The Crumbling Railway Infrastructure of Kochi

 A picture is worth more than a thousand words. Here are ten images that illustrate the crumbling railway infrastructure of Kochi city, and the pathetic apathy of Indian Railways in managing railway assets.

1. Train to where? One can understand the need for rake sharing, but what is the point of destination boards if it only serves to confuse and confound passengers. 

2. Platform #4&5 of Ernakulam Junction (South). Travelers need to get some mountaineering experience before they use the station to enter or exit trains. And the wide gap between the platform and the train has already claimed multiple lives...  

3. If the platform at Ernakulam Jn is ultra-low, platform #1 at Ernakulam Town (North) is ultra-narrow. This should get into the Guiness Book of World Records as the narrowest platform in the world.

4. Senior citizens struggling to get inside the train from the ultra-low platforms at Ernakulam Town and Ernakulam Jn. Together, these stations contribute the most revenue to Southern Railways, outside Chennai.

5. The Old Railway Station behind High Court. Once the terminus of the Shoranur-Ernakulam line, this station is now abandoned. Vestiges of the tracks still remain. 

6. Blatant encroachment of railway land (Old Railway Station), literally next door to the High Court of Kerala. 

7. The abandoned railway siding to Cochin Shipyard. The line has been tarred and concreted over at the place it crosses MG Road

The abandoned Mattancherry Halt Railway Station.

9. This is not a tropical rain forest or a biological eco-hot spot. This is Cochin Harbour Terminus. Just 40 years ago, this was the largest railway terminal in Kerala. This very spot has two pit lines, now buried under the forest.

10. Cochin Harbour Terminus, left to rot. A criminal waste of public funds and prime real estate.

The tracks to nowhere. The abandoned tracks at Cochin Harbour Terminus.

Kochi's Kiss of Love

It all started with the Downtown event in Kozhikode, when a group of hotheads smashed up the Downtown café alleging that the café offered a venue for lovers to indulge in "immoral activities." It was an act of moral policing and vandalism combined. No prizes for guessing the perpetrators - the Congress owned TV channel which aired a couple merrily indulging in DFK (Deep French Kiss) in the car parking of the café, and the BJP affiliated Yuva Morcha happily taking it up and smashing up the café to smithereens. When it comes to fishing in troubled waters, political parties of the same feather tend to aid one another.

Meanwhile, as a protest against moral policing, a group of "free thinkers" decided to host "Kiss of Love" on November 2, 2014 - when couples were encouraged to come out to the Marine Drive grounds at Kochi and kiss one another in public.

At the stated time, the sprawling Kochi Marine Drive grounds, the nearby roads and walkways were teeming with:
- Desperadoes expecting to participate in a kiss fest. The well-intained stayed off, as they knew it was a BYOP (Bring-Your-Own-Partner) event.
- Perverts hoping to see people kissing.
- Goondas of all hues, ready in battle formation, proudly sporting their flags (and fangs.)
- members of political parties and/or their affiliates, all tongues blaring, shouting slogans and marching forth
- Members of religious and "social" groups, giving established political parties a march for their lungpower (literally). Obviously, minding their own business is something that religious fundamentalists and politicians cannot conceive of.
- The police
- A few actual protesters, about 50-odd in number to be precise.

An hour before the D-Day of 5 PM, the police took pre-emptive action and arrested all the 50-odd protesters who had gathered at the nearby Law College.

The world looks on as goons who threaten to beat up people for doing something perfectly legal are allowed to do their thing and go away scot free, head held high, whereas those who expressed their intention to kiss each others are arrested and hauled away as criminals.

Here's the picture worth a thousand words, featuring Rahul Pasupalan, the "ringleader" of the "Free Thinkers" and his bikini model wife Resmi Nair

Image Source: http://english.manoramaonline.com/news/just-in/kiss-of-love-supporters-arrested-by-police.html


Many people, while supporting the protester's basic stand against moral policing finds fault with the method of protest: kissing in public, stating that there are better methods to protest. Such people fail to comprehend a far bigger underlying issue than moral policing - the issue of freedom and liberty. Specific to this case, the choice of means of protest lies with the protester, not with anyone else. Expecting protesters to adhere to your values and methods in protesting is, by definition, a fascistic and totalitarian approach.

Anyway, here are the key takeaways from the (non) event:

• The Shiv Sena and the Sunni Youth Front were on the same side today. For all their religion-based rhetoric, what religious hardliners and fundamentalists basically want is to dictate how others should live their lives. That is the common thread running across self-appointed messiahs of all dimensions. Meanwhile, the liberals cutting across religious lines found themselves on the other side. We haven't seen the last of this, and I feel such a polarization is not necessary a bad thing for it exposes the fanatics cutting across religious lines for what they are. 
• In a sense Kochi became the launch pad of the new post-Congress socio-political paradigm that will crystallize in the days to come - the "conservatives" who strive to uphold the so-called "traditional" values and who want to impose their views on others, versus the "liberals" who value personal freedom and liberty. 
  
