MODIFICATION NEEDED IN VEHICLE REGISTRATION PROCESS

I write this to call the attention of all those concerned about the need to change an existing practice in the registration of vehicles by Motor vehicles Department.
At present when a new vehicle is sold by a dealer it has to be registered with the registering authority under whose jurisdictional area the dealer office is situated. At the same time if the customer is staying in an area outside the geographical jurisdiction, the registering authority does not do the permanent registration, instead the vehicle is given only a temporary registration number and the customer is required to take the vehicle to the registering authority under whose geographical jurisdiction he stays for permanent registration.
For example, if we take the case of a customer staying in Ernakulam City (which falls under RTO Ernakulam) buys a vehicle from a dealer situated on NH Bye pass near Kundannoor (which falls under Jt. RTO Tripunithura) the vehicle will be given a temporary registration by Jt RTO Tripunithura and the customer is required to take the vehicle to RTO Ernakulam for the permanent registration, within the validity period of the temporary registration.I think, this particular situation leads to unnecessary difficulties for  the customer.
I would like to suggest to the authorities concerned to have a look into the present instructions and amend the same at lease to ensure that the vehicle purchased by a person staying within the district should be permanently registered by the RTO under whose jurisdiction the office of the dealer falls, unless the customer specifically wants to register it in an office near to him. Hope somebody will hear the plea

ORGANISATIONAL ACTIVITIES BY LEADERS DURING WORKING HOURS

The State Pay Commission chairman Justice (Retd) Ramachandran Nair has made some plain speaking, before submitting his report, which may not be to the liking of the leaders of the employees' organisations and the politicians as well. The organisation leaders have already come out against his comments.

But from a layman's point of view, what is wrong in his recommendations? The employees are being paid salary by the Government for discharging their official duties and not for doing organisational works.

If the so called leaders are so keen to offer their services to the betterment of their brethren, they should devote their time outside the office hours only. As a retired employee, I have always been harping on this point while in service also. I strongly believe an association of the employees is necessary for collective bargaining, effectively defend the employees against any wrong doings by the managements, government etc. But these activites should be carried out after the leaders discharge their official duties. Now we can see , in the government sector there are any number of organisations owing allegiance to various political parties, even though the Kerala Service Rules (KSR) strictly prohibit any political activity by its employees. All the political parties nurture these organisation to strengthen their cadre base and the ruling and opposition parties are united in this. 

Even the news reports of print and visual media refer to these organisations as organisation owing allegiance to the ruling party, association owing allegiance to the opposition etc. when they report about the activities of these organisations.

However, of late in all spheres, the leaders had been given some unlimited powers, which they wield on all occasions as per the directives of their parent political organisations. And the ordinary members, who are citizens of a highly literate state merely follow the diktats of the leaders for fear of transfer to a distant place etc!!!

I hope the public conscience will wake up after the plain speaking by Justice Ramachandran Nair

PENSION REVISION FOR BANKMEN

The seventh pay commission for central government employees has recommended an increase of about 24% for the central government pensioners also. I am sure the government will accept the recommendations and implement the same in tot.

However, in view of this recommendations, I wonder why the government and IBA should be shy about accepting the demand from the Bank pensioners too. It is surprising to note that during the signing of the 10th bipartite settlement with the unions of employees and officers of the Banks, IBA has mentioned that "as Banks do not have any contractual liability towards the pensioners, the demand for revision of pension along with salary revision cannot be accepted". If that be so, how come the pension of government employees is considered for revision?

A moot point to be considered here is the government is ready to shoulder the additional financial burden on account of the pension revision out of the revenue income, whereas the Banks are required to meet this liability from the profits earned by them from commercial operations. All the present day pensioners of the Banks have played a pivotal role in taking the Banks to the present level and hence is it too much to expect to claim a part of the annual profits towards a periodical revision of pension of these veterans? In line with the agitation by the soldiers for OROP, the Bank pensioners should also launch struggle to achieve this goal, if the government and IBA don't wake up and revise their decisions. Simultaneously efforts through other channels like negotiations, legal actions etc too should be continued, I feel.

RBI's CREDIT POLICY

Contrary to  all expectations, RBI has reduced the repo rate by 50 basis points, while the expectation was a reduction of 25 basis points only. I am sure the industry and business world will welcome this move and demand a proportionate reduction of lending rates by commercial banks too. And it is quite possible that most of the commercial banks will oblige and reduce their base rates.

However, in the entire gamut, the plight of one group of customers seems to be overlooked- the depositors! It is quite natural that when the banks reduce their lending rates, in order to maintain the interest spread they will definitely reduce the interest rates on deposits too. Else their profitability will be affected adversely. But such reduction of interest rates on deposits will adversely affect the common man, especially the senior citizen who may be depending on the bank interest for their sustenance, that too when there is no respite in the inflation. Shouldn't the government and RBI consider this aspect too and build some mechanism to reduce the plight of these people? For that matter one would like to know how many banks borrow from RBI for lending, so that the cut in repo rate can be passed on to the customer. Those banks who do not borrow from RBI need not pass on the reduction to the customers

OROP- A DIFFERNET VIEW

                                                                

The decision to implement OROP to ex servicemen may be a feather in the cap of PM Narendra Modi. But I am sure this decision is going to open a pandora's box as is evident from the demand made by the Para military personnel. If their demand is accepted then the state police forces will come into the picture. And I am sure the list will be endless.

