Rapid Action Force Personnel Urges West Bengal Government to Fight Maoists Judiciously
(An exoticecho.com exclusive)
Sijua is a small hamlet under Salboni Police Station in Maoist infested West Midnapore District of West Bengal. Sijua is surrounded by the dense forests of Goaltore, Tirekota and Salboni. exoticecho.com talked to a RAF personnel staying at the barracks of a Rapid Action Force Squad in Sijua, currently engaged in a joint anti-rebel operation with the Central Security Forces in the area. The village of Sijua is strategically located and Maoists or the ultra Left Wing forces are desperately trying to capture the region as the ability to secure the area would offer the Maoist guerillas a distinct advantage by giving them a border region to wield their authority and offer tougher resistance to the security forces.
Talking to exoticecho.com a senior officer of the Rapid Action Force told exoticecho.com on conditions of anonymity that the Maoists had failed to penetrate Sijua because of a sizeable population of CPI (M) supporters who have robustly defended relentless attacks by the Maoist rebels.
However this is not the scenario in the adjoining areas where the writs of the Maoists run large. The officer however urged the West Bengal government to be judicious in the tactical deployment of troops from the West Bengal police in the war zone. He asserted that deployment of troops at the barracks for a prolonged span of time enabled the Maoists to spot and target them with ease while the personnel of the Rapid Action Force are traveling elsewhere in civilian dresses.
According to the officer deployment of police officials from the lower levels for a long time without the presence and guidance of an official belonging to the rank of an IPS officer was not a wise choice. He revealed that high ranking police officials hardly stayed for a week or two and were provided with all sorts of comfort, the officials belonging to the lower ranks had to languish in the barracks for months without adequate provisions for a proper living.
The RAF official pointed out that an uncovered well, the only source of water for the cops was utilised for drinking after passing the water through a strainer. He nonetheless said that despite numerous constraints work for constructing a drinking water tap had already started and lauded the administration for the effort.
As far as the weaponry provided by the government to combat the Maoist rebels was concerned, the RAF official said though the weapons provided by the government were satisfactory in thwarting Maoist assaults, the bullet proof jackets provided to the troops of the Rapid Action Force were cumbersome as they were quite heavy and exerted a great deal of strain on the troops while patrolling large stretches. He appealed to the government to offer modern bullet proof jackets that are light in weight so that they could perform the task of patrolling Maoist affected regions more efficiently.
Referring to the spate of attacks on cops fighting against the rebels and blaming them for the casualties suffered by them for their lax attitude, the RAF personnel told exoticecho.com, “Cops are humans. They too need rest after long hours of patrols. At times they take a break from their tiring schedule by relaxing at tea stalls and roadside village eateries. Taking advantage of the circumstances, Maoists posing as customers engage them in conversation and shoot them from point blank range and snatch their weapons. He refused to further elaborate on the topic.
Back Dr Pradip Sikdar: Need to safeguard Kolkata wetlands to avert groundwater catastrophe in metropolis (In an exclusive interview to exoticecho.com, Dr Pradip Sikdar noted hydro geologist explains the significance of the wetlands of Kolkata and the need to safeguard them to prevent ground water contamination and maintaining the ecological balance of “The City of Joy”.)
Kolkata November 30: Wetlands can be termed as transitional lands between terrestrial and aquatic system where the level of water is present at the surface or near it. According to RAMSAR Convention 1971 wetlands have been defined as regions consisting of marsh, fen, peat land or water, natural or artificial in form, temporarily or permanent in nature that can be static or brackish. This also comprises areas of marine water the depth of which does not exceed six meters.
Wetlands play a crucial role in sustaining an environment that is benign and helps in providing a healthy atmosphere for human beings. Wetlands are vital resources that offer eco-system services while at the same time regulate ecological activities that occur naturally. These include water storage, ground water recharge and discharge, flood control and river regulation, water purification as well as sediment retention. Wetlands are significant in terms of provisioning services that entail water supply both for humans and non human beings like birds and animals. Provisioning services of wetlands also include acting as resources for activities related to fisheries, agriculture, forage, craft materials and growth of medicinal plants. The cultural services that the wetlands offer come in the form of augmenting bio-diversity besides acting as cultural sites.
Wetlands act as a sink that absorbs Carbon Dioxide thereby reducing environmental pollution. They also absorb water and thus prevent flooding catastrophes in surrounding regions.
On 19th August 2002, East Kolkata wetlands were declared as RAMSAR site.
East Kolkata Wetlands is spread over an area of 12,500 hectares consisting of 45.93 percent of water bodies and 38.92 percent of agricultural terrain with the remaining area being occupied by urban and rural settlements, furthermore acting as garbage disposal sites.
Speaking exclusively to exoticecho.com Dr. Pradip Sikdar, professor of environmental management at the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management noted that East Kolkata wetlands are of great significance in terms of maintaining the ecological balance of nature in and around Kolkata. He observed with caution that lax measures to safeguard these vital water bodies could augment the environmental problems already being faced by Kolkata in the form of abnormal weather temperatures recorded in both summer and winter coupled with odd rainfall conditions witnessed in the rainy seasons. Dr Sikdar observed that the existence of these water bodies offered a natural water treatment resource to the city of Kolkata by collecting 800,000 metre cube of water flowing out of the city everyday and subsequently treating it naturally. Expressing his concern about the way in which large stretches of the East Kolkata wetlands have been converted to fallow land, settlements, waste disposal ground and canals between 1965 to 1998, Dr Sikdar warned that attempts were covertly being made to convert parts of these crucial East Kolkata wetlands to enable human settlements to flourish. In this connection he referred to the alarming rise in rampant construction of high rises along the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass of the city, resulting in the destruction of several water bodies in the region. The alteration to the wetlands all through 1965 to 1998 and purportedly beyond the period which has remained unnoticed have resulted in massive exploitation of ground water for drinking, agricultural as well as industrial purposes in the absence of any other alternative source of water. Consequentially there has been a remarkable fall in the ground water level of the affected regions. This has also enhanced the risk of ground water being contaminated.
