Practical Solutions to Bangalore's transport problems

In one of my earlier posts I had brought out some of the transport problems that the ordinary citizens of Bangalore face daily while commuting.

In this post I will list down a few practical steps that can be taken in our city to mitigate to a certain extent the transport problems that we face today in our day to day life.

From meter to App – Bangalore Autos: In Bangalore, at least on paper, the autos run on the concept of metered fare. The reality unfortunately as we all know is totally different. Apart from haggling for higher

Fares than those stipulated by the transport department, most auto drivers in the city refuse even to switch on their meters. Some even go to the extreme of hurling expletives and threatening hapless travellers if they ask the reason from the auto drivers for demanding extra or refusing to ply to their destination. The traffic police usually will refuse to act against these errant drivers.

One of the innovation that the RTO and the transport department can implement is to have a similar software application or app that is used by cab aggregators – Uber and Ola.

All autos in Bangalore must install the RTO approved software application. Booking for autos is to be done only via the App which would be owned by a centralised agency under the purview of the government, however, to ensure efficiency and effectiveness the management would be run by professionals only.

One suggestion would be to outsource the maintenance to an outsourced agency similar to what has been done in respect of some of the passport services which has been outsourced by the Ministry of External Affairs.

To avoid moon lighting, all autos must ensure that the software application is running for at least 8 hours in a day for either 5 or 6 days in a week. Any deviation has to be explained with proof.

While this concept is targeted for the general public at large, I am sure that like uber and Ola, once this app is developed and installed in all the autos plying in Bangalore, auto rickshaw drivers would also benefit in the long run through higher customer acceptance.

In addition the app would also help to track the movement of auto and provide customer feedback.

Errant auto drivers can be identified and post investigation of any complaint their licence cancelled.

BMTC bus timings:

With Bangalore being a 24X7 city, it is imperative that we have a public transport system in tune to meet the requirements of a modern ,cosmopolitan city .While 24X7 bus facility may not be feasible yet due to safety issues , it would be worthwhile to implement normal bus services at least till 12 AM midnight.

The skeleton bus service that we see plying from 11PM till early morning is not adequate to meet the transport needs of a modern workforce working different shift timings, supporting different geographies of the world or in many cases stretching to meet deadlines over and beyond their normal work timings.

From personal experience of traveling daily from Brookfield to Electronic City. I am amazed by the fact that while private taxi and bus operators provide services till around 1 AM in the morning, the BMTC buses except for a few routes are almost non-existent.

I am not expecting the transport department of running normal bus services till 1 AM but what I want them to do is at least run the services till 12 o’clock midnight. For example the rush that I see amongst ordinary city folks to catch a private bus say from Cosmos Mall or Kundanhalli gate or Marthalli Bridge to go to Silk Board at around 11PM at night clearly proves that BMTC has missed a few tricks to plug the ballooning revenue deficit that it cries about daily.

In contrast when I wait for a bus at around 2.30 PM in the afternoon till 3PM at silk board  to show up to take me to Brookfield , I can count at least 20 to 30  Volvo busses of route 500CA going almost empty.

It is bemusing and saddening to view the national wastage in terms of diesel and depreciating vehicles that ply nearly empty at that time on the silk board to ITPL route.

Just like many modern private sector organisations have multiple shifts to cater to their business requirements, BMTC should also do a time study of the demand and then modify the bus routes and timing accordingly.

It is no point in providing 20 Volvo AC busses on a route at a particular time period when there is no demand for the same. Instead allocate more busses on a route and time when there is an existing demand to be tapped.

In this way not only will it be able to reduce expenditure but also increase their revenue, which can be invested in upgrading their infrastructure.

Skywalks

Bangalore needs more skywalks .One of the major reasons for slowing traffic that I have noted at major choke points in the city is the absence of skywalks. While the city authorities have slowly woken up to the problems by constructing a few skywalks in Koramangala/Adugodi on the Hosur Road, as always a lot more needs be done.

My personal experience of watching people crossing the busy and congested roads, the Marthalli Bridge and at numerous points on the outer ring road being an example is that the absence of sky walks not only are a cause for growing accidents but also is factor for slowing down the traffic in our already congested roads.

The crossing from Marthalli to Kalamandir bus stop across the outer ring road has been crying out for a skywalk since decades but it seems that simple solutions to problems escape those in whose hands we have entrusted our governance.

Another sky walk should be constructed at the busy silk board junction which connects the southern part of the city to Bangalore. The daily foot count at silk board would easily run into tens of thousands and a sky walk would be greatly beneficial to the daily commuters who use silk board as the central point to reach their destination to a different part of the city.

Fictional Indian War Scenario: Skirmishes over the Arabian Sea – Part 3

L'audace, l'audace, toujours l'audace

(Audacity, audacity, always audacity.)

