under the 13th Dalai Lama passed the proclamation of independence which stated amongst many things that

"Relationship between China and Tibet had been that of patron and priest and had not been based on the subordination of one to the other. We are a small, religious and independent nation."
This was sealed and signed and distributed to every office in Tibet and to every resident of Tibet. Tibet also signed a mutual agreement with Mongolia. The text can be found here or here

The signing of this raised the suspicion in the eyes of the British that Russia might be influencing Tibet (because of Russian presence in the treaty). Thus, The British Government began to now involve Tibet with China over boundary issue and most importantly to ensure formally that China becomes suzerain of Tibet. This was Britain's game plan to check Russian influence.

1st meeting - Oct 13, 1913 - Shimla conference called in and Tibet accepts, China rejects to come but forced to come under 1907 treaty. Tibet sends a letter to the British Govt about the fact that it is still independent.

On October 30, 1913, China presented its “counter-proposals”. Its seventh point read: “The frontier boundary between China Proper and Tibet is now roughly indicated in the accompanying map.” That line ran far to the north of Tawang

2nd meeting - Nov 18, 1913 - Inner and Outer tibet was drawn and maps given to China and Tibet. China outrightly rejected it.

3rd meeting - Maps are exchanged between Tibet and China for consulation. Tibet's opinion was expected and Chinese too.

------------------1914 - Shima -Trouble began---------------------------------------

In the 4th meeting on Feb 17, 1914 -

Mc Mohan presents a draft to the Chinese and Tibetan representatives Ivan Chen and Lonchen Shatra respectively. For the first time, the correct borders of Outer and Inner Tibet are mentioned. Inner Tibet constituted Qinghai, Ganshu, Sichuan and Yunnan while Outer tibet consitute the present Tibet Autonomous Region. Inner Tibet was to be completely under Chinese while Outer Tibet would come under Chinese suzerainity but would be autonomous. (i.e Foreign policy, defence would be under the Chinese and everything else independent). There was a blue line demarcating Inner and Outer Tibet while RED LINE became the boundary of entire Tibet. The RED LINE ON THE EAST CAME TO BE LATER KNOWN AS MC MOHAN LINE.

March 11 -
Britain's governor general Mc Mohan formally gives the draft after approval from Britain Govt in London.
March 24-25th
Tibet agrees and Lonchen Shatra sent in a written response agreeing to it -

"As it was feared that there might be friction in future, unless the boundary between Tibet and India is clearly defined, I submitted the map, which you sent to me in February last, to the Tibetan government in Lhasa and I accordingly agreed to the boundary as marked in red in the two copies of the maps signed by you, subject to the conditions mentioned in your letter dated March 24, sent to me through Mr. Bell. I have signed and sealed the two copies of the maps. I have kept one copy here and return herewith the other. Sent on the 29th day of the 1st month of the Wood-Tiger year (March 25, 1914) by Lonchen Shatra, the Tibetan Plenipotentiary"

On April 3, 1914, China presented a five-point proposal (The McMahon Line and After, Parshotam Mehra; page 216; a masterly work). There was no reference to the border with India.

A telegram of April 20, 1914, from the Waichiapu (the Chinese Foreign Office) to Ivan Chen (intercepted by the British) mentioned seven points “on which we will never give in”. Again, the same omission of the external boundary. Its telegram of April 25 hinted that except for the internal boundary the rest was acceptable

APRIL 25, 1914 - China’s Memorandum of April 25, 1914, handed to the British Ambassador also ignored Tibet’s (external) boundary with India.


APRIL 27, 1914 - TROUBLESOME DAY

On this day, all 3 representatives put their initials. Ivan Chen was not too keen but put his initials. Tibet and Britain had no issues. Remember, INITIALS and NOT SIGNATURE. If initials are put, then that particular country's seal must be there for the initials to be valid. However, this was a draft and the initials were put without seals of the respective governments. Hence, the deal was invalid. Chinese and Tibetans reply was waited.

During the same time, China formally issued the Constitution declaring Tibet as one of those which will be unified and brought into Chinese Republic.

