Too Little, too Late?

(This article was published in "The Sunday Indian", 16 June-22 June 2008)

ASSAM: VANISHING SPECIES
Too Little, too Late?
Assam declares river dolphins as state aquatic animal

 

They make your soothing summer evening eye-catching should you stand on the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra, bobbing in and out of the river, silent sentinels of an ancient waterway. Yet, over time, they've lost their million-dollar smile hunted down on the very river banks they call home. But that is about to change. The river dolphin is now Assam's state aquatic animal. Humans have finally woken up to the fact that the 250 odd dolphins who inhabit the Brahmaputra must be saved before it is too late.

At the World Environment Day, Assam chief minister, Tarun Gogoi, said: "This is an animal that is very dear to the people of Assam." The destruction was better described by Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain: "River dolphins (or xihus as they are called in Assamese) swimming in the Brahmaputra was a common sight till only a few years ago," he said. "Lately, sightings have become rare."

The task at hand is daunting. Once numbering in thousands, the state's xihu population fell to 400 in 1993, to 250 by 2005. Of the 250 that exist (some say 268), 197 are in the Brahmaputra, 26 are in Subansiri while another 27 are in the Kulsi river, both tributaries of the main river. The fall in river dolphin population can be attributed mainly to an unprecedented spurt in hunting, both for culinary and other purposes; oil extracted from the river dolphin, for example, is used to attract large catfish called `gourua' and `neria' in Assam's rivers.

"The animal was declared endangered in 1972, says Dr Abdul Wakid, environmentalist, but it has never registered a case involving their hunting." The solution for dolphins, according to Saumyadeep Dutta, lies in making the Kulsi river a sanctuary for the animal. "And punishment to poachers must be harsh," he says. Till such a time arrives, the Dolphin can take heart: it's now the state's aquatic animal. 

 

Pankaj Borthakur

Tigers on Rhino run in Assam

(This article was published in "The Sunday Indian", 20 October-26 October 2008)

ASSAM : WILDLIFE Tigers on Rhino run in Assam  Despite threats, rhino population continues its rapid growth

The wardens of Kaziranga National Park – a world heritage site – are grappling with a new kind of poacher. The danger comes from the tigers which, in large numbers, have been hunting down rhino calves.  And the big cat doesn’t need to work too hard either. For strangely, the rhino population in Assam's Kaziranga National Park has grown with almost the same speed with which it has been fatally stalked in recent months – making the young ones swift and easy targets.  The stats say tigers last year killed 20 rhinos – four more than the poachers. And this year is proving to be a great deal worse: tigers have already killed 20 rhino calves, while poaching has so far claimed just six.  “We are still to find a solution to this problem,” says Dibyadhar Gogoi, the sanctuary’s divisional forest officer. And this being the general refrain, wildlife officials are increasingly pinning their hopes on the rapidly multiplying rhino numbers.  “Their growth rate, they point out, is many times faster than that at which they are claimed by the tigers,” says Mohan Chandra Malakar, Assam’s chief wildlife warden and chief conservator of forests.  Animal behaviour specialists say it is in the tiger’s nature to prey on baby animals. “Baby Rhinoceros tend to stray from the herd – and tigers know this well. What makes the Rhinoceros particularly vulnerable is the fact that once they are full grown, tigers can’t hope to harm them owing to their thick hide. And so they go after the calves.  “One way out of this could be captive breeding of the rhinos,” says Bijoy Gogoi, head of the veterinary facility at Guwahati’s Assam State Zoo, adding that there were plans to captive breed five endangered species, including the rhino.

Pankaj Borthakur

Turning the Tide

(This article was published in "The Sunday Indian", 19 January-25 January 2009)

Turning the Tide
Guwahati's Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre designs a bamboo house that could save millions during floods and earthquakes

 

Barely a stone's throw away from Guwahati city that houses the capital complex of Assam, Panikaithi's Muhammad Azibur Rahman has found a way of dealing with the state's floods: he crosses the highway with his family as the swirling waters of the Brahmaputra gobbles up his little bamboo hut; for those horrible months he then lives on the other side of the highway in a broken down tent, pieced together with rags. If the water on the other side should rise, however, he then perches himself and his family on the highway itself, living his days and nights in even more horrible poverty. That to him is quite the cycle of life before winter comes and the waters recede and he can see his fields appear once again from the heart of the once turbulent river. He then starts from scratch, building his hut that the river has by then turned into a den of hissing snakes. That is near Guwahati. Now, hundreds of kilometres upstream too, where the Brahmaputra is a raging sea, Uday Pegu of Dhakuakhana has had it much worse, having had to watch two of his family washed away even as the river demolished his rickety "sang bongola", a bamboo house traditionally built by his people (the Misings) on a bamboo platform to keep their homes safe from the waters that they had learnt to battle down the ages.