Looking into the whole issue from their perspective will give a different picture altogether. First let us consider the demand of the ex servicemen itself and the scheme announced by the govt. The scheme of pension itself envisages payment of a certain percentage of the last drawn salary for the sustenance of the person during the retirement days. The very words “last drawn salary” will mean different amounts for different people at different points of time. For example a colonel retiring in 2015 after being in the grade for , say, 10 years may be drawing a salary different from another colonel retiring on the same date but with a shorter stay in the grade. How can both draw the same pension on retirement? Similarly the last drawn salary of a person retiring in 2015 will be definitely different from the salary drawn by another office of the same rank who will retire on a future date.  Even though the scheme talks about “persons in the same rank with same length of service” I am sure this will lead to lot of disparities.

Now let us consider the “patriotism” angle, based on which the demand for OROP has been supported by many. I, for one, do not believe that all those serving I the military have joined the forces purely out of patriotism and zeal for protecting the country. I am sure, 99% of those in the service might have joined the force as a career option considering the benefits available and once you join the patriotism angle might come in. After completion of my education, I was also keen to join the forces as a commissioned officer, as I loved the discipline prevailing in the forces and the status a commissioned officer commanded. However, my father who was a Junior Commissioned Officer in the Army dissuaded form joining saying that the life there was not as rosy it appeared from outside. Subsequently, I opted for a banking career and retired from there. While in the Banking Service I commanded a different kind of respect among staff and customers, which a military official would definitely miss. And how many of the military personnel have seen the country’s borders and then how can we equate all those in the military as safeguarding the borders of our country and hence deserving a better treatment? If at all they have been put into any discomfort because of the postings, they have been suitably compensated for the same at that material point of time itself. After enjoying all those benefits (free ration, concessions for travel, the canteen facility which continues even after retirement etc) I do not think there is any ground for bargaining for the OROP. And in what way the para military force (Border Security Force, ITBP etc) inferior to the military in the safeguarding of the country’s borders? So don’t they also deserve a similar treatment? The argument that the military personnel retire early as the military wants to remain young and hence they deserve a better treatment also does not hold much water. The early retirees get the job reservation facility in government jobs where many of them get re employed taking advantage of this facility and earn the salary plus the pension from military service. And those of these ex servicemen who complete the minimum pensionable service in the new job becomes eligible to draw a pension from the new employer also in addition to the military pension. So where is the need for ORPO for such personnel?

If we consider other services, which service has to be considered inferior in patriotism? Aren’t the teachers grooming the younger ones to take up the assignments even in the military doing a patriotic duty in a different sense? So don’t they too be considered on the same footing and the facility extended to them?

The Banking sector in India is playing a yeomen role in the financial stability of the country, helping the military personnel to send in their funds to their family back home etc. So, aren’t they also doing a patriotic job by supporting the military personnel. Don’t they deserve a similar treatment? We can extend this logic to any service and demand similar treatment.

A practical solution would have been to periodically increase the dearness allowances payable to the retirees in tune with the cost of living to enable them to lead a comfortable life even after the retirement, or at least refix the basic pension payable when a salary revision takes place  for the serving personnel.

I am sure there will be many who will concur with my views, which, I expect, will be reflected through responses to this.

LOGJAM IN PARLIAMENT

This refers to the decision of the Lok Sabha speaker to suspend 25 MLAs from Congress Party for five days.

It is a pity that our elected "representatives" behave so unruly in the House for gaining some political points. The opposition could have engaged in a debate on the points raised by them first and then, if they are not satisfied (which they will not be)  with the outcome demand for the resignation of the concerned minister, boycott the session etc. What business they have got to waste the public money by not allowing the parliament to function? Is this the way we expect our members to act?

The government on its part also could have taken many proactive measures to diffuse the situation. First and foremost is for the Prime Minister to come out of his silence and make his stand clear on the issue. His presence in the Parliament and a statement would have completely changed the situation, I am sure.If the ruling party thinks with the absolute majority they have got in the house, they can bully the opposition and take the things the way they want, they are living in a fools paradise, the least to say. The party managers should have learnt their lessons from the past mistakes committed by Congress and the way they suffered. Or is it that BJP is satisfied with the present set up and would not mind losing the elections next time, hoping to do all the damages they want in the current tenure itself?