MAY 1, 1914 - The President of China sent a Secretary to meet the British Ambassador Sir John Jordan on May 1, 1914. He said after and a propos disavowal of Ivan Chen’s initialling that “the question of boundary was the only article not generally acceptable”.

MAY 11, 1914 - The President objected to “the inclusion in Outer Tibet of Chiamdo and of complete portion of Kokonor territory”. A memo of May 11, 1914, proposed further negotiations.

JUNE 13, 1914 - A Memorandum of June 13, 1914, with a map annexed, centred again on the Inner-Outer Tibet boundary.

JUNE 29, 1914 - So did another of June 29, 1914. D.P. Choudhury points out that the line drawn in the map of June 13 “lay far away from the north-east frontier of India” (The North-East Frontier of India 1865-1914; page 157).

JULY 3, 1914

When China never responded and rejected the proposal, India signed a bilateral treaty with Tibet and finalized the boundaries. The boundaries included NEFA (not Tawang) as part of India. The initials and the seal of the govt was taken from both parties. Further,

Now, China even today says 1907 treaty and states without Chinese approval the treaty between Tibet and India is invalid. So, now any reader must question - Why didnt Tibet signature/intials taken when Tibet was to be declared a suzerain of China? Secondly, Tibet declared independence. There was no formal agreement anytime between Tibet and China to prove China controlled Tibet and hence when Tibet declared itself independent did not require Chinese ratification.

The complete agreement is here. Article 9 mentions BLUE AND RED LINE. Articles 2, 3 and 4 clearly indicate that Tibet accepts Outer and Inner Tibet partition and that China should not send any troops to Outer Tibet nor attempt to convert Tibet into a Chinese province. The Treaty cancelled 1893, 1906 treaties.

Tibet was fully legitamately independent when it signed the treaty. Note in the map below - attached to the Shimla conference even during April meeting when initials were put by all 3 parties. Observe the BLUE LINE AND RED LINE.

Note: In the map, NEFA is a part of India, but not TAWANG.


Further developments post 1914:

C. U. Atchison's Collection of Treaties was published later indicating that the treaty was not binding as it was incompatible with 1907 agreement with China.

------------------1921---------------------------------------
Britain and Russia sign another treaty cancelled 1907 agreement.
------------------1935---------------------------------------
Olaf Core (British officer) decides to publish Mc Mohan Line map officially as it was a binding agreement.
------------------1936---------------------------------------
Britain finds out that Tawang which is being controlled by Tibet (quite naturally). In 1938, Britian occupies Tawang and Tibet protested.

------------------1937---------------------------------------

It is to be noted that TAWANG is an illegal occupation of INDIA.

An official map is published by Survey of India and this was the map India published in 1947 too.

SUMMARY:

TIBET was independent enough to sign a treaty with India. And therefore Tibet that gave up NEFA to India is India's. So, no question of dispute over Arunachal except TAWANG. Se La PASS (picture below) is the last point before Tawang where a bloody battle took place in 1962.



Also, for all the above reasons mentioned, also read what International Jurists concluded about status of Tibet. they concluded that TIBET WAS INDEPENDENT between 1913- 49. It had every qualification to be declared as an Independent nation until China forcibly occupied it and signed an agreement with Tibet in 1951.

Why did China sign formally in 1951 if all the while it treated Tibet as its part?

This article stops here. The next and the last series will cover events post 1947 that led to the war.

How prepared is India along China border?

For the last two weeks or so, Google maps, particularly, google earth, showed Arunachal Pradesh as a part of China. This was shocking. It showed it as not part of India. When Indian govt questioned, google rectified and now shows Aksai chin as disputed border in addition to Arunachal. Now, why should chinese version show up in Google maps and not the Indian version? This is THE SECOND TIME GOOGLE HAS DONE THIS BLUNDER AND IT CAN'T BE A MISTAKE...Earlier, in 2000 it did the same and then the NDA govt asked Google to quickly rectify it and so it did.

Version before Google accepted apology:
Version after google accepted the goof-up:

How can a private company like google do it twice? Any country's borders are a very sensitive issue and maps published serve a great deal of information and they should be free of such blunders.