Things, however, are beginning to change with the ever-handy bamboo of these hills and plains now coming in even handier as the Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre (CBTC) in Guwahati innovates Pegu's age-old tradition – that of using bamboo to keep a population, quite literally, above the floods. At hand is a new bamboo house that comes with an "80-year life" guarantee and costs just upwards of Rs 35,000 to build. And there's luxury to add if one so wishes: the air-conditioned version of the house costs Rs 3 lakh. But most of all, this is a house that could help keep safe millions of people who have hitherto been at the mercy of floods which routinely wash away their lives, homes and families. In areas such as the Northeast – particularly known for being prone to seismic disturbances – the houses, given their low weight and structure, could be a good shelter against earthquakes too.

Bamboo has a natural affinity towards water; it can grow several inches in a day and is usually kept in water to keep it fresh. CBTC's chemical treatment now enhances the plant's life far beyond what Pegu's residents could have imagined.

 

"A combination of creosote and diesel which is used to treat the bamboos before they are used, guarantees their extended life," says Anjal Goswami, CBTC's deputy manager and chief architect. The idea of such a house found its roots in a group led by Kamesh Salam, CBTC Director and a man originally from Manipur. "We first got together people from various north-eastern regions to study the way they have been building their bamboo houses." Added to that, of course, was the modern technical edge that resulted in the creation of these state-of-the-art structures. A joint project of the North Eastern Development Finance Corporation (NEDFi), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Department of Science and Technology of the central government and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, it is a ray of hope for many.

As expected, the house is currently a rage with various departments which were at a loss when it came to dealing with floods ravaging so many parts of the country. "We have already received orders to construct 5,000 such houses in tsunami affected Tamil Nadu," says Salam. "Bihar wants 500 such huts for their floodplains." The Department of Posts, meanwhile has placed an order of 1.25 lakh rural post offices in vulnerable villages across the country. "Apart from being developed with resources that are readily available in this region, the house also lends the feel-good of living with nature," says Salam. A showcase for the Centre is a 2,000 sq ft amphitheatre constructed for the tourist village at Kisama in Nagaland.

Once set up, the house can even be made double storeyed, replete with the trappings of any modern, environment-friendly construction. What is an added bonus – and a crucial one on that – is the fact that the house can be dismantled and put together at ease, something that could have life-saving implications in disaster-stricken areas. The basic construction has provisions to allow for its walls to be plastered, and fitted with modern amenities. Embellishments, for those who can afford, are available in the form of wooden and cane parts that can then be added. Given its use in times of natural calamities, the Centre has looped in the army too, with its personnel now trained in the construction of such houses. The only sore thumb: the government of Assam – the state which bears the brunt of the annual ritual of floods causing the death of thousands, and ironically, where the new bamboo houses have been conceived – is yet to show interest.

Back in Dhakuakhana, thus, Pegu still waits for his little hut of safety as does Azibur, who now is busy tending to his small field at Panikhaiti, dreading in his sleep the floods that will come again next year – all of which could be changed with CBTC's innovation.

Pankaj Barthakur

Building to destroy

(This article was published in "The Sunday Indian", 11 August-17 August 2008)

ARMED FORCES SPECIAL: THREE CANNONS OF FAITH
Building to destroy
The 6 engineering regiment is trained not just to build but to destroy enemy bunkers and mines and clear our army's path, says pankaj barthakur

 

They build to destroy. While the morning breeze can lull you into a sense of suspended inertia on the banks of Teesta, army engineers led by Subedar Major SMA. Karunakaran leads hundreds of combat engineers through the paces of their physical refresher training programme. Thus begins a day in the life of the 6 Engineering Regiment.