The latest act of the Speaker also smacks of political expediency and partisanship. I fully appreciate the speaker's stand to remind the members not to raise placards , shout slogans etc. The same thing was made clear by Mr P J Kurian in Rajya sabha also. If the members were recalcitrant, the speaker could have, after a stern warning, named the members indulged in such actions one by one, making them ineligible to attend the session. Instead of doing that she came with a pre prepared list of 25 MPs belonging to one political party alone, while members from other parties were also doing similar things, which gives the impression that this was a pre planned move, with the connivance of the ruling partly leaders, including the PM. By doing so, the speaker has only led to aggravating the situation, instead of diffusing the same.

However, this act also has one advantage, akin to the one observed in the normal strikes resorted to by working class. Now the entire issue has been directed towards the suspension and the demand will be to revoke the same, forgetting the initial issue. Once a decision is taken in this regard, the house may work as normal again, I feel.

It is high time a decision is taken on the payment of allowances to the MPs who create such problems in the house.I am of the opinion that "Dies Non" should be made applicable to the MPs and MLAs as disrupting the proceedings of the house is not the job they have been entrusted to while they were elected.

KERALA ASSEMBLY PASSES A WRONG RESOLUTION?

It is unfortunate that the Kerala Assembly chose to pass a "unanimous" resolution condemning a commercial decision taken by State Bank of Travancore.(SBT). 

The controversial issue is the decision taken by SBT to sell its overdue Education Loan portfolio to an Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC), which is purely out of commercial considerations. The ARC in question happens to be one promoted by Reliance group which has stirred the hornet's nest, it seems!

It is wrongly reported that SBT has engaged the Reliance Asset Reconstruction Company to recover the overdue loans and the company in turn is using high handed techniques for recovering. The fact of the matter may be SBT might have sold its overdue loan portfolio to ARC as permitted by RBI to cleanse its books of the overdue loans. This is also clearly mentioned in the loan agreements that "the bank may sell.assign.... the loan outstandings to another company as deemed fit, in future...." which has been agreed to by the borrowers while availing the loan.

Without realising the whole episode the 'honorable' members have jumped into a conclusion for passing the resolution. This may be due to two factors involved in the issue. The loan portfolio is that of Educational Loan and the ARC is manager by Reliance. 

Had the borrowers chosen to repay the loan taken on time as agreed upon, the Bank would not have decided to sell the portfolio to the ARC. So the party to be blamed, if at all to be blamed, is the borrowers and not the Bank. If the government or the Assembly is so keen to avoid this, government could have taken a decision to take over the entire outstandings from the Bank, thus saving the situation.

I request the MLAs and the cabinet to take pains to study the entire issue and arrange to reverse a wrong decision taken by the House to put the matters straight

PENSION PLAN OF GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

A universal pension plan for every individual in the country in the age group of 18 to 60 years have been launched by the Government of India. As per the scheme, a person in the prescribed age group has to pay a monthly amount till be attains the age of 60 years and after that can receive a pension every month. For example if a person aged 18 years makes a monthly payment of Rs 316/- till he attains 60 years, he would be eligible to receive a monthly pension of Rs 5000/- after 60 years. On the face of it the  scheme appears to be a very good one, but a deeper analysis may not show the flowery picture.

First and foremost is the value of Rs 5000/- after 40 odd years! What will he be able to do with this Rs 5000/- at that time? Will it be of any help to that person in terms of monetary value?

Second question is how the government plans to deploy the funds collected under the scheme. Will there be a separate corpus created from this funds for payment of pension and will it be invested in the market to yield sufficient return? How a person can be sure of getting the monthly pension after attaining the age of 60 years? Isn't it too long a period? In this context, it is worthwhile to recollect similar schemes launched by some public sector organisations in the past and subsequently withdrawn. My reference is to the "Rajalakshmi scheme" floated by UTI for girl students which was withdrawn in 2001, "Deep Discount Bond" issued by IDBI in 1992, Perennial Pension Plan introduced by State Bank of India in 1990s and subsequently withdrawn. Who can predict the financial conditions about 40 years down the line and make a commitment now? And what stand will the government of the day after 40 years take in the matter.

I request the great economists of the country including the Governor of RBI to consider the above issues and advise the Government and public suitably in the matter

Campus Politics- Boon or Bane?

The government move to bring in a law to protect campus politics has its own merits and demerits.  While the minister mentioned that the proposed legislation will have clauses to dissociate major political parties from campus politics, which is welcome, the statement of the young gen mla mr Shari parampil that if politics is banned we would be creating an insensitive generation is a bit absurd. I do not understand why the party based organisations are needed for reacting to any issue. In the 'highly literate' state, the proliferation of political parties and their urge to make their presence in all fields ranging from headload workers to uniformed forces is creating a very dangerous situation in the state. I am at a loss to understand why such organisations should be formed on a party basis. Even though the service rules of the government employees stipulate that no official shall be engaged in political activities, it is a well known and accepted fact that there are pro ldf and pro udf organisations of employees. Unless this is curbed any amount of legislation will not have any effect. 

It is high time that the younger generation leaders thought of the imminent danger in such politicisation of all fields and took a firm stand. Let the students concentrate on their studies and choose the political line once they come out of the  campus.

OPERATION KUBERA- BANKS RESPONSIBLE FOR BLADE MAFIA?