It was very funny and embarrassing when Congress spokesperson said on NDTV's Big Fight-"I dont think the Govt is ignorant about this and would have conveyed it to the concerned people". He is not even informed of it despite the fact he works in the Govt. This is the height of ignorance. And why is the govt wanting to say that these border talks must go on. Is it serving any purpose? Is govt doing enough to solve the problem or just do the meetings? The spokesperson also said - "This must go on" and when asked why aren't 60 years enough he remarked - "They must go on"

Look at what China is doing? The picture below explains clearly(Courtesy: Telegraph).

China has well gone inside LAC - Line of Actual Control because it doesn't recognize this. The fact is Arunachal Pradesh is a part of India and there is no doubt about it. But if China is so much interested in claiming that India is the agressor then why can't it build infrastructure within LAC? Why should it violate LAC? Is China not the agressor?

India continues to neglect Arunachal and yet there are not motorable roads. If a war emerges, China would take minutes to deploy its troops while India would take days. This brings us back to 1962 war situation. Let's see what PM Manmohan Singh promised (for the first time in 60 years and I am happy, but not satisfied till completed)

Target: 2013
Things to execute:

1)1500 km Trans-Arunachal Highway running through the middle of the state - The Trans Arunachal Highway will start from Tawang on the Sino-Indian border and pass through Seppa, Sagalee, Hoj, Ziro, Daporizo, Aalo, Pasighat, Roing, Khongsa and Changlang with a link with Saikhowaghat in Assam
2) Rs.156 crore rail link connecting Itanagar (capital) to Harbuti in Assam
3)3000 MW Dibang project for electrcity (forget dams, let's consider roads first)

Of these, the best part is Border Roads Organization is incharge of most of the roads. They have been doing a good job despite extreme weather - the same extreme weather which made the Chinese withdraw in 1962. Below is the picture of a road(LOHIT bridge over Parasuram river) inaugurated in 2006 which connects China and it has changed the lives of people in that area and their earnings have never been so good in the last 50 years.

The impact of this single road: more than 300 shops from 30, with many of them selling luxury goods. A population of about 100,000 has 5,000 cellphones and schools. A journalist from The HINDU newspaper further reports -
There are professional coaching institutes, automated teller machines (ATMs), Internet cafes and many restaurants.

"Subsistence agriculture has been replaced by orange and apple orchards and cardamom plantations. There is electricity round the clock at Dirak, where one enters the district from Assam, and all the way beyond Walong, until the border with Tibet 280 km away. The long road that connects sparsely populated villages is always busy with taxis, trucks, buses and motorcycles plying up and down. The road is being improved with several concrete bridges. And along the river many mini hydroelectric projects are coming up."

There are 8 strategic roads along the border which are critical and 4 of them are complete - All by Border Roads Organization (BRO). The PM has declared the project as "The Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for North-East (SARDP-NE) " - divided into two phases: The first phase involving 1,300 km of roads primarily in the North-East State to be completed by this year-end and the second phase involved 5,700 km with the 2013 deadline.

In addition, there are various roads under construction in HP, Uttarakhand, sikkim and J&K.

India has to build roads, secure those conflicting points. It is not enough that we strengthen our navy, army and air force. We have to build roads along the border. There are no people like the Chinese when it comes to strategy and planning. They carefully plan, silently execute and loudly speak only after preparation. It is this tactical planning that always ensured China is ahead of India in every aspect. The Chinese have built 6 lane highways in Tibetian border and connected Lhasa with Bejing through a high speed link.

As far as Congress govt is concerned, it was only Narasimha Rao who tactfully followed the policy of Look East by which he started contacting other countries in East Asia who are not friendly with China to ensure diplocatic pressure on China remained always. On the other a significant breakthrough was acheived when Vajpayee visited China. This meeting settled the Sikkim and Tibet issue once for all. For almost 55 years, China claimed Sikkim and theirs, but Vajpayee's dilpomacy ensured Sikkim be accepted as India's. However, Chinese as shrewd as no one can be, backtracked a year ago on claiming Sikkim too. Now, they stopped Sikkim and restarted the claim of Arunachal.