Every morning, the Teesta riverbed becomes the situational battleground for army engineers to map war plans. A large part of the day is spent in mining, bridging and demolition exercises, under the most arduous discipline. The discipline is unwavering even in the blistering tropical summer noon. With such training and rigueur, the Regiment justifiably remembers the 1971 war with nostalgia when their forbear had laid mines and destroyed bridges to halt the movement of the Pakistani army in the then occupied East Bengal. Commanding Officer Colonel J Adhvaryu tells TSI: "With such discipline, our regiment contributed to the victory of 1971."

Their motto is the stunning and punning: "Aar karega paar". Literally translated, it means `The Six will help you tide across'; the word `Aar' means six in Tamil, which is no surprise, since a majority of these troops are from south India.

Since its inception in 1780, the 6 Engineering Regiment has played a crucial role in the nation building process. As combat engineers, they form the backbone for ensuring the smooth movement of the famed Indian Infantry. During war time, they lay down mines, dispose off deadly live bombs and mines and indulge in demolition and arson. That is their Unique Selling Point.

 

They are specialists in the art of blowing up enemy tanks, bridges, bunkers and clear the road ahead for the infantry. This rigorous refresher is an annual affair. The blistering heat is the perfect catalyst for them to go to work: assembling explosives, working on improvised explosive devices (IED) and other acts of sabotage. "We only require the raw materials for making explosives. We are trained to assemble and explode," a Major, who shall remain unnamed, informs TSI. Their indomitable determination has played a huge role in their many redoubtable successes.

Old military philosophers believed a war was what was needed to galvanise the youth to sacrifices and glory. For a vast number of young Indians growing up in the 1990s, the Kargil war provided that spark. Junior Commissioned Officer, Monoj Srivastava (name changed), narrates his own tale to TSI: "I joined the army after Kargil. After completing my 10+2 in Commerce, I worked as an accountant in an oil company. But Kargil compelled me to join up."

The sentiment is a shared one. "I always dreamt of serving the nation through the military," says Lieutenant Jyoti K Salathia, who until 2006 was a journalist at `The Kashmir Times' before he opted for the Officer's Training Academy. The biggest surprise of it all: a large number of highly qualified engineers opt for the force in a world full of heavyweight multi-nationals beckoning Indian engineers. This is, in a sense, the real soul of India. They all agree on one thing: "We are getting almost all which we want. Money is not all." 

Although trained in the sciences, they have strong faith in the power of the almighty. Every evening their training camp echoes with the serenity of prayers. Commanding Officer, Col Adhvaryu, an M Tech from IIT Kanpur, says his evening prayers at the Ullabari training camp. "It gives us that extra energy that makes us achieve our goal. Therefore, we pray every evening," he says.

In keeping with army's tradition, spiritual practices are not limited to one religion. Whenever a soldier visits a temple in our unit location, there are others who go to churches and mosques.

But how do these hard men who handle dynamite with bare hands ignore common human impulses like love? What about personal likes and dislikes? Love, as we learn, is integral to their lives. SPR Gaurav Setty's girlfriend in Kutsethur village of the South Canara district in Mangalore, for instance, talks to him on the phone once a week. Another young Lieutenant has his girlfriend, Priti, pursuing her BSc in a Jammu college. There are many tales and as many love stories.

In another instance, a young officer has impressed his girl friend so much that she too now wants to recruit for Army Engineers. Says the officer, of his girlfriend, now preparing to take the Combined Defence Services Examination: "I don't know whether she will be fit or not, but joining the Engineers is her topmost ambition." Love, you may say, in the times of bombardment.

Gruelling guerilla lives

(This article was published in "The Sunday Indian", 11 August-17 August 2008)

ARMED FORCES SPECIAL: THREE CANNONS OF FAITH
Gruelling guerilla lives
Pankaj barthakur narrates the hard training that moulds fighting hands that dare terrorism, insurgency and worst of all, a life we cannot even contemplate sitting in cities

 

The New Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary defines 'guerilla' as "a member of a small group of soldiers who are not part of an official army and who fight against official soldiers, usually to try to change the government". It is a definition that cannot be applied strictly to Naik Santos Kumar of the Bihar Regiment, currently under training at the Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS) of the Indian Army located in Vairengte, the northern trip of 'highland' Mizoram. For the hardies who come here, the slogan 'to fight the guerilla like a guerilla' underlines the spirit, mood and the deadly stickiness of jungle warfare.