This has reference to the "Operation Kubera Phase 2" launched by the Police department of Kerala to weed out the "Blade" mafia and the statements of Home Minister related to it.

First of all, the Blade Mafia exists only because there are takers for it. The people who take the loan from these gangsters very well know the high rate charged by them and other inherent dangers in it, still put their neck out to take these loans and finally complain about harassment. To avoid this, the Home Minister says banks should be more liberal in giving loans to the public to ensure that they do not go to the money lenders. The point is well taken. But the Banks function under some laid down norms regarding their functioning. They cannot lend money to anybody and for any purpose as they wish. The paramount point to be considered by them is the repayment capacity of the prospective borrower and the purpose of the loan. If the person has capacity and willingness to repay the loan taken, I am sure they will not default with the loan sharks also leading to harassment. More important is the purpose for the loans. Most of the time these loans are taken by these people for consumption purposes like buying consumer goods, conducting marriages etc. beyond their capacity and without any steady source of income. Both these are not acceptable in the Banking activity as the Banks are dealing with money mobilised from the Public.

I am sure the Banks in Kerala generally do not decline any loans applied for falling within the guidelines fixed and hence the blame on the Banks is misplaced one.

Similarly the Chief Minister also asked the Banks in the meeting of SLBC to consider giving soft loans to the repatriated NRIs for their rehabilitation. He also reminds the Banks that NRIs had helped the Banks in mobilising deposits and hence it is the duty of the Banks to help them in need. As a retired Banker, I would like to mention that while depositing their money into the Banks, they used to bargain very heavily to get the maximum interest and used to switch the deposit to others even for a slight difference, which implies that they were doing a commercial transaction and not favouring any bank while depositing the money. So they can expect similar considerations only from the Banks while asking for loans.

It has become a fashion with our ministers and politicians to blame the Banks on the loan front to gain some popularity without either trying to understand the facts or conveniently closing their eyes on the facts. I would urge them to desist from this dangerous practice of pitching the customers against the Banks for cheap publicity. 

I also wonder why no organisation of Bank Officers have come out against this practice of blaming the Banks and its officers for all ills in the financial sector.

PARTY ACTIVITIES BY MINISTERS

Two current happenings have prompted me to jot this.

The completion of one year in power of Narendra Modi Government was celebrated by the BJP in various ways. While the government announced slew of programmes on the occasion, the party also arranged meetings across the length and breadth of the country, which was attended by various ministers.

Similarly, after the declaration of bye election in Aruvikkara Assemble constituency in Kerala, almost all the ministers of the Kerala Government are touring the constituency to campaign for the UDF candidate.

Both the above activities raise some pertinent questions.

Once an elected representative assumes office as a minister in the State or Centre, the person owes allegiance to the entire population of the State or the country and ceases to be a mere representative of the party on whose ticket the person was elected. While so, is it correct for the minister to attend the functions organised by the party purely for party matters? Does it not amount to misuse of official machinery? The expenses incurred by the ministers for travelling form Delhi to various states to attend the meetings organised by the party is met from the exchequer, which means it is a burden on each one of the population. It is true that the ministers might have got arranged some "official" programmes at each state to circumvent this. But again the question of propriety in a minister attending the concerned public meeting by the party needs to be considered. I fully agree that the minister continues to be a member of the political party and hence he should attend the meetings convened by the party. But this should be limited to the internal meetings of the party only and not a public meeting organised by the party, I feel.

Similar is the case where the State Ministers actively indulge in the election campaign of the candidate. The public attending the campaign is bound to consider the promises made by these leaders as the promises from the minister and not the political leader and hence this should amount to misuse of official machinery or be considered as election misconduct. The ministers also use their official vehicles during the campaign which also should tantamount to election misconduct. I urge upon the State Election Commission to look into the issue and initiate suitable steps in the matter.

FLASH STRIKE BY AIBOC IN KERALA

Banks in Kerala saw a flash strike by officers on 12.06.2015. The provocation for the strike was the termination of the services of state president of All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC) by the management of the bank in which he was working as a culmination of the disciplinary proceedings against him which was started almost an year ago. The flash strike raises some pertinent questions. 

Can the officers of public sector bank resort to such flash strikes without serving proper notice on the managements? 

Is it correct for the organisation to go on strike to protest against disciplinary action taken against its president, when other options like appeal, challenge in the court etc are available?

How is the president of the organisation above other ordinary members in the matter of disciplinary proceedings?

In the past, many officers have been removed from service by various Banks for the misdeeds committed by them. Why the association or Confederation did not resort to any organisational activity, leave alone going on a strike , on these occasions?

Is an organisational action, against disciplinary action taken against any member, warranted or justifiable? Is it the role of the organisation to protect its members from any disciplinary action taken by the managements concerned against any misdeeds/ offences committed by the members part from defending the member in the enquiry conducted under the proceedings?

Will the leaders of the confederation explain these to its members as well as the general public?