What is needed: Speedy completion of roads and enhancing air fields along Ladakh border (already many are opened last year)

The disintegration of the opposition

Once when a scholar came to Akbar's court and asked him - "What does God do"?, no one gave a satisfactory answer until Birbal stood up and said - "God changes a king to a subject(subordinate) and a subject to a king". This is precisely what is happening with the Opposition party - BJP.

13 years ago when Congress was totally demoralized, there were fractions and rebellions. The news was that "Congress is dead". With one section revolting Sonia and the other with her was making news every second. Everyday the party was ridden with quarrels and squabbles - and the whole country was ashamed of the fact that it is this party that they voted for 50 years.
Congress was split in 1967 once for the same reason. Now, Congress is on a U-turn and BJP has taken its place. However, a split in the BJP is more or less impossible.

Every major senior leader more or less has come out in the open explaining their problems both with Advani and Rajnath Singh. This is definitely a party that boasted of self discipline and unity. Today, all that lies shattered. The party has collapsed and disintegrated. This is not good news for the country because an effective opposition is very much required.

In my earlier article, I did mention about the graceful exit of Advani, but it appears like Advani is sticking on to the position because of party pressure. He should have done what Sonia did. -give up the job. He would have become at least a good leader and the humiliation would have been less. Today, Advani not just stands humiliated, but has become a topic of humor to everyone.

The party is not correct when it tries to sack Vasundhara Raje and B.C. Khanduri for non-performance when Advani and Rajnath Singh continue to hold onto their posts. The yardstick must be one for all.

The sacking of Jaswant Singh was a ridiculous drama. This man built the party along with Vajpayee and Advani and served as an excellent External Affairs Minister changing the Indo- US relationships so diplomatically that Strobe Talbott (Deputy Secretary of State to Bill Clinton) wrote an entire book describing how he played an imporant role in it. What did Mr.Advani do at that time? Was he under the pressure of Rajnath Singh? It appears that ever since Rajnath Singh took over as party president, there have been no end for troubles in the BJP. Yes, there are issues with why Jaswant Singh went to release hostages, but his other contributions to the nation are good enough to retain him. If Nehru is still revered and respected despite the blunder of 1962 war, Indira Gandhi despite emergency - then it is also true that Jaswant Singh must be considered for certain valuable contributions he made to diplomacy and foreign policy.

Arun shourie is very correct when he says if Vajpayee would have been asked to react to Jaswant's book he would have said - "Kitab hi likha hai...aap bhi ek kitaab likh de jiye" (i.e He has only written a book...so what even you write a book) and the matter would have ended there.

Rajnath Singh has tried to create a wedge between all senior leaders who once stood united and calm. If such presidents continue to preside a principal national party, the party is doomed to finish. It reminds me of the disastrous Sitaram Kesri of the Congress who spoiled the party to the core.

Mr. Vajpayee's midas touch is required and he is unfortunately unfit to give that. No one knows what's the future of this party? It is deadly to the country if congress or the BJP collapses this way. These 2 are the only national parties that have and can give a stable and strong government. If either one collapses, the regional parties like SP, BSP, TDP, AIADMK, DMK and others will take over and India will not be India at all. Nationality and national consensus will erode that day when this becomes a reality.

It is important to set the house in order and young leaders must take over. If BJP comes out with more young leaders to the forefront, then it can at least come out to compete with Congress's most positive factor right now.

I would dismiss anyone's viewpoint who says BJP never governed this country well. It is the only party along with Congress which has given this country a stable government. The party has to emerge united with a good leader and ensure regional parties don't take over. Like there are 2 poles - South and north - so are Congress and BJP - 2 poles of Indian politics. This should not change.

Someone once remarked - Advani becomes silent on certain crucial matters when his presence is utmost required and his silence now continues to act as fuel burning the very BJP he built. This is the worst problem a person can have.

