Old Friend and Older Values
Posted : October 21, 2005 at 11:25 pm [IST]
I was really excited when I found Prof. Pandey on the other side of the telephone. We first met in Rajendra Prasad Hall of IIT, Kharagpur, when we went for our interview for admission in 1961. I had my grandfather with me, and he had his father, who was at that time principal of Teachers Training School on the bank of the famous pool that has the historical and huge Shershah tomb in it in Sasaram. I spent almost the whole of my career in a private company, manufacturing automobile, and Prof Pandey has remained teacher at IIT, Kharagpur till date. He is now Emeritus Professor in Civil Engineering Department and is expert on road construction. He has done some pioneer work in using plastic reinforcement in rural road building. While in US, I could renew my contact with Prof. Pandey through Manish, his eldest son who is again from the same batch of my eldest son, Rakesh. And we now keep on corresponding.
When I returned after some shopping for the guest from the neighbourhood market, He was already there. He has remained the same simpleton, as he was in our college days. I love to see my childhood acquaintances to find out my perception about the changes with the age and the reality. Prof. Pandey has not changed.
I had many questions for him regarding road building in India, particularly the Golden Quadrilateral and N-S and E-W Corridors expressways- the one project that made the former prime minister famous or reformist. I suggested at one time through a letter to PMO to involve experts of road construction such as Prof. Pandey in the consultants groups. If Chinese roads can be world-class or better, why can’t our roads be equally excellent or superior with so many of experienced technical persons available in the country? However, after talking to him, I got depressed and morose. Everywhere the red tape of bureaucracy is withholding the innovations. No one in the chair is ready to hear even positive suggestions to improve the quality of construction and productivity of operation. I was surprised that a professor of IIT can’t comment on a government project. Every letter that one professor or any one writes to, say transport ministry, must go through a 3-4 level screening before the director of the institute forwards it to the ministry. Even if some one like Prof. Pandey gives a report on his findings, it goes to the ministry, but remains in the department file forever without any action on it. If this with the professors of IITs, what will be fate of suggestions from other experts or common citizens such as us? When will these barriers in the name of departmental discipline die? When can the expertise of the people available within the country be used freely for the badly needed accelerated growth of the country?
Perhaps this is the reason that India is far behind in sending manned fight in space, when China has done that twice in a short period and also of our poor rankings on every parameter of growth. India does not lack technical know-how, resources or finances. It lacks the will to do away with the old way of doing the work and find solution to achieve the best in this highly competitive world, where the difference between the best and the second is nominal. It requires involvement of all the stakeholders with no reservation of any kind. It requires a national urge to change. It requires a fire in those who are in chair to change the face of the nation and the condition of its people. It requires cohesiveness of purpose and synergy of the resources available to attain the goal without any selfish constraints. It requires openness.
Prof. Pandey had come for a seminar at he Central Road Research Institute here. I know many will present a number of good or average papers, but there will be hardly any follow-up. I wanted to know from NHAI the speed (km. per month) with which they can complete their projects. But no one answered. Without a constant improvement in the processes, how can we achieve the best or world-class standard of productivity?
- Indra
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