PACKAGED COMMODITIES ACT- SALES AT TEMPLES

The Packaged Commodities Act is very much in the news for the last few days after the Maggi noodles affair. It is reported that Nestle has violaed the provisions under the act by not mentioning/ wrongly mentioning the contents in the noodles packets and also not mentioning anything about the taste maker packet kept inside.

In the light of the above, I would like to raise another instance where the provisions of the act are violated with impunity. Perhaps this may be an area which many would not dare to tread. I am talking about the sale of 'Prasadams' at temples, duly packed, be it laddoos at tirupati or aravana and appam at sabarimala. I have also noticed many other temples sell these items across their counters as vazhipadu in sealed packets/containers. I wonder whether such sales at temples are covered under the above act as well as the Sales Tax Act of the States concerned.

As such the offerings or vazhipadu are expected to be placed before the deity while poojas are conducted and then it would be distributed among the devotees. However, in the modern era the manufacture and packing of these 'offerings' are automated and it never sees the sanctum sanctorum, leave alone being placed in front of the deity. Many temples sell the 'payasams (aravana)' in sealed containers collecting a price for the same. The containers do not have any indication regarding the contents, date of manufacturing, best before date etc. which are mandatory for any packed food products (eatables). It also does not bear the MRP, batch no etc. One would like to know whether these items are exempted from the provisions of the various acts and if so how do they plan to ensure the edibility of the contents. Or is it that the authorities will wake up only after something untoward happens?

Similarly, it is also observed that one temple in Kerala was selling gold in the form of gold gooseberry on Akshaya thrithiya day claiming it to be blessed ones. However, the price collected by them was much higher than the market price of gold on that particular day and it is also not clear whether they pay any tax on the sales effected by them!

I am sure the above observations made by me are going to raise hackles especially in the present "Hindutva" days, but somebody has to call the bluff of these people, no? I hope somebody will file a public interest litigation to prevent the temples from indulging in such illegal sales of items through their counters

Mis leading advertisements

The Central Government's decision to initiate action against the brand ambassadors of Maggi 2 minute noodles for appearing in a misleading advertisement is a welcome one.

However, one would like to know whether similar action will be initiated against all the so called ambassadors appearing in other advertisements as well, as it is a widely known fact that these brand ambassadors actually do not use the products they promote.Examples are aplenty- Hema malini promoting washing powder, Sachin and Dhoni promoting Boost etc. By misleading their fans that they were actually using the products, they cheat their fans into buying these products.

It would be advisable if all the celebrities on their own take a decision not to endorse any products in advertisements, which will lead to a reduction in advertisement expenditure and in turn to a reduction in cost of the product. The corporates spent crores of rupees on advertisements taking advantage of the exemption available for such expenditure from income tax. If this exemption is removed, they will automatically cut down their advertisement costs to the benefit of the ordinary consumer.

Similar action should also be initiated against the doctors/models appearing as doctors in the advertisements for toothpastes, health tonics etc.

If the Advertisement Standards Council of India, IMA, IDA, Ministries of finance, Health and Commerce take a collective action this menace can be stopped and the consumer can be benefited

ISSUE OF NEW PLASTIC ELECTORAL CARDS

Chief Electoral Officer of Kerala has come out with a novel idea of issuing new plastic voter ID cards with color photos instead of the old laminated cards with black and white photos. 

As per the instructions contained in the advertisement released by CEO in this regard, I uploaded the data in respect of me and my wife in their site on the day the advertisement appeared itself and had received a confirmation that the aadhar had been successfully validated and we would be issued new cards within 60 days. At the time of validation the aadhar card, I was not asked to upload the color photos (as mentioned in the advertisement) and hence I was ready with copies of photograph to be handed over to the BLO when the official visited us for the purpose. ( I thought this was not insisted on as I had already submitted color photos last year while applying for transfer of the card from Trivandrum to the new address)

Yesterday the BLO visited us and asked us to submit copies of aadhar card as well as color photos for issuing the new cards. When I told her that my aadhar had been successfully validated, she informed that she had not received the validated input form from Taluk Office and hence I have to give both these documents.

While I appreciate the efforts taken by the CEO, I wonder whether proper home work had been done in connection with this. I fail to understand the need for the copy of the aadhar card when the validation of the same had already been done online. Also when the application for issuing the new card had been made online on the very first day itself, why the relative form has not been given to the BLO for further verification? Any amount of my arguments with BLO did not heed any positive response, with only a meek statement that she had not received the form from taluk Office. Whose fault is this? The officials at Taluk office who have taken the printouts and distributed to the BLOs or the BLO who has to sort the forms as per wards? Whoever is at fault the ultimate sufferer is the common man!!!!

I also remember, while issuing a new electoral card at our new address last year, the Deputy Tahsildar in charge of the work had refused to accept copy of the aadhar card as proof of residence of my wife. He had also refused to consider my proof of address applicable to her also and insisted on another document proving her residence proof and luckily we could manage with the gas connection voucher!!! And now the vary same aadhar card has become all the more important!!