Revamped Bangalore Bus Transport Service

In the US, public transportation system is absymal and pathetic. Except for some major cities like New York, Chicago, San Franscisco etc, there is nothing worth you can find as in Japan, China or to a big extent in India too. There has been this great lobbying by car manufacturers for the past 50-60 years that has prevented simple public transportation to kick off. In the US, there is no fast bullet trains despite being such a vast country while Japan has several of them. I rather am amused at the way public bus system works in Miami. The frequency is so bad and connectivity is not proper.

In India, we have a far better system of public transportation (Of course, it is very true that every city needs a metro like that of Delhi and the pace of completion is very slow). However, when it comes to buses we are way ahead of the corresponding systems existing even in a developed country like America.

Bangalore's BMTC (earlier known as Bangalore Transportation Service - BTS. BMTC stands for Bangalore Metropolitan Transportation Corporation) is currently the most profitable city transportation corporation in India. One of the prime reasons is that BMTC has been continuously trying to reinvent itself in many ways - through application of technology, better service and revamping interiors, getting new - low pollution, better mileage, commuter friendly buses. The buses now in Bangalore are low floor VOLVO buses which has triggered a revolution. Now, Delhi has taken inspiration and before 2010 Commonwealth Games they plan to convert their entire fleet into these ones. Even Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune want this to be replicated in their cities. The funding for such buses are shared by Central, State and the bus corporations under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) launched by Manmohan Singh Govt during his first tenure. So, BMTC has to shell out 30% of the expenses.

Look at BMTC in comparison to BEST buses in Mumbai:

BMTC operates 4,500 buses on 1,400 routes to carry 3.7 million passengers every day across Bangalore, while 4.5 million passengers travel on 3,380 buses owned by BEST on 335 routes in Mumbai.

I personally have traveled in VOLVO buses and trust me excepting for the crowd (which is quite natural) the experience was very comfortable and pleasing.


BMTC posted a profit of Rs. 140 crore during recession in the past 2 years when all major city bus services were reeling under losses. It earns 2.58 crore everyday by ferrying 40 lakh passengers.

BMTC receives 50% of revenue only from bus passes used daily by school and college students in addition to teachers, working women. How can I forget even I was one of those who used monthly passes 10 years ago.!!?

The new benefits of monthly passes which also has insurance cover, medical expenses reimbursement and parking discounts at a really affordable prices to a common man and I think this is a great idea being followed attracting people to use bus passes. Now, you have even an unlimited daily pass for as low as Rs. 30 using which you can travel in buses in the city anywhere. Bangalore also has one of the highest bus-to-population ratio in the country which is 1:1027.


The pictures posted so far are of the "Vajra" bus service within the city.

The best part of Vajra is the LED display in Kannada and English about all major stops of the route continuously scrolling from left to right and it is a delightful sight and easy to figure out if that bus is for you or not. Vajra buses have 50% seats at low level and the rest 50% at an elevated level. Nice Kannada FM radio plays all the time and most importantly Air Conditioned




Now, there are at least 1000 such buses that will be added to the existing fleet and old ones would be soon removed. Good thing...If Volvo buses are plying on roads, government may not spend lots of money on CNG as Volvo causes extremely low pollution. This is in fact the reason why Volvo buses are being used heavily in Shanghai too.

The existing "Parisara Vahini"(second image below) buses still operate and they are manufactured by EICHER or even Pushpak(first image below buses continue to ply on the roads.



























When BIAL airport was opened just abt 1 or 2 years ago, BMTC introduced special non-AC Suvarna buses exclusively to the airport with a fixed set of stops and limited passengers. This however did not generate that much enthusiasm. So, Suvarna buses(image below) were added to the regular fleet in more numbers than the airport one.

When Suvarna buses were added, they hiked the prices and as a result - "Parisara Vahini" buses got more revenue. Later, they slashed the prices of both Suvarna and Vajra buses and introduced pass systems for them. This has now giving them huge profits. There were huge complaints on Suvarna buses being not available at peak hours despite BMTC's promise. However, due to raging agitation, BMTC increased its peak hour frequency on 20 major routes.

