Saturday, August 27, 2011

Lokpal Bill 2011 (?)

India never lacked laws, rather its' their enactment. Hawking, Traffic, Tax-Evasion, Pollution, Civic Contracts et al, are not in a mess due to lack of law, rather due to lack of their implementation. I'm not cynical, but not yet a believer either.

During the last two weeks, the Indian Government has been witness to the overwhelming force of public opinion pertaining to Corruption in Public Office. The UPA Government tried every trick in its' book from ridicule, merciless character assasination, fradulent charges and - as witness yesterday from the speech of an undeserving leader - denial of fitness of purpose.

I hate that politician, especially after learning about his truth from Subramanian Swamy's video on youtube.com, and such individuals, not content at sucking the Indian resource-pool dry for decades, take recourse of such antics at every opportunity they get.

Anyway, coming back to the point, a strong Lokpal Bill, will make it immensely difficult for those occupying public office to indulge in corruption, but there is a tremendous will amongst the bureaucracy to make the most of the powers given to them, and as the old adage goes - where there's a will, there's a way.

I am sure the bureaucrats will find their way out of the Citizens' Charter, with fine print that will overwhelm citizens in its' interpretation. The Lokpals & Lokayuktas' if appointed by the government can be as powerful as our current President or Lok-Sabha Speaker, and lastly, the lower bureaucracy will find cover under its' sheer volumes.

Status Quo? Perhaps not, there is always a turning point in the path of darkness, it seldom leads to daylight immediately, rather it assures one that every step taken leads you away from darkness. Yes, India has taken that the right steps, but, the day of celebration is too far away!

Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Sound Emissions: SX4 v/s Auto-Rickshaw

I hate autorickshaws! They represent the disease that afflicts Mumbai's prosperity, and are a menace on roads. Driven by un-educated, poor and unhygienic drivers, its' unbelievable that people of this city place their fate in such hands. As if the meter-tampering, abusive / filthy language and thick-spewing exhaust is not enough, there are reportedly 2 illegal rickshaws for every legally permitted one in the suburbs of Mumbai.

Two-stroke / four-stroke rickshaws are known for various vices, but the one that probably gets least attention is their enormous appetite for Noise Pollution. The auto-rickshaws' flout every known sound-limit imposed within the city for ANY zone anywhere. Its' socialism that's keeping them alive, otherwise, its' hard to imagine such an outdated relic of the past continuing to rub shoulders with Civics/SXs/Corollas/3-Series that dot the Mumbai roads.

I did a systematic study of noise pollution by recording sound levels while travelling in a rick and compared it to a drive in my SX4 car. The difference is neither subtle nor worth ignoring.


(Click to see the full sized version)

The rickshaws' are maiming us, perhaps even killing us slowly and steadily, but the corrupt officers and policemen will NOT act, not unless they find an easy way of bribes.