OPinionatED

or

VOX POPULI

by

 Aam Admi

Issue: 166                               Date:  29.08.2016

Contents:

1.       Harassing Consumers Over Transfer Of LPG Subsidy

2.       Caterpillar Train System Conceptually Weak

3.       Ban Keeping Of Dogs & Other Pets Altogether

Harassing Consumers Over Transfer Of LPG Subsidy

The Oil Marketing Cos. (OMC) are lately creating needless hurdles in releasing the LPG subsidy to consumers. In cases where the LPG connection is taken based on the Aadhar card as the identifying document in the KYC, the excuse being given sometimes is that the dealer has not seeded the Aadhar card in the DBT (Direct Benefits Transfer) module of the OMC computer systems and therefore the subsidy has not ben transferred. This is rather surprising since then how was the connection given in the first place and further how was the subsidy being transferred without any difficulty until now. In fact earlier a sms would be sent to the consumers indicating that the subsidy had been transferred. It seems this system has been dispensed with or working irregularly since people have to remind the dealer about the subsidy and they admit that the sms mechanism does not work sometimes and it is best we update the bank passbook. Lately for cylinders supplied in first week August 2016, the subsidy is not being credited to the bank passbook even beyond three weeks. Thus anyone will understand that the consumer is not responsible for inefficiencies in the OMC and their distributor channel and by any logic should not be penalized. Moreover, senior citizens do not have the energy and inclination to tackle such issues and would expect the system to work without a glitch when they have complied with all requirements. The simplest thing to do would be to check whether the consumer had given the Aadhar card details for the KYC and transfer these details to the DBT module. There have been other instances, it is understood, where consumers have been denied supply of cylinders and asked to give affidavits about their income being below Rs. 10 Lakhs so that the LPG subsidy would be given only to those whose income falls below that level. These are all the various forms of harassment that the government, the OMC’s and their dealers, in collusion are inflicting upon the hapless consumers just for a nominal subsidy. The subsidy is not important for the consumer but the irresponsible attitude of the government and its agencies to make things difficult on something which it is committed to give is disappointing. In fact the government can come out in the open and state that it does not want to give the LPG subsidy since it is a small amount anyway right now. But unfortunately it does not have the guts to do that because of the fall-out it will have in the sentiments of the people at large and with elections coming up in major States the government is running scared. But in the name of a subsidy the government through the OMC’s should not send the hapless consumer from pillar to post to get his cooking fuel, which at other times the government says is an essential item. The consumer has no choice but to comply with the demands of the OMC's since he normally does not have an alternative for cooking. The intention of the harassment is also clearly to get the consumer to give up the subsidy in disgust. In all this process the ordinary consumer is treated as a fake and the onus of establishing his bonafides and correct entitlements are thrust upon him, when he would have complied with these requirements in the first place. This is rather unfortunate that this government does not believe in its own people. Therefore it is best that the government gets its act together and streamlines the subsidy delivery under the DBT program and not harass people needlessly who are either senior citizens or people involved in their work and who do not have the time to run around submitting affidavits etc and/or correcting the operations of the OMC’s and their dealer network. Postscript: This is the state of the affairs of the government which widely touts that the DBT with linkage to the Aadhaar card will form the basis of transfer of funds direct to beneficiary accounts starting from MNREGA, scholarships to students, pensions and all other subsidies and benefits under government schemes. One wonders that when it is not able to manage the DBT of LPG subsidy to consumers which is a typical scale in size for other similar transfers, how will it handle larger number of transfers to MNREGA and pension beneficiaries in the future. The problem with government is because of their lethargy, non-working, errors, inconsistencies and general inefficiency, the brunt is borne by the aam admi who for fear of not getting a document or his pension or whatever complies with the government officials demands or instructions.

Caterpillar Train System Conceptually Weak

There was a news item about the concept of Caterpillar train transport as an option for urban transportation to enable customers to get to about 1 Km. from their place of stay. The system is expected to function through moulded coaches strung over any existing 5 meter road and supported by an arc over the road held up by poles on both sides of the road. This arc will support rails on which, both above and below the coaches will run. The passengers will be seating only and limited to say 20 persons.  This project is understood to have won in a design competition conducted by MIT, USA. More details are available at - http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/caterpillar-train-model-indian-railway-global-award-mit-2991429/.

