Friday, May 06, 2005

My Blood Starts To Boil

Recent developments, like recent developments at other points of time have not failed to make my blood boil. It is as if the world were conspiring against me to keep my blood in a vapour state. Not just me, every proud citizen's blood should be boiling now.

I have spent a significant part of my life in the wonderful state of Maharashtra. I still go there at least once every year to say Hi to my parents, and shall keep doing so. I've been in touch with the place since 1990, which makes it 16 years. Back in the old days Maharashtra was known as the Industrial hub of India. Perhaps, it still is - but it is just so.

Maharashtra never had power cuts. That was something to gloat about when I went home to Vizag or Hyderabad. Ah, how the tables have turned! Maharashra faces a shortfall of 4000MW. A 25% peak shortfall. Cities experience power cuts for 3 - 4 hours a day. Villages experience power for that amount of time. Bad planning. Political bickering. Whatever. My blood boils. Nucleate boiling.

As if that's not enough - it is even more alarming to note that it took a violent protest from one of India's most capricious and narrow minded parties, the Shiv Sena to bring this issue to the forefront - using violence - ransacking offices and beating up MSEB officials. There was precious little in the press before Bal Thakeray & Co got into action. And now we see a spate of articles in almost every newspaper on earth. What does this tell us? To get heard, be violent. This makes my blood boil all the more. DNB. Gandhi would sure be smiling, were he alive.

The only way out? The government has to suck up to the guys who bought Enron's Dabhol disaster. Dabhol uses natural gas as fuel. India has to import that Natural gas - which pollutes almost the same as coal. We don't use our own fuel. We use the neighbour's (and pay him a lot more). My blood is film boiling now, not just nucleate boiling.

Another solution: Panhandling for electricity from other states. But they have woes of their own. Looks like being a common man in India is just a big rip off. First some MNC comes and tries to rip you off - and then politicians do it. And of course the babus do it all the time. I don't have any liquid blood left at this point of time. Perhaps MSEB could attach a steam tubine to me and get some power now. Every penny counts.

6 comments:

The Ignoramus said...

dude....can you cut down on the mech fundaes in your blog? tell me, with a shet for FOC, even mechies can't understand film boiling and nucleate boiling....how on earth do you expect others to get it?

Anonymous said...

The biggest thing wrong with Enron isn't the damn natural gas.
This might serve to elucidate further.

http://www.prayaspune.org/energy/08_Enron_story.pdf

Anonymous said...

The biggest thing wrong with Enron isn't the damn natural gas.
This might serve to elucidate further.

http://www.prayaspune.org/energy/08_Enron_story.pdf

Rap said...

Ram. Ram. Who learns boiling in FOC? I don't know what you learn in FOC, I had shet too. But still....

Anonymous said...

Haha...your last line was funny...reminded me of Swades, did you see it?
So are you trying to say that today, places like Hyd don't have power problems (rather the issue is improved) whereas places in Maharasthra do?
Politicians are like pieces of garb; need to be discarded when (u?)necessary. Unfortunately those who vote for them are left with minimal pieces of garb themselves.

Rap said...

Hey Silpa... couldn't get your garb analogy .. could you elucidate?