A SUICIDE AND AFTER

A suicide committed by a "farmer" at the rally of a political party has created much hue and cry and it is seen that everybody is trying to twist the episode to his own benefit. First of all almost everybody blames Arvind Kejrival for not stopping the rally after the suicide and finally Arvind apologises for not doing so!!! 

While Kejriwal blames Delhi police for not preventing the suicide, the Police blames AAP workers in not allowing to do their duty. Congress and AAP blames BJP for the plight of farmers leading to the suicide while BJP (and the police) suspect some calculated move in "staging" the suicide!

In all this melee nobody is seen condemning the very act of committing suicide at all. All the so called responsible political parties and leaders try to make mileage out of a crime committed by an individual (Attempt to commit suicide is an offence under Indian Penal Code). I wonder why the act of suicide is being eulogised!

If you see the entire episode impartially, the following points arise.

Among the thousands of rallyists assembled on the ground one persons suddenly climbs a tree, puts a noose around his neck in public view and jumps from the tree in the full glare of all those assembled and the cameras. Mr Kumar Biswas, leader of AAP is even seen appealing to the man to climb down from the tree.Was this time not sufficient to prevent the man from committing the act? In view of this all those persons assembled there includi ng the party leaders and police personnel on duty should be held accountable for "perpetrating to commit suicide" which again is an offence under IPC!

I also wonder, in a country where the death of an independent candidate in an election does not result in countermanding the election, why a rally called by a political party should be called off if a "farmer" commits suicide at the venue? ( I am sure I will be condemned by most to be inhumane for this particular statement, but as we say, the truth is always bitter!)

NEW LIQUOR POLICY OF KERALA

It is, no doubt , a matter of great relief for the UDF government in Kerala that the Division Bench of the High Court has upheld the new liquor policy of the Government. However, it remains to be seen whether the matters will end here as the Bar Owners Association has declared that they would be approaching Supreme court in appeal.

While allowing the appeal by the State Government , the Division Bench has made certain pertinent observations, like drinking liquor is not the birthright of a person, liquor need not be necessary for promoting tourism etc. While these observations are welcome, it remains to be seen how the judge(s) in supreme court is going to view the entire issue. One may say that , of late, the judgments by the courts are becoming very subjective according to the personal view of the judges rather than viewing the issue through the law of the land and hence the doubt.

Even when Mr Sudheeran and company can boast of gaining a personal triumph in the matter, it only remains to be seen how the Government is going to implement the new policy and what are the rehabilitation measures going to be adopted in respect of the workers who lose their jobs. While almost all political parties talk about the rehabilitation of the workers losing their jobs, I wonder why nobody is talking about the rehabilitation of the Bar Owners who have spent crores of rupees in establishing the upto 4 star hotels and getting the bar licenses as per the existing policy of the government. (The three star and four star hotels are established only with the hope of minting money from the sale of liquor and not by the occupancy of the rooms and for getting the bar licenses they spend huge money also). Do they not deserve to be rehabilitated, if the workers who lose the jobs are rehabilitated, both because of the new policy of the Government?

The revised policy talks about closing down 10% of the Beverages Corporation outlets every year. The present government has only less than a year of life now and during this period they may close down 20% of the outlets. In the next election if LDF is coming to power (the chances for which are bleak as of now), what is the guarantee that they will not reverse the decision? Then what will happen to the expected total prohibition in the State? It is pertinent to note that no LDF leader has commented on this point so far.

And what will be the government's policy about the liquor being served at many posh clubs in the State and the liquor available from Defense Canteens? Will the clubs be classified under the five star category and be permitted to serve liquor? Will the Defense canteens established in the State also be asj\ked to close the shops in a phased manner in tune with the policy, one would like to know

NOISE POLLUTION

                                        

The other day I was awakened by a sudden blurt of music at about 4.30 AM. I was not sure where did it came from. Later it dawned on me that the nearby temple was trying to instil “bhakthi” to the local residents by this tactic. This continues even now regularly in the morning and evening. While the songs in the evening can be considered OK (if at all such an exercise is needed) the morning songs appear to me to be an intrusion into the life of the local residents who live in the immediate surroundings of the temple. I am not sure whether anybody has given a thought to this issue so far. As far as I understand any use of loudspeakers in a public place has to be approved by the local police authorities, and I am sure the necessary permission might have been taken by the temple authorities. However, the moot question is who is responsible to ensure that the permission is not misused or used with all the stipulations made like time of usage, permitted decibel level etc. When it comes to religious places like temples, churches, mosques etc the local police will not bother to interfere in the matter for fear of “hurting religious freedom”. But this freedom should be available for an ordinary citizen also irrespective of any religion. Again we can understand some resistance if a person from another religion complains about such nuisance. But what about complaints of persons from the same religion? Should it not be given due consideration by the authorities? Just because nobody makes a formal complaint, again for fear of being branded as an “anti-social animal” should such breaking of law be permitted without check? Such noise pollution reaches its crescendo during the festival seasons in temples , churches etc. During these times the police should be extra vigilant to ensure that the normal life of citizens if not adversely affected with such high level of noise pollution. They police authorities can suitable advise the concerned persons to ensure this.

