emancipation from frauds

text of the letter sent to the Times of India:

I refer to the report captioned "fraud-hit KSRTC decides to outsource accident claims" reported in your columns on Saturday, the 15th Sept.

What has been discovered is just one scam in one accident-claims wing. In a monopoly government organisation, like the KSRTC, it is inevitable that there will be many such scams flourishing simultaneously in many of its wings. The only lasting solution lies in having effective competition from reputed private corporates, which will then push the KSRTC into professionalising in order to survive. And, if they can meet the challenge, they too will flourish, like we have seen in the case of Indian Airlines, and if they can't, the world would be better off without them.

the power circus

text of the letter sent to the Times of India:

I refer to the news item captioned 'KPTCL starts new power company' - Power Company of Karnataka Ltd (PCKL), if you please - reported in your columns on the 8th Sept.

It is supposedly being promoted by KPTCL to set up three new 1000 MW mega power plants in the state. Now, when there already exists the fairly competent KPCL in the state for precisely the same purpose, one wonders what exactly the KPTCL and the government are upto.

Even stranger is the suggestion supposedly made to the ESCOMS to invest Rs 1 crore each in the new company to help it establish itself, even as they are collectively due from the government subsidy arrears of the order of Rs 2,400 crores.

All in all, the government, along with its agencies, has converted the power sector in the state into some kind of a circus. And, all that the KERC is interested in is playing the role of a consumer forum.

super-slow trains

text of the letter sent to the Times of India:

I refer to the editorial captioned 'slow train coming' published in your columns on the 3rd Sept.

Leave aside comparing our Rajdhani's (averaging 90 kmph speeds) with the Japanese/ European bullet trains (averaging 200 kmph), we have, in this modern day and age, the so-called Bangalore - Kanyakumari "Express", linking the two southern capital cities of Bangalore and Trivandrum, recording a dismal 49.45 kmph on an average. And, in response to repeat appeals from the public for atleast one regular overnight fast train of the like of a Rajdhani, all that the Indian Railways, can come up with is a set of so-called 'specials' on odd days and at odd timings, serving very little purpose. And, as if to add to the injury caused to the regular travellers in this segment by this step-motherly treatment, they go on label some of them that barely manage to average 55 kmph as "superfast" and levy a surcharge in addition.

Not surprising at all that there are some four flights a day now between Bangalore and Kochi, and the number is growing. That much for the business acumen of the Railways minister, Laloo Prasad Yadav, and his recently acquired 'management guru' status.