-          Napoleon Bonaparte

Captain Rajesh Sen could sense the change in the tempo at the bridge. The atmosphere was visibly tense and changed in the space of a few hours.

A good commander should always know the pulse of his troops mused the Captain.

What’s their flight path, Venkat? “Either Gujarat or tip of Maharashtra Captain” replied Lieutenant Venkatesh Kuppuswamy without battling an eyelid. “We will have a better picture in a few minutes Sir”.

“We do not have those few minutes, sailor” replied back Captain Sen in his gruff voice. Please patch me through Sinha at Command HQ and Air Commodore Johnson at SWAC.

Captain Sen was not wasting any time, it was not his habit to do so.

Captain Rajesh Sen, often referred to as the scholar captain in navy circles was war gaming the fast changing scenario like all good commanders would have done at this moment of time, and Captain Sen was the best of them.

While the 8 F16 were approaching Gujarat he was trying to figure out the worst case scenario.

Asking questions and answering them, playing different scenarios against each other within split seconds.

Where the F16’s hostile? yes, assume they are.

What’s their target: an Indian defence command structure, or defence production unit or was it something else.

This was what he had been trained for.

Sir, Air Commodore Johnson and Rear Admiral Sinha on Secure 1.

Gentlemen, boomed Rajesh leaving the exchange of additional pleasantries for a different occasion, we have a rapidly emerging situation. 8 Inbound bogies Identified as F16’s most likely PAF F’16’s.

Likely target is Gujarat, either defence or infrastructure. We need to inform Mr Singh and Mr Raman immediately. The 2second pause was infuriating for Sen as he looked the illuminated dial on the multi-function display which was giving the flight path of the F-16’s.

I will inform the NSA and the Defence Minister Rajesh, Rear Admiral Sinha retorted breaking the 2 second pause. Rules of Engagement are clear, Buzz them on IFF, and if they transgress on our air space shoot them down.

Instructions could not have been any clearer.

 The problem was as Sen had figured when he got the initial situational report from Vikram  that the Vizag only had 4 Barak 8ER missiles while he had 10 potential targets, 8 of them which were now almost within Indian air space.

“Buzz them “ Venkat  and start assigning targets to “Claw 1” , Claw 1 being the integrated target acquisition and firing system which integrated the EL/M-2248 MF-STAR multi-mission AESA and  the Thales LW08 radars and the ships armaments which included the long range Surface to Air Barak 8ER missile.

Squadron leader Bashir Ahmed broke into a slight sweat. The MFD had just flashed a warning sign that he had been buzzed. Message just flashed on his Link 16 secure link that the others had been buzzed as well.

He ruled out equipment malfunction, which meant that they had been detected.

Their biggest  advantage – stealth – had just been lost.

Fictional Indian War Scenario: Skirmishes over the Arabian Sea – Part 2

The  flight of The F16 Block 52  based out of Jacobabad belonging to 5(MR) Squadron, the 39^th Tactical Air Wing were armed with a  deadly mix of  the  AIM120 AMRAAM  and GBU-10  Paveway laser guided bomb kits attached to Mk-82 bombs which was generously gifted out at discounted price by the US Government.

While 4 of the planes were armed with 2 AIM120 AMRAAM and 2 AIM9M Sidewinder WVR ( Within Visual Range Missiles) the other 4 were armed with the GBU 10 Paveway laser guided bomb kits attached to the Mk-82 bombs , the intended recipient of which was to be the Petrochemical plant in Gujarat.

The “team” had gone through simulated exercises and had practiced the attack numerous times.

The idea was to keep the plan simple, the key was to ensure stealth, remain undetected before the attack was initiated on the gigantic petrochemical plant. Post the attack the plan was to hit on the afterburners on their Pratt and Whitney engines and escape to the protective bubble of the SAAB 2000 Erieye AEW&C and the additional F16 Block 52 which would be available as part of this operation.

Being the professional force they claimed to be Bashir had ensure that the plan was drilled into each of those participating in this operation. He knew that the  the IAF on its part exercised regularly out of IAF Base Kailkunda in West Bengal with the Singapore Airforce F16’s which were superior to the F-16 at the PAF’s disposal ,he was banking on the element of stealth together with their training to get them through.

Luck was unfortunately not on Bashir’ side today.

03:30 Hrs, somewhere over the Arabian Sea. INS Visakhapatnam.

Knock Knock….

2 knocks on the door was sufficient, Captain P Sen, being the light sleeper he was had already opened the door before Commander K Vikram , Vikki to his batch mates had the opportunity to knock for the 3^rd time.