Colonel RK Chhikara of the CIJWS, tells TSI their "job is to prepare all our students for combat. The training module prepared by our think tank is non-conventional. Once a soldier undergoes training here, he can face all types of situations in an insurgency environment," which is just as well because a majority of operations carried out by the Indian Military these days have less to do with conventional warfare and more to deal with battling counter-insurgency.

The School is organised into various sections, the Battalion Training Wing (BTW), Faculty of Studies in Doctrine and Concept Development (FOS) D and the CD cell and the Courses Wing. While the BTW conducts 'pre-induction training' (PIT) of Infantry Battalions before their introduction to counter insurgency areas, the FOSs with their D and CD cell act as a think-tank for the changes and improvements in training methodology, techniques and tactics for counter insurgency operations.

The school has indigenously developed and designed infrastructure that facilitate quality training. Standing in a counter terrorist range of CIJWS amidst the thick hilly forest of Vairengte, Colonel Chhikara – also Editor of a coffee table book titled 'Glimpses of Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School' – tells TSI: "On a regular basis, to constantly improve the quality of training based on evolving techniques and the modus operandi adopted by terrorists, infrastructural development is undertaken by the school."

Apart from these, the school prides itself in having designed different types of reflex firing ranges, where at a time many kinds of firing takes place: ambidextrous firing, cross firing, room intervention firings, the works.

 

More and more foreign countries are sending their cadets for training to this school. Colonel Chhikara tells TSI that approximately 400 foreign soldiers from the neighbouring friendly countries have been trained and a total of 27 countries have made use of this school for training. This year too, proposals from the US army, Mongolian Armed Forces and Kazakhstan Army have been submitted.

Do officers of foreign armies, who undergo the same training in the CIJWS, enjoy equal training facilities? On the face of it, there is no difference between the training for foreign and Indian students. But in an interaction with TSI, senior officer of FOS, Colonel Bikram Singh admits that "keeping in mind national security, we have to maintain some secrecy while we train foreigners."

For officers, it is a matter of great pride and honour to be working in the School. At the Pratap Hall of CIJWS, instructor S Kaushik delivers his lecture to hundreds of students on the topic of military tracking. And young commandos in the hall cling on to every word. Major Rohit Naynital of 8 Gorkha Rifles tells TSI: "I completed my training here a few years ago and am now serving as an instructor. This makes me feel proud." Nayak Santosh Kumar of Bihar Regiment expresses similar sentiments. Interestingly, Kumar has been witness to some deadly encounters tackling insurgency in Jammu & Kashmir and Assam. 

Fighting jungle battles acquired a new urgency after the 1962 Chinese operations, and an entire combat philosophy has sprung from it. Lt Colonel Gautam Rampal took us to the Guerilla Library on a breezy June evening. This library is used extensively by teachers and students of the CIJWS. Insurgency – which was a major issue in the North East in the 1960s and 1970s – is chronicled well here with related news clippings, articles, research papers and myriad maps. All these are designed to understand the insurgents and their activities, specific to North-Eastern India.

Lieutenant Colonel Rampal informs us that the library adds solid value to the think-tank of CIJWS. What else does it need? A well defined project on North East insurgent groups ­– reportedly struggling for a greater Bangladesh – for the students and teachers is yet to be completed. But it is part of our improvement programme," Rampal says.

In BTW's special training programme, students are trained for jungle survival where the Darwinian theory of `survival of the fittest' is at the back of the mind of every student in training.

The name of their game is laying traps and ambushes. They are taught to make a hen trap, porcupine trap, snake trap, wild bear trap, fish trap along with many other tricks of entangling wild animals in the remote and thick jungles of the North East. Explains Major AA Foning of the Gorkha Rifles Regiment (he asked us not to call him Foning without his designation): "This practice of trapping and eating wild animals in the thick jungle is part of our eight week jungle warfare training at the CIJWS."

The school has transformed the gateway to Mizoram into a much sought-after place by foreign armies wanting to train their cadets. But for those who make and earn their living fighting insurgents either in the remote North East forests or the troubled Kashmir valley, it is always difficult to predict who will have the last laugh. Insurgents, after all, do not come easy.