It is not my case that only temples or temple authorities are the culprits in this issue. The mushrooming clubs, political parties, churches etc also not far behind in the matter. This new year day I literally had a sleepless night as a local club (which was seen only in paper during the entire year) decided to celebrate the new year with dhoom dham. It so happened that the open space available near my house was chosen by the as the venue and sound boxes of 2500 to 3000 W powers were installed. The entire night they were literally bombarding the family members in our house with high decibel songs. Here too, since I felt it was inappropriate for me to intervene to request the organisers at least to reduce the volume of the sound system at that point of time ( I am sure the organisers and other people available there would have booed me had I tried this) we suffered this onslaught in silent. But at least for the next year I have made it a point to request the police authorities in advance to ensure that the decibel level of such entertainments is kept to the low level so as not to disturb the others. I am sure my effort would meet with resistance even from the authorities as they would not like to have a confrontation with anybody in such issues, but I feel that the rights of everybody should be protected in implementing the law.

It is also pertinent to note that even now the conical speakers, the use of which had been banned by Supreme court , are still being used in temples and mosques in clear violation of the orders and the police authorities remain mute spectators to this. Unless a start is made somewhere by somebody such blatant violation of laws will continue unchecked and I am going to play the role of that ‘somebody’ come what may. Let us hope better sense will prevail on those concerned and my efforts will be fruitful.

TRAVAILS OF AN INDIAN DRIVER

An average Indian driver refuses to learn his lessons properly; it seems, after observing the driving habits of the drivers over a period of about 40 years.

I have been using the roads of India in different parts of the country for the past more than 40 years, major portion of this as a driver myself. However, it is observed that the habits of the driver in the 70s continue to be that of the present day drivers also.

First of all, once anybody enters the road with his vehicle, the person is in a great hurry, ostensibly to reach the destination early or on time! But whether he is able to achieve this goal in spite of his hurry, is best left to one’s imagination. In his hurry, he tries to coax the vehicles in his front to get a space to overtake. Many a times this coercing also takes the shape of intimidating (especially by the bus drivers to the smaller vehicles), which may lead to accidents also some times. I always wonder, if the person is so particular to reach the destination on time, considering the nature of our roads and the traffic observed, why he or she can’t leave a bit early to achieve the goal.  After coercing the vehicles in front, if the person sees a little space, he/she tries to squeeze the vehicle through this opening, irrespective of whether it is through the left or right! The impatience of such people is more observed at the traffic signals, level crossings etc. when everybody tries to take his vehicle to the front to the maximum possible, leaving practically no space  for the oncoming vehicles. When the traffic light turns green or the railway get is opened, because of this mad scramble there will be a traffic jam on the spot for some time which may leave one or two vehicles with minor scratches on the body. If everybody maintains the lane discipline and stops his vehicle right at the back of the vehicle in front, in a line, such traffic jams can be easily avoided, I believe. While talking about stopping the vehicle in a traffic signal, most of the times it is observed that a person wanting to turn to the right side stops his vehicle at the extreme left, often blocking the free traffic to the left, and when the light turns all the way to the right blocking all the vehicles waiting for the green light, again resulting in a traffic jam. If all the drivers stick to the lance discipline at least at the traffic signals, the traffic flow will be much smoother in all the places.

Another observation I could make while on road is the non observance of driving rules on the roads by many drivers. On a four lane road, (two lanes in each direction) it is clearly defined that the vehicles should move on the left lane only and the right lane should be used for overtaking only. However in practice it is observed that many vehicles, including fully laden heavy vehicles which normally move slowly, are driven in the right lane and very rarely give side to the fast moving vehicles in the back for overtaking. And as a rule many vehicles in the back overtake such slow moving vehicles through the left lane on a regular basis! I have made it a point not to overtake through the left side of the vehicle and hence keep on asking for side to overtake either by mild horn or blinking lights in night, but for kilometres together do not get the side for overtaking.

Use of blinkers at night instead of horns is one thing which many of the drivers are not aware of, it seems. During night they drive the vehicles with the full beam on, blinding the drivers of the oncoming vehicles. The basic courtesy (or even the rule) of dimming the light when a vehicle is seen in the opposite direction is not observed by majority. And most of the vehicles, especially the new generation luxury vehicles, sport powerful halogen bulbs in the high beam mode thereby completely blinding the oncoming driver leading to many accidents. Even though use of such powerful lights are not permitted under RTO rules nobody bothers to check the usage of these, and even of checked such people are never booked, may be because of their financial influence. As a rule, the vehicles should be driven with low beam only in cities and on well lit roads.

Even the vehicles of driving schools teaching the driving lessons to aspirants do not follow the traffic rules many times. While practicing on the roads, it appears, the instructor never tells the candidate to slow down and give side to a vehicle coming from back, if there is enough space for the vehicle to pass. This happens very rarely and the vehicle moves right on the middle of the road and it is the duty of the driver in the back to find out a way to overtake! During the driving tests also such etiquettes/rules are never tested. They only see whether the person can balance the vehicle and drive properly and declare him/her passed!

