Technological one-upmanship is the name of the game.

This is in continuation of my earlier post “Enhancement of security for railways”.

Couple of days back “Mumbai Mirror” reported the uncanny accuracy displayed by equipment designed to detect the presence of explosive. The equipment was in the process of being tested by the Central Railways Authorities at Mumbai. It was accurate enough to detect the presence of miniscule trace of RDX on the hands of a senior Railway Officer who had touched the explosive out of curiosity and then had taken the care of washing his hands.

The price of that particular explosive detecting instrument was reported to be in the vicinity of 2 – 2.5 lac rupees per piece. Now this is where technology may play a big role in making the world safer. The price is so good that, it may be possible to install such equipments not only at all the railway stations but also in all the trains. And, if Indian Railways places an order for a sizeable quantity, which it is definitely capable of doing, then it may even be in a position to effectively negotiate for a much favourable price.

It must be borne in mind that one way to improve the security related paraphernalia is to keep on using the latest and the most technically advanced equipment. No doubt, the disruptive elements will sooner or later get hold of ways and means to circumvent such equipment but there will be a time lag; and the trick lies in utilizing the time lag to innovate and employ even better and advanced equipment. This will always remain a game of one-upmanship unless and until the fundamental fault-lines are recognized afresh and actions for rectifying them are taken in a holistic manner.

The only saving grace is that as of now, the disruptive elements (read terrorists, crime syndicates etc.) do not seem to be in a position to upstage the mainstream society (read legitimate governments / nations etc) as far as technology is concerned. But the big question is the overall economic cost of this game of one-upmanship, and there lies the catch – even if all goes well, still the world will be paying a massive amount in terms of economic cost.

What is good and what is bad? (Dead dog in the freezer)

Just imagine, a new tenant rents an appartment, evidently an appartment which was furnished, atleast to the limited extent that a refrigerator was available for use. The tenant opens the refrigerator and finds a dog (a dead dog) inside. This did not happen in China or Korea but in Germany.

The earlier tenant owns up the (mis)deed and by way of explanation says that the dog had died a natural death several months back, but due to paucity of time he had put the dead-body in the freezer. The culprit is about to be charged under some German Law which deals with the proper disposal of animal cadaver.

On the face, it looks like it was rare case of deviant behavior which happened in a far away land. But just think, what of Mumbai or what of any other big city in our country. Who knows, the same thing may happen with some BPO employee pressed for time and bereft of emotional connect with his or her pet. The vast expanse of landscaped city may also become a contributory factor.

Yes, we are integrating with the world, after all globalization is happening at a rapid pace and therefore, please do not feel smug (as an Indian), when disturbing news from far away countries are reported. The same thing may be soon happening in our country as well. Obviously, with the desirable good things the undesirables may also force its way. But, again who knows what is desirable and what is undesirable and whether we are qualified and competent to comprehend what is good and what is bad.

Deafening silence of TV news channels about disruptions caused by rains in Mumbai

For the last couple of days it has been raining heavily. Till yesterday the news about the disruptions in Mumbai due to heavy rains was conspicuously absent. It seemed that everything was fine.

But in the morning, newspapers broke the façade of normalcy by disseminating the factual position about disruptions in train traffic which had been caused due to incessant rains. TV was switched on to gauge the latest position but again a façade of normalcy was being maintained by almost all the TV channels. Plethora of news about the havoc being wrought by rains in several parts of the country, but again a deafening silence about the situation in Mumbai. The only news was about the grim situation in faraway Kalyan, where water had entered as water was released from the Barvi dam, but nothing substantial about Mumbai proper.

It was only in the late afternoon when the news channels could wake up to face the reality square on, and to gather the courage to inform the Mumbaikars and Navi-Mumbaikars about the grimness of the situation.

My question is why the delay? Was the delay mandated by instructions coming from the Government? Or was there some kind of informal but internal censorship to avoid panic reactions amongst the lay public? Or was it plain incompetence of our venerable news channels?

Anyway, it seems that our esteemed news channels have taken a leaf out of “Drama In Real Life” featured in the Reader’s Digest – as was evident by their excellent coverage of the “Prince” episode – were busy looking for some other drama which they could milk to their advantage, without being pulled up by the Government. It goes without saying that intensive as well as extensive telecasting of such episodes leaves a feel good aftertaste for all concerned; it ensures that the Government, the TV channels as well as the rescued victims all come out shining.

So, why risk being removed from the good books of the Government and be deprived of all the spoils of patronage ( you scratch my back, I will scratch your back or you avoid slapping me and in return I will not slap you). Let the commuters suffer, it does not make any difference; just keep on announcing on the ticker - “heavy rains lash Mumbai but all schools, colleges and offices to remain open”.