This is the existing fare structure as of Feb 2009 when the prices of both Suvarna and Vajra were slashed and as a result a common gets an AC Volvo bus to travel within the city. For most routes Suvarna doesn't allow commuters standing and thereby runs less than 50% occupancy in a day while Vajra allows the same. Of almost a fleet of 500 Suvarna buses, 116 of them are exclusively offered to Airport service.

Interestingly, it appears that BMTC never wants to be passive. Recently, they introduced 3 different types of bus services within the city. They include the Orange line Kendriya Sarige, Blue line Kendriya Saarige and the yellow BIG10. The pictures of all 3 are below:

The orange and blue lines connect different parts of the cities covering only the main areas/stops and there is a flat fare of Rs.10 between any 2 points on a line. The areas that these cover are available in the maps below: The maps are available online on http://btis.in which is the official website.

Areas covered by the blue and orange Kendriya Saarige.




The Big10 covers 10 major roads using which commuters can go from any one such road to the other.


Besides these, there is "VAYU VAJRA" services exclusively from and to International Airport to various city points. There are almost 16 different routes and they dont intersect and there is a separate provision for keeping luggages and the number of seats are limited. This map has been put up just outside the airport.



They start at 5:30 am and ends at 1:00 am on most routes. Completely A/C and music playing all the time, it is a very comfortable ride. No sound of the engine, less noisy and fuel efficient buses has changed the city a lot. Only hitch is the roads. If the roads in the city were wide enough, the experience would have been ideal. The road from the new airport to the city entrance i.e Mekhri Circle is the best road in Bangalore as of now.

Let's not forget whenever Bangalore Metro becomes operational, BMTC is going to get a tough time. Anyday railways would be preferrable over buses within the city because of heavy traffic and time taken to commute.

However, as a Bangalorean I am proud that we have a chance to see and use a revamped bus transporation system which is both eco-friendly and commuter friendly.

I am sure very soon all major cities will start using such eco-friendly buses and at least we can reduce pollution - air and noise on roads. Thanks to UPA Govt's JNNURM scheme which is very good in its content, but must change the way the funds flow so that there is no misuse. Not all organizations can be like BMTC (doesnt mean BMTC is perfect, but is definitely doing better) in terms of fund utlization.

Right to Education Bill - What right path to implement?

Sometimes, I wonder and ponder over the fact that I am born in that country which was the origin of the greatest mathematicians, scholars, scientists, doctors and many more professionals who lived and contributed to the entire mankind so much that we continue to live on these. Our Nalanda University (presently in Bihar) or Taxila (the present day SWAT region in Pakistan) was the hub where even the Chinese, Greeks, Romans came and learnt because the literacy and competency level we had was so high. Since our independence in 1947, we have tried, but struggled to make even a literacy rate of 70%. This is purely because of the absysmal implementation of literacy missions and govt schools.

Perhaps, there was no legal cover to education. In 2002, during Vajpayee's govt 86th amendement was made that made education a fundamental right, but failed to come up with details of the law. In a historic move, the UPA govt passed the Right to Education Bill with more or less unanimous consensus from all parties. Good. The implications or the effect of this legislation and its salient features include as given in the picture (courtesy: Telegraph newspaper)

















There are interesting provisions that can easily become loopholes too. For example, there is this provision of a creation of a school in neighbourhood. If the child doesn't have one, then private schools must set up one or govt sets up one. This is the easiest where Govt's record could be the worst. This is because the incharge officers may not even bother to set up a school and even if set up, the infrastructure would be so pathethic that teachers may also run away. Just look at the hygeine of govt schools. The children may just run away. Look at the way meals are prepared in most govt schools ( as a part of Mid day meal ). They use inferior raw materials, rotten vegetables and cook food. Millions of children across the country have such food every day and no law and no govt comes to their rescue. Charging extra fees or donations is against law..but who follows? None. So, the punishment provision in the new bill is at best left undiscussed.

Further, there is a provision that a citizen may complain to the neighborhood officer and the officer may choose to act. This is the funniest part. How many officers who are appointed to this post would be honest? Very very few. If this is the nature, reliability has vanished even before the Act has become a full fledged law.