The judges at the competition are understood to have raised questions about accidents in adverse weather conditions where wind velocities are high and the coaches being moulded plastic and being lightweight could get dislodged from its moorings resulting in accidents and loss of human life and/or damage to public property. This is a valid concern since there has been an accident while conducting trials of the SkyBus project of the Konkan Railway Corporation in Goa about ten years ago. The SkyBus was similar to the Caterpillar train mooted as a urban public transportation solution and was planned to use fibreglass moulded coaches suspended from concrete pillars set up in the central divider of any road. During trials at nominal speeds itself on a test track because of the lightweight nature of the moulded coaches and not having accounted for forces that would be encountered on turns, one of the engineers working on the project was flung out of the coach and fell to his death onto the road some 30 ft. below. The SkyBus project launched with great fanfare was thereafter scrapped. It would not be surprising to find out that the Indian engineer who conceptualised the Caterpillar train who is reported to be from the Indian Railways and may have been possibly involved in the ill-fated SkyBus project.

In any case the Caterpillar train system efficacy is doubtful since apart from operational reasons as above but also because it will be unsuitable for mass transit which is the crying need of our urban centres. Where traffic is low density such systems could work but these are conceptually unsuitable also when we look ahead into the future. With the existing infrastructure of roads within our cities limited for widening and expansion there is thinking that the space above the roads should be used for allowing traffic to move faster and without any hindrance or obstructions. Thus designers are looking at compact cars that can fly hovering  30 - 40 feet above the existing road in Star Wars style. There has also been talk of allocating such airspace for these new generation vehicles which makes the idea more realistic and not too far into the future. The Caterpillar train system will thus be a hindrance to such futuristic options and seems relatively outdated technology when you look at flying cars which have advantages of moving faster and have also more maneuverability in restricted city spaces. Amazon is  also looking at using drones for delivery of packages to households which may become a reality by next year which will also see the Caterpillar train system as an impediment. Conceptually any overground transportation system should not seek to reserve space for itself but space should be seen as a resource to be utilised in a time-sharing mode by different transportation systems since essentially space is scarce particularly in urban environments.

Ban Keeping Of Dogs & Other Pets Altogether

The Kerala government has been correct in taking measures to cull 'dangerous' dogs after some dogs attacked and killed the unfortunate old woman recently. How they will identify 'dangerous' dogs is another matter?  In the same locality, again another woman was attacked but she is reported to have luckily survived. Not only that there have been attacks by dogs on young children and infants in our cities mostly Bangalore which has also led to fatalities. The experience of dogs attacking you can be traumatic for the victims particularly for children who survive the attacks and they will carry the scars on their body and mind for life. Apart from this there is the difficult treatment process in the event of being bitten by dogs more so by rabid ones. . In this context Maneka Gandhi's comment that the Kerala government's action is illegal, seems to be out of context. Our governments are here to protect the life of human beings and surely not of the canine population is what Maneka Gandhi should realise. The dog menace is rampant across India in both its cities and villages because of the littering and open garbage disposal and needs to be tackled seriously. In fact as a humanitarian measure that benefits the animal population also is that keeping pets of all kinds should be banned. It does not make any sense for animals and birds to be held captive with restricted movements when nature has ordained that they should be free to roam the lands and the skies. Keeping pets is a selfish gesture by human beings for their benefit and pleasure and is  a kind of torture on the pets. At the worst, pets can be allowed to be kept by people but in the case of dogs all strays should be culled or rounded up and released in jungle areas of the country. For those keeping pets they should ensure that  they keep them in healthy condition with periodic visits to the vets, toilet train them and also comply with the requirements of safety and public hygiene when they take them out. In fact when people keep dogs as pets, it is a nuisance for others living in the locality since the pet owner takes out his dog and gets it to poop in front of the houses of others. This is not acceptable since abroad the dog owner has to collect the poop and deposit it in special bins or they have to carry it back to their homes for proper disposal and not litter the roads and parks as we see here. For safety, the bigger dogs should be muzzled when brought out while leashes are mandatory. Thus we should bring in legislation to either ban pets or at the least regulate the keeping of pets so that they are not a nuisance and a clear and present danger to society.

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