• In a democracy, strikes and struggles are meant to create opinion rather than direct on the spot result, and in this context, the ripples that this movement created itself is its victory - the event was covered by news corporations ranging from NDTV to Al Jazeera, it has gone viral in the social media, and similar "Kiss of Love" are already happening in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune and other places.
• This event could just be the trigger required for a wider social change. A good number of people would view this episode as a cheap attempt to popularize an immoral and sinful Western culture into the mainstream. Without going into the issue of morality and righteousness of lovers kissing one another, or even having a lover in the first place, and whether such a culture would damn its adherents and supporters to the lowest pit of hell, this event has brought to spotlight the much wider issue of individual liberty and freedom. In a free society, individuals have the right to their "private space" as long as they do not do anything illegal and by doing so they do not violate the private space of others. The wider society has no business to dictate to individuals how to dress, walk, sleep, eat, shave, or conduct themselves. It is the individual's choice to follow religious or societial dictates or repudiate them in favour of something else. That is what freedom is all about.
• If nothing else, this event has increased the awareness on Article 21 (2)- Right of Privacy - guaranteed by the constitution of India. Those who are not aware of their rights, rarely get to enjoy them.

In the meantime, in these parts of the globe, pissing in public is okay … kissing in public is a crime.

The Thriving Orphanage Industry iin Kerala

The Muslim orphanages or "yatheem khanas" in Kerala are in the news recently, for all the wrong reasons.

First of all, let me clarify that there are many good Muslim orphanages around in Kerala, doing good work.

However, there is no denying the fact that quite a few orphanages are more businesses and commercial enterprises using religion as a front. It is an ecosystem in itself, comprising of agents, traffickers, religious charlatans, politicians, and sundry others.

The collection agents, donning the grab of religious scholars, run amok all over the place and Gulf, to collect "donations" for the upkeep of these "orphans." What they don't tell you is that these collection agents get to keep 10-20% of the amount collected as "commission" and the so-called orphanage gets the remaining 80% approx. From these, go the various administrative expenses and paraphernalia. One prominent orphanage had to its credit constructing a big "gate" out of the donations received to care for the orphans, which was inaugurated by a notable supremo, no one less. The inmates of the orphanage get whatever trickles down - nothing quite different from government spending really.

Let me give you a personal experience. Some seven-eight years back I was approached by a well known "scholar" near Nilambur, seeking donation for his orphanage. He used his gift of gap to present it quite attractively : the gist of it was that "invest Rs 9000/- to support the day to day care of an orphan for a year. Consider is as an investment for the after-life." A few months back I got the news that this so-called "scholar" was accumulating a real estate empire with such collections. I don't know whether the inmates were well-cared or not, but what I do know is that this "scholar" invested a few crores to build up an "asset" for the "orphanage" and according to him someone conveniently "cheated him" and that this asset is now somebody's personal property and no longer with the orphanage.


Nnow, there is another thing that very few "scholars" associated with an "orphanage" will tell you. Islam recommends is that orphans be supported by the closest relatives that they have. If they are poor, others can offer zakat (charity) to them. Orphanages are meant for the truly destitute, and others whose closest relatives, for any reason, cannot look after the orphan. The "commercial orphanages," (for want of a better term) usually have many children with one or even both parents living, and these children go their houses on every weekend - it is more of an boarding facility, with a few real orphans thrown in the mix.

However, it is wrong to paint every orphanage in the same brush, and say that government take over all orphanages. In the midst of these, the real orphanages who truly try to help the orphans and the destitute also get a bad name.

An Alternative Left in Kerala?

The recent move by RSP to break away from LDF owing to CPM's denial of either Kollam or Pathanamthitta seat in the upcoming elections to the Lok Sabha may, on the face of it seem as a power-hungry and opportunistic move by N.K. Premachandran. After all, CPM had wrested the seat away from RSP in 1999. Since then, Premachandran was a Rajya Sabha member, and then a State Minister. Now that he is neither, he wants the Lok Sabha seat back.

However, this may be the straw that broke the camel's back. The fault-lines have been evident for many years now, and the fact that CPM considers Phillipose Thomas, a card-holding Congressman as a better candidate than its long standing ally (RSP) actually leaves RSP with no choice but to break away.

The travesty would come if RSP takes Congress support, considering that N. K. Premachandran has been the most vocal critic of the UDF/UPA misrule all these while.

Actually, CPM believes it has a monopoly of Left voice. The smaller parties that break away making a beeline to the UDF camp strengthen this perspective.

RSP has a golden opportunity to unite all the anti-CPM left parties and offer a viable Left alternative in Kerala. RSP, JD, RMP, JSS, CMP, VS-fraction of CPM etc. can become a viable force.

It may not bring in short term dividends - RSP may lose the Kollam seat now, but they can surely reap long term benefits.

Alternatively, considering that RSP leaders, especially Premchandran have a clean image they can even think of allying with AAP. In fact, Premchandran can even think in terms of joining AAP and become the face of AAP in Kerala.

Of Reservations and Welfare: Institutionalizing the Caste System

The obsession with minority welfare, SC/ST welfare, majority welfare etc is absurd and runs contrary to the spirit of the Constitution of India that grants equality to all citizens.