Excepting for Kendriya Vidyalayas and probably a few more, Govt schools are really not in any good shape conducive to any student, forget a teacher. Just look at this article that explains stinking toilets in Chandigarh schools.

This is another article that explains girls drop out is highest where there is no basic toilets/bathrooms for them. Although Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan started by Vajpayee Govt talks of teacher student partnership in cleaning and maintaining schools, no one follows it.

Actually in 2002 after a fiery debate Education was made a fundamental right.

Given these sad realities, we need to change the way govt schools run. For this, private companies and corporations must be given in charge to build schools, provide infrastructure ( of course with govt money) and recruit teachers. The Govt must pay teachers and not corporations/companies. Any issues w.r.t maintenance must be given to such private ones. Complete privatization would dinimish distinction between govt and private schools and private schools demand high donation fees. This deprives many students to enter the reliable private schools. Implementing schools this way will at least attract students to school and also would ensure they will compete with private ones.

Unless implementation of such laws is not given to people outside the Parliamentary circle, it is difficult to see them really transform the society.

Golden Lakshmi temple in Vellore

There are 3 places in India where gold has been extensively used for religious shrines and continue to attract thousands of people every day. These include Golden Temple in Amritsar, Tirupati Balaji temple in Tirupati and latest in the list is the "Sripuram Lakshmi Temple" in Vellore.

Vellore was a sleeping town and was known only for Vellore fort and the world famous CMC hospital. This temple suddenly has made the place very popular and a hub of tourist activity. Situated closely to both Bangalore and Chennai, the temple is attracting thousands of people everyday esp Tuesdays and Fridays. (The picture is taken from http://modernbarbarian.blogspot.com/2007/10/golden-temple-near-vellore.html)

Here's the distance chart
Link: http://www.trsiyengar.com/id123.shtml

Chennai - Vellore about 150 kms (Via Sriperumpudur, Sunkuwar Chathram, Kaveripakkam, Wallajahpet, Ranipet, Arcot, Ratnagari - or Arcot by-pass from Ranipet) - 3 and half hours drive from Chennai.

Bangalore - Vellore (via Hosur) - 220 kms (On national highway routes - NH7 > via - Hosur Road - Electronic City - Attibele(NH7) - Hosur - Kamandoddi - Shoolagiri- Melumalai - Kurubarapalli - Krishnagiri > NH46> - Bargur - Vaniyambadi - Ambur - Pallikondaj - Vellore. - around 4 hours drive)

Kanchipuram - Vellore - 58 kms

Tirupathi - Katpadi - 95 kms

Ranipet - Vellore - 26 kms (via Arcot bypass - highways 22 kms)

Hyderabad - Vellore - 510 kms

Mysore - Vellore - 270 kms

Thiruvannamalai - Vellore - 85 kms

Vellore - Sripuram Sri Mahalakshmi Golden Temple - 8 KM

The video below is taken from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1rQb7Asgfo


The salient aspects of the temple include:

1) 100 acres site and the temple periphery is star shaped and devotees have to go through it.

2) Made of 1.5 tonnes of gold.

3) Vimanam and Ardhamandapam have been coated with gold both interior and exterior.
4) About 400 goldsmithas and coppersmiths were involved (many of them from Tirpuati) in making this temple a really grand one.
5) Twelve layers of gold foils have been pasted on copper sheets embossed with the designs of Gods and fixed on the walls.
6) Exnora International has selected Sripuram, housing the Sri Lakshmi Narayani Temple in Thirumalaikkodi near Vellore for the ‘Green Temple Award.’ This is in recognition of its achievement of keeping the temple clean and green, growing thousands of trees on the premises and in the immediate environment, and implementing an Integrated Solid Waste Management (SWM) Project, according to M.B. Nirmal, founder of Exnora International.

The official website is http://www.sripuram.org/


The temple has generated a lot of employment in Vellore and tourism has become a livelihood to them. The temple is highly guarded and well maintained. My personal visit was truly a divine experience. The main "garbhagudi" or the central part of the temple is surrounded by water and it adds richness and grandeur to the glittering gold.