Years of being in the navy had made Captain Sen a light Sleeper. At 6 feet with greying hair, Captain Sen belonged to the old school .Blessed with a razor sharp intellect and a photogenic memory he had topped his batch at the Naval Academy and had breezed through the Post Graduate course at IIT Delhi. His gruff voice and calm demeanour under pressure endeared him to his “troops”, the term he used often to address those serving under him.

Captain Sen had no time for those who dilly dallied ,seeing Vikram’ s expression and the fact that he was woken up from the 5 hours of sleep that he habitually took at midnight , he knew something was up.

“Sit rep Vikram “questioned Captain Sen.

8 inbound bogies Sir, the MFSTAR is tracking them and have identified them as F16’s.

Additionally we have picked up the radar signature of an SAAB 2000 Erieye and an IL78 Midas tanker off the coast of Karachi.

The 8 inbounds have been assigned the call sign Bogey 1 to 8.

We have notified INS Kadamba and Joint HQ at New Delhi has also been notified on the developments, shot off Vikram without drawing a breath, while Captain Sen got ready.

“Lets go” the veteran sailor nodded towards the direction of the Vizag’s bridge which housed heart, ears and eyes of the 7000 tonne monster.

The Indian Rafale’s Part 2 – The Unique One

A lot of controversy has arisen on the price tag of the Indian Rafale's. While not wishing to indulge in mudslinging to the detriment to national security it is pertinent to look at some of the IAF specific requirements which has inadvertently lead to the increase in the Rafale's cost.

The IAF Rafales would be the F3R+ versions with the following India unique features, most of which are of Israeli origin and design.

1.       Rafael's LITENING G4 target acquisition/designation pod instead of the Damocles designation pod which is the standard targeting cum acquisition pod for the Rafale.

2.       Elbit's Targo II HMDS  instead of the Sextant Avionique developed TopSight

3.       Rafael's Spice-1000 standoff PGM and its related data-link, in addition to DRDO developed standoff precision ground to air ammunition under development.

4.       Quad-pack ejectors for SAAW EMP-emitting standoff DEW PGM.

5.       Optimisation of the M88 turbofan’s jet-fuel starter for operating in sub-zero temperatures at altitudes above 3000 Meters. Specifically to take off from Leh/Ladhak and the North East keeping in mind the twin PAF and PLAAF threats.

6.       Enhanced SPECTRA EW suite to accommodate low-band, medium-band and high-band directional jammer apertures.

7.       Towed Decoy system, most likely being the Rafael’s X-Guard.

8.       Increased capacity of on board OBOGS, this to ensure more long ranged mission, allowing the fighters to take off from deep within India for strikes across the borders.

In addition there is speculations that the IAF Rafales could also mount the Indian Astra missile and the Bramhos NG although integration and flight testing of these 2 missiles could take considerable time, effort and money which with the shrinking defence budget is unlikely.

(Defence budget as a % of GDP is at the lowest since the 1962 war with the Peoples Republic of China)

The 36 Rafales ,28 single seaters and 8 twin seaters would equip 2 squadrons of the IAF and would be based out of Ambala in the North West  and Hasimara in the North East , this to act if required against both China and Pakistan. What is not highlighted is the capital cost incurred to build the base infrastructure to house the Rafales. Additionally the state of the art training facilities which would be part of the base infrastructure is generations ahead of what the IAF pilots have been exposed to for fighter planes.

The training modules in Ambala and Hasimara would be connected to each other and to Gwalior, the home for the upgraded Mirage 2000 I fleet and more importantly the cradle of IAF fighter tactics and weapons development the TACDE (Tactical and Air Combat development Establishment) where future generation of India’s top guns are born.

One of the stand out features of the agreement is the 75% PBL clause which has been mentioned in Part 1 of our feature. Maintenance crews along with the fighter pilots would be trained in France before the fighters are officially inducted into the IAF. The Microsoft HoloLens-based virtual/augmented reality hands-on documentation and training system (HADOC) is also being touted to be part of the overall package negotiated in the Government to Government deal.

To be continued

Transport Issues of the Aam Admi

Transport Problems faced by the Mango (aam) Junta:

Not sure how much it will strike a resonance amongst fellow travellers but I have noted down a few basic transport issues that I face while commuting daily from home to office and back in Bangalore previously fondly referred to as the “Garden City” Of India.

Clamp down on Errant Autos:

Instead of behaving like pot belied louts going only after private owned

Cars why cannot the god fearing transport cops go after the autos who ply without meter fares.

Example: There are dedicated auto stands in Electronic City police station one

Near Wipro Bus stop where the autos charge passengers as per their whims and fancies

with the so called police station hardly 1 km away.