When we talk about the driving habits, one cannot forget the infrastructure available for the drivers too. In the 70s a fast passenger bus of KSRTC used to take about 5 hours to cover a distance of about 200 KMs between Trivandrum and Ernakulam. Now a superfast or express bus of the same KSRTC takes six to seven hours to cover the same distance because while the number of vehicles on the road has increased manifold during the last 40 years, the road remains more or less the same without much addition of width making it impossible for the vehicles to gain speed. The government should ensure that the infrastructure (read the roads) is also developed in proportion to the increase in number of vehicles added to the road every year so that the driving on the roads can be a pleasant experience.

Procession on the roads

Now it is the festival season in Kerala, with most of the temples, churches etc celebrating the annual festivals. As part of the festivals, it is customary to take out processions , which used to be within the temple premises, of the deities etc. Now it is observed that these processions have come out of the precincts of temples and churches and are taken through the main thoroughfares, thereby blocking the traffic in the main roads. The other day I witnessed one such procession on National Highway 47 between Aroor and Eramalloor when the entire traffic on the highway was diverted to the other side of the highway thereby seriously affecting the free  movement of the vehicles . This caused a delay of about 10 minutes for any vehicle to cross the particular point. And it was also observed that an ambulance with patient was also caught in the melee and the police personnel on duty could somehow manage to clear the way for it. Similar incidents will be happening at many other places too, I am sure. It is high time everybody took a call on the matter and limit such processions, be it religious, political or otherwise away from such busy thoroughfares and free the other people from such inconveniences. Here in the name of religion a handful of people were holding the travelling public to ransom, to say the least. On the four lane highway two lanes were completely occupied by the group comprising caparisoned elephants, percussionists, other performing artists etc. 

I do not understand why the police personnel should allow such processions to be taken out ( presumably to avoid any conflicts in the name of religion) Is this the way a secular country should be run, I wonder!

Another hazard during the festival days is the noise pollution caused by the festival places by blaring out music in the early morning and nights in high volume thereby disturbing the peaceful life of the people living nearby. Is it not the duty of the police to ensure that the noise level does not cross the permissible decibel level even when a mike permission is given to the organisers? Such noise pollution also takes place whenever some programme is organised in public places with permission from police. I understand that there is a supreme court ruling prohibiting the use of loud speakers after 10 P M or before 5 PM. I hope the local police officials who accord permission for use of the speakers will ensure that this ruling is strictly enforced in all cases. 

Funding of Political Parties

A big hue and cry has been raised on the suspected funding of Aam Aadmi Party prior to the Delhi elections! Old co passengers of the party who formed the AVAM have alleged that the party has received black money as donations and accused them that they were also not above board. This issue was further taken up by one of the TV channels who were also grilling the representative from AAP saying that they had received funds from some "shell" companies. The  issue was further escalated by slapping of notice by IT department on the party asking them to show the source of fund for the donation of Rs 50 lacs received by them.

From the whole issue I understand (or rather fail to understand) how the party can be blamed at all. The whole issue came to light only because they wanted to be transparent (unlike other parties) and put the details of all the donations received on their web site. And the representative from AAP confirms that the amount was received by way of a Banker's cheque (Pay Order) issued by a Bank and was delivered by somebody giving the details of the donor company to whom the receipt had been issued. I wonder whether anybody receiving a donation is expected to verify the balance sheet details of the donor company before accepting the same (as it is alleged that the company's paid up capital was Rs 1 lac only and had incurred a loss during the year ended 31.03.2014). Is it really possible to verify all these facts, in the name of transparency? When the amount is by way of a Banker's cheque issued by a Bank, what is the need for checking the source at all (which should have been ensured by the Banker). It is quite unfair to crucify the party without knowing the full facts and the full procedure behind issuing a Banker's cheque. All that the party can now do is to return the money so received, if it is proved beyond doubt that this transaction was a dubious one. However, one would like to know whether all the other political parties verify the source before they accept the donations by way of cash or kind before making such an unwanted hue and cry over a non issue.

I hope the AAP will take a principled stand and furnish all the facts to the IT department in reply to the notice received and clarify the position to the public immediately. 

The media also should try to understand the issue fully before making the same a topic for panel discussion.

However, the present issue has once again raised the question of funding of the political parties. I fail to understand why the parties raise such huge funds and spend the same in the elections, which itself can be a reason for corruption , post election. All the parties on their own should decide to curtail the expenditure during the election. The election commission , on its part, should also reduce the present level of permitted expenditure for each constituency, after consultations with all the parties. It is quite natural that if somebody spends money to get elected to the post, after getting elected his primary objective will be to recover at least the money spent, if not much more from other sources which will lead to corruption. (Pure economic sense!) Seems like an Utopian idea? But how else we can cleanse the system?