sentinelgroup@gmail.com
Highways or death traps?
National Highways have turned into deathtraps due to a myriad of reasons. Defective structure of roads, abominable road conditions, and tipsy drivers— all cause road mishaps. Authorities are oblivious to the ground realities, or they seem so. All hell broke loose when the Supreme Court banned highway bars and wine stores eight years ago. All efforts were undertaken to remove the ban, and their "tenacity" paid off. The highways were back to their usual selves. Road tragedies that saw a dip made a U-turn. Not to say alcohol is the only cause for frightful road accidents.
Arduous shift duties, long working hours, a paucity of extra drivers, and sleep disorders may all lead to a driver dozing off while commanding a vehicle.
Studies have found out that lack of quality sleep may lead to chronic fatigue akin to post-alcohol tiredness. 4 am to 6 am is identified as the most vulnerable period for driver fatigue. Taking a break after prolonged work hours, frequent rests after driving for a long period, napping when drowsy, ensuring the presence of another licensed driver in the vehicle, and persisting with a steady speed unmindful of time pressure are all ways a driver can avoid accidents. However, in public transport, can a driver enjoy these "luxuries"? Is the working class adequately remunerated for its hard work? Can a government dust its responsibilities off? These questions are not ideas; they are challenges.
Dr Ganapathi Bhat
(gbhat13@gmail.com)
Failed endeavour
Ever since it lost to the simultaneous emergence of Hindutva and Mandal forces in the late 1980s, Congress has been at a crossroads. It forced the party to counterbalance the Mandal phenomenon by talking about reservation for the “poor”. Today, Congress seems to be moving away from that legacy and seeking to rediscover itself. It seeks to convince Muslims that Congress offers them respect and material well-being and that this will enable it to mobilise the backward and the poor as one bloc. On paper, this new approach seems attractive and potent. After all, India needs a new social contract that is different from the immediate post-Independence utopia of development and distinct from the current dystopia of Hindu India. But can Congress shape this new social contract as a political imagination? Its trouble is that it has taken too long to even begin formulating a new ideological position. Two decades ago, unease about older positions as also about bland hopes of a turnaround due to new economic policies pushed the party’s intellectuals to search for new formulations. When it regained power for a decade (2004-14), the party neither attempted to build an organisation nor evolved any cogent ideological position. Once thrown out of power, it had all the time in the world to engage in both but still failed to do either.
Anandambal Ramani Jayanthy
(jayantck1@hotmail.com)