According to Dr Sikdar the setting up of the leather technology complex on the eastern fringes of the East Kolkata Wetlands in Kolkata have led to the exploitation of large quantities of groundwater for coping up with the activities connected with the procedure of manufacturing leather goods. The current massive utilization of ground water posed a serious threat to the flow pattern of ground water enhancing the threat of pollutants from solid waste disposal grounds in the East Kolkata Wetlands travelling long distances and contaminating the ground water in the zones where the screens of the pumping wells that extract water for human consumption are located. As a result the deep tube wells that extract water for domestic utilisation in Kolkata as well as the adjoining regions may pump out water containing toxic metals and metalloid like copper, nickel, cadmium, lead, chromium and arsenic.
Dr Sikdar clarified that several areas of the East Kolkata Wetlands do not have the top confining layer of clay but consisted of sand that occurred at the top, making these areas vulnerable to ground water contamination through poisonous metals at a more rapid pace.
Dr Sikdar observed that in a bid to lessen the risk of pollution in the aquifers that existed in Kolkata and adjoining regions efforts should be undertaken to minimize interaction between wetland water and ground water. This can be achieved by regulating deep tube well operation time, making available treated water supply system and adopting measures to harvest rain water. Artificially recharging the aquifers by means of harvested rainwater is also vital for safeguarding the ground water level from decreasing alarmingly.
Dr Sikdar warned of the prospective threat to the ecological system of the city if exploitation of groundwater for human consumption and activities linked to the construction of dwelling units continued unabated in the upcoming township of Rajarhat as well as in areas located along the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass of the city.
BY ANJISHNU BISWAS
Back R.D. Burman’s accompanists recreate Pancham magic in Kolkata  November 21: Fourteen musicians, who accompanied R.D.Burman when he was alive while producing some of the eternal Hindi songs which are still popular among music lovers even today, enthralled a packed audience at Kala Mandir in Kolkata on Saturday with the instrumental rendition of some of the classic R.D. Burman songs that are widely adored even today.
The unique programme was organised by euphony an R.D.Burman fan club based in Kolkata. Manohar Singh, the renowned saxophone player weaved a magic spell on the audience in as he played some of the evergreen hits of R.D Burman also fondly referred to as Panchamda. Usha Uthup who made a guest appearance said that R.Burman’s music retained the same old magic of yesteryear and cast a magic spell on music lovers even today. The fourteen musicians formed a part of R.D. Burman’s team when the legendary musician gifted to the Hindi film industry a large number of greatly popular Hindi songs. Paachamda’s novelty in experimenting with sounds which he later incorporated in his songs have still remained exclusive and the credit for bringing in modernity to the world of Hindi music goes to him.
Son of Sachin Dev Burman, the famed music director of Bollywood, R.D.Burman assisted his father and learned the nuances of music from him. Some of the songs that were produced in the 1970’s and early eighties have still retained their charm as they are hugely popular even among the present generation of music lovers.
Jayanta, one of the members of the euphony told exoticecho.com that the programme had evoked a great response from both the young as well as the old generation of music lovers. He said that R.D. Burman’s followers were spread all across the globe and euphony had witnessed a sizeable boost to its membership in recent times.
BY ANJISHNU BISWAS
Back Micro-level planning apt for solving water crises in India India is a country where a number of regions face a severe shortage of water. With a view to solve this perennial problem of water crises in the affected areas of the country, dams are constructed for the purpose. Eminent environmentalist Dr Pradip Kumar Sikdar associated with the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management institute in Kolkata favours the water shed management plan that entails the construction of smaller water bodies in drought prone areas for catering to the demands of the people for water. Water shed management is also suitable for areas where rainfall is not sufficient and ground water level is not adequate for utilization.
According to Dr Sikdar there are two methods available for tapping and storing water. They are the soft engineering type and the hard engineering approach. Dr Sikdar says that the soft engineering type or micro level planning is preferable in comparison to the hard engineering approach which envisages the construction of huge dams with a great potential for triggering off an ecological catastrophe in the ecological system of the region where such dams are constructed. The soft engineering approach is preferable as it does not have any disastrous effect on the environment and does not render people homeless. Dr Sikdar observes that another serious threat that dams of great magnitude can pose is the triggering off deep seated fault associated with seismic activities thereby causing earthquakes and consequently causing great damage to life and property.
Dr Sikdar is of the opinion that people in dire need of water should not subjected to difficulties owing to delays arising out of controversies surrounding linked to the construction of dams. In this regard he cites the example of Sardar Sarovar dam that had resulted in a conflict between the proponents of the dam and those opposing it. Dr Sikdar feels that if dams have to be built proper rehabilitation of the people living in the region should precede its construction. He adds that measures to safeguard the ecological balance of the region should be adopted and proper examination of the seismic zone should be carried out before the project is launched. Constructions of dams can cause inundation of large areas adjoining it and transborder rehabilitation is the most apposite way of settling people affected by the downstream effect of dams during their construction.
BY ANJISHNU BISWAS
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