When the going gets tough, the tough get going..! !
The Army would have brought all the components for the bridge from their units on the border (Punjab or Rajasthan). The Army jawans of M.E.G. have then built it, as necessary. It is a 12-foot wide bridge (used in combat situations for trucks, field-guns, tanks, tank-transporters, etc). It was given extra support as a precautionary measure. Also, lights were fitted and a coat of white paint applied to make it a 'civilian' bridge.
The building of the infrastructure for the games, like stadiums, games village, etc. rested on the Union Govt. with the Minister for Sports, Mr M.S. Gill being in-charge.
Security etc. is the responsibility of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Mr Chidambaram in-charge.
The improvements to the infrastructure of Delhi, like roads, etc. were the responsibilty of the Delhi Govt. with the CM, Ms. Sheila Dikshit being in-charge.
The CWG OC was not responsible to get the bridge built -- the Delhi Govt. was responsible.
One other thing to note here is that the CWG OC has a budget allocation of 1,700 crores only -- out of the total of 70,000 crores.
Also, Mr Kalmadi is an ex-military officer from Pune, where the Bombay Engineering Group (B.E.G.) has its Regimental Centre. He is well aware of what the Army can do.
While the army constructing the bridge is laudable it is not surprising bcos the army is supposed to be ever combat-ready and capable of doing such things in a short time. All said, the army did pitch in and complete this with meticulous planning and commitment, kudos to them. But the pt in question is- could the govt too have done such a job similarly? Technically, yes- it is possible if an organization works diligently with other groups, and I have seen it work. The reason the OC gave up could be due to lack of material plus proper project mgmt in the committee with others. This could be due to the fact that nobody wanted to take the responsibility and were involved in a blame game. That's how democracy has been abused in our country, and ppl need to be bribed or really kicked in their shins to get things done.
What we need is a 'good' group/inidividual who would make things work in this country, at the point of gun if necessary. But then the assumption is that the ruler(s) is/are not a tyrant, but an understanding, incorruptible, patriotic govt.
Re: army
by tuleswar nath on Oct 06, 2010 02:21 PM
It seems you want to stay under military dictatorship than in a democratic setup. Please see the condition of the people of some countries under military rule. People have no civic rights. Extra judicial killings are rampant.
Re: army
by Dipak Sangameswaran on Oct 07, 2010 06:34 AM
In a democratic set-up the army is meant to defend and not to rule. What we must learn from the army is the fact that meticulous planning and disciplined execution are most crucial elements of project management as well as making available proper resources at the right time.
What the CWG organizers lacked was proper project management. In general politicians, bureaucrats and retired sportspersons cannot be expected to be good at Project Management.
Let Manmohan Singh hand over the reigns of the country to the Army for 5 years and see the difference. I am sure, the Army would perform at its best and achieve what the politicians have not achieved since the last 60 years of independence.
Re: Army rule in India for the next 5 years
by tuleswar nath on Oct 06, 2010 02:24 PM
Yes, we will become another China. No democratic rights. If you protest, you will be shot dead and buried somewhere and reported as missing.
Re: Re: Army rule in India for the next 5 years
by Inder Raj on Oct 06, 2010 02:40 PM
YOU MOVE AFTER 1O PM IN SEELAMPUR AREA OF DELHI AND SURROUNDING SUBURBS AND YOU WILL HAVE THE SAME FATE. NOT EVERYONE IN CHINA DIES OF GUN SHOT BUT YES AS A NATION THEY HAVE SHOWN TREMENDOUS GROWTH AND PROSPERITY. YOU NEED TO SACRIFICE SOMETHING TO GAIN SOMETHING.ONCE IDIOTS LIKE VP SINGH /DEV GOUDA WERE GIVEN CHANCE WHY NOT TRY ARMY ONCE.
Re: Kudos
by george thomas on Oct 08, 2010 12:49 AM
The Army would have brought all the components for the bridge from their units on the border (Punjab or Rajasthan). The Army jawans of M.E.G. have then built it, as necessary. It is a 12-foot wide bridge (used in combat situations for trucks, field-guns, tanks, tank-transporters, etc). It was given extra support as a precautionary measure. Also, lights were fitted and a good coat of paint applied.
Re: Kudos
by ajit singh on Oct 06, 2010 01:18 PM
My dear friend Brige was already fabricated and assembly was done by So called Army, Please note that army has MES who get their work done by registered contractor, most currupt than CPWD contractor.
Re: Re: Kudos
by Atul Suri on Oct 06, 2010 02:56 PM
Friend Ajit please inquire before penning your thoughts,MES or military engineering service does not build combat bridges, I mean they build through contractors buildings , civil work etc in peace stations, MES consists of civilian employees and army too suffers in the ramshackle buildings they maintain, wheras the engrg regimets are combat troops who do the mining,demining,bridging, make shift shelters and various other operational tasks during a battle and off course the bridge are made of steel girders, angles eys but not as fabricated as the writer makes one believe, no contractors in battle my dear.
Well not just CWG but all indian civil agencies (including IAS & IPS) need to learn a lot from ARMED FORCES of India. Here the armed forces are perpetually given a backseat. The civil agencies in India want to take all the credit and hog all the lime light when the things are normal but as soon as the things go wrong they are the first ones to run away and finally the buck comes to Armed Forces. Take any natural calamity and civil disaster management arrangement is the first to collapse. Take any law and order situation in the country and the Police are mostly unable to control the situation. Then the politicians in this ungrateful country want to rope in Armed Forces. Look at the current situation in J&K ! They want to curtail AFSPA. What rubbish! Like in the following poem........God and soldier All men Adore,In time of trouble and no more,For when the war ids over and things righted,God is forgotten and Soldier slighted ! I sincerely hope this won't happen after this CWG and guilty punished exemplarily. JAI HIND
We got to Dhaka by by-passing main roads and using Bailey Bridges across many rivers.
When we pulled out of Bangladesh, we left the Bailey Bridges in place and donated those bridges to the people of Bangladesh.
Bailey Bridges can be constructed very fast because they use steel form-work. The surface is 'ek-dum' solid wood. Tanks can roll on them, that's one possible use during war.
This particular bridge took a little longer because it was a "civilian" bridge and had to be painted and decorated.
Sheila Dikshit said on NDTV that the bridge which collapsed was designed by a British team ..... and definitely she is going to investigate after the CWG whether the design was faulty --or-- the construction people made an error.
In all fairness, Suresh Kalmadi had no hand in the bridge collapse. It was not completed and not yet handed over to the CWG OC. ... Sheila Dikshit made it clear that the bridge was under construction under the supervision of the Delhi PWD.
Re: Bailey Bridges are elementary stuff for Army
by shekhar shetty on Oct 05, 2010 06:13 PM
I wish we peoples in India should have positive mindset like Mr.George Thomas. We should not show countries few accidents in negative way to rest of the world. We all are Indians and we should support any event happens in India whole heartedly. We all are proud to be an Indian