What right does the state or central government have to categorize all of us, me and you, as "minority" "majority" "SC/ST" etc and allocate seats / doles on such quota? That we may happen to be born into one of these groups does not mean a thing when it comes to being worthy for a post or being eligible for any dole/handout. I for one resent being included as a "vote bank" and prefer that whatever benefits I get should be as an individual citizen of the country and not as a community member.

None of the reservations / handouts / schemes targeting members of specific communities are necessary if

1. The government institutes a comprehensive, meaningful and all-encompassing social security inclusive of unemployment benefits, pension and free health care available to ALL citizens. THEN, remove the special benefits to govt. employees so that everyone who works is more or less on the same page. This will remove the scramble for government / PSU jobs and the associated cries for reservation. Have you ever heard of any community leader raise a hue and cry for not being adequately represented in private sector jobs?

2. Rather than create scarcity and play god doling out limited seats to their selected ones, government should use the money to augment capacity. For eg, investing in more colleges rather than handing out doles would mean that anyone who wants to study for a course will get a seat, so the question of reservation of seats becomes meaningless. Scholarships are always an option for the economically weak, and this has to cut across caste and community. I cannot for the love of God fathom why we need a separate scholarship for "minority students," "SC/ST students" etc. Wouldn't one scholarship for everyone, providing everyone actually gets it, be just as effective?

3. Play a proactive role in ensuring that merit and the rule of the law is enforced. Many a time, demands for reservations come when some community or group happen to usurp power (i.e dominate the decision making panels) in an organization and then most appointments / seats are cornered by members of that community/group (there are many such examples). This may require some affirmative action recruitment, but this should be temporary and again, not benefiting any one community on a permanent basis (which would then create a new inequality) but rather any community who happen to be marginalized.

Treating people on the basis of their birth rather than the basis of their merit is the core essence of the caste system. Various minority organizations, by demanding special privileges for their community members, are actually clamoring for strengthening the caste system, yet they realize it not.

Of Projects and Project Reports

Of late, the Kerala State Planning Board decided to shelve its much vaunted High Speed Rail Corridor project. The proposal has met with severe criticism from the very onset, the reason for opposing varying from allegations that proposal being publicity stunt to a means to siphon off kickbacks, and from the proposal being an impractical fantasy dreamt up by those who have no sense of ground reality, to a means to help the real estate mafia.

The 630 km line between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargod, cutting across most districts would have made traveling faster, but at 1.80- lakh crore, the project was all set to become a financial white elephant. Realization seems to have finally struck that there are many alternatives that would ensure speedier travel at a far lesser cost: catamarans, quadrupling existing railway lines, mini-airports at all district headquarters, augmenting the existing highway network with more lanes and flyovers, and more are some of the possible options.

However, what is of concern here is the state already transferring Rs 17 crore to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for preparing the detailed project report. Needless to say, this is money down the drain, Worse, the government had also formed a public limited company- Kerala High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd - to implement the project, appointing an IAS officer as the managing director. This entire administrative jamboree is also substantial money down the drain. This reckless spending becomes even more grave when the government repeatedly claims to be short on funds to carry out infrastructural projects.

A basic no-frills flyover costs about 20 to 25 crores – and needless to say, there are many junctions in the state that cry for the same. The next time, say for instance, you are caught up in a traffic jam at Vytilla in Kochi, the busiest junction in the state, remember that a (toll-free) flyover could well have come up there had the government spend the money on something constructive rather than blow it away on a needless project report.

Good governance is doing something constructive on the ground, not announcing projects left, right and centre and blowing away the taxpayer's money on needless paperwork.

Lessons from Smart City Kochi

Recently, the much hyped Smart City in Kochi has been in the news for all the wrong (and right) reasons.  Even as they claim to have commenced the much delayed construction, they have sub-leased the SEZ land for schools, educational institutes, and other establishments.

There is a difference between entrusting construction to a contractor and sub-leasing the land itself for development.

If sub-lease is at play, then what exactly is the role of TECOM? Why did the govt. give not just land but even money to TECOM. (The government gave away 200+ acres of land and around 15 crores as the government's share of equity in the company, to promote "investment."). They (either GoK directly or Infopark) could very well have called for a tender and given land to the sub-lessee directly, eliminating the middleman TECOM.

And it is not that TECOM has lobbied for Kochi's cause and brought in Universal Studios or Harvard University - they've so far brought in the likes of SCMS and GEMS, all local or regional players, who would surely have come in anyway.

Note that TECOM may be "legally" right to sub-lease, but the issue here is of the "law" itself. Smart City Kochi is the local manifestation of the wrong policies and sham in vogue all over India, in the name of attracting investments.

TECOM is not going to sublease for charity. They will take their cut. So as things stand, TECOM walks away with money that is rightfully due to exchequer, and that money could have been used for many things - least of all, to remove the toll at Kundanoor or Paliyenkara or Puleppady or Ponnuruni.

So the next time the government says it has no money to replace toll with annuity, the next time the government raises petrol/diesel/LPG price saying that need more tax (while pretending to remove subsidies), remember the revenue lost from TECOM. This is a possible example of how corruption affects you and me.