One needs to wonder how much hafta is paid by the errant auto drivers to the cops to

the detriment of the amm junta. Yet these so called protectors of justice only flag down 2 wheelers and private owned cars (they do not touch taxis) to have a mid-afternoon "chat" on national issues such as to why the Driving Licence has been issued in a different state, forgetting that we do live in the same country, salute only one flag and travel internationally under only one passport (unless we are Nirav Modi!!)

Get those steel barriers off the road:

For a country obsessed with building and maintain autobahns we sure love those steel barriers to prevent the odd car from driving at mach1 speed.

Apart from slowing down traffic and causing traffic congestion in an already poorly managed traffic system i cannot fathom in my wild imagination as to how those rusty steel barriers can actually help in reducing accidents.

Get Tough on those Tempo Travellers:

The spotless clean no nonsense incorruptible RTO/Government/Police/ needs to  ensure not just having speed governators and in built speed caps, but also need to clamp down on sound pollution especially for those #@$$! Tempo travellers who seem to own the roads of Bangalore.

BMTC bus conductors please CHANGE:

Request to all those BMTC conductors who think that the amm junta traveling in their 1st class transportation owns their own mini RBI approved mint to churn out pocket change, You need to keep change ready, do not expect the customer to give you the change (no this is not tips for the great service that you guys provide to us).

Seems most busses have yet to have the cash less facility of swiping available (who would forsake the opportunity of having his chai gutka funds blocked by a machine which provides cash less facility)

Trust some of the issues highlighted above are acted upon to make the life of the less than ordinary folks who work hard and pay taxes a tad easier.

Jai Hind !

Fictional Indian War Scenario: Skirmishes over the Arabian Sea - Part 1

Location: Somewhere over the Arabia Sea

Time: 03:00Hrs

 4 pair of 8 PAF F16 Block 52’s are streking over the Arabian Sea, their target the Jamnagar petrochemical refinery located in the state of Gujarat. Cruising at just below Mach 1 the ETA to target is 1 hour and 45 mins.

Code named Operation Zarb e Hind the plan of the Pakistan armed forces and Intelligence agency the ISI Directorate was to attack India’s industrial and military infrastructure with a series of coordinated simultaneous strikes.

Code Named operation Strike Eagle one such plan was to attack and destroy the gigantic petrochemical plant at Jamnagar, Gujarat, causing economic damages worth billions of dollars and more importantly show casing the ability of the Pakistani armed forces to inflict damages to their arch enemy at the time of their choosing.

The F16 Block 52’s+ (Advance) were the most advanced fighter jets in the PAF’s inventory .Decades of poor economic growth and faced with a tribal insurrection at their western border which sapped their defence budget the Pakistan Arm Forces were dependent mainly on Chinese and America aid. Chinese aid was in the form of subsidised equipment and the American aid was in the form of “Coalition Support Fund” which on paper was for reimbursing the cost incurred by Pakistan for conducting counter terrorism operations.

In addition to the CSF funding from the USA Pakistan had also continued to receive subsidised and sophisticated defence equipment from the US Government in the guise of fighting terrorists.

Part of the deal to help the US fight terrorists in Afghanistan and capture Al Qaida operatives in Pakistan was to get the advanced version of the F16 fighters that the PAF came to love and which the IAF came to respect.

As part of Peace Drive 1 the US Government provided 12 F16C and 6 F16D (Block 52+) fighters from 2010.

Now after a decade of being in service with the PAF, the F16’s were finally being put to use against their intended adversary.

At an altitude of 15000 ft. above ground, Squadron leader Bashir Ahmed of the 5^th Squadron, 39^th Tactical Air Wing of the PAF looked over from the bubble canopy of his F16 Block 52+ C, nicknamed Khyber, to check on his wingman, young flight lieutenant Sajid Khan fresh out of the elite Combat Commander School based out of the sprawling PAF Sargodha.  Bashir Ahmed need not have worried  ,at 27 Sajid was one of the youngest Flight Lieutenants in the PAF , known for his cool head under pressure and aggressiveness  at all situations Sajid had topped the CCS course the year before and had won plaudits from the Turks and Americans in joint exercises. Bashir whistled softly to himself while he checked on the Fuel meter in the Multi-Function Display after having topped off by the hulking IL78 Tanker over the Arabian Sea. All seems to be going smoothly as Bashir mused as they approached the final phase of Operation Strike Eagle.

What instead should have troubled Bashir was the lurking presence of the 7000+tonne INS Visakhapatnam, 1^st of its class of ships of Project 15B series of destroyers of the Indian Navy .Bashir and the planners in PAF HQ had failed to factor in the presence of the highly sophisticated and heavily armed destroyer in their air war plans. Unknown to the PAF the INS Visakhapatnam was going through the routine exercises required by the Indian Navy before her official commissioning into the Indian Naval Fleet. Part of the exercise included shooting down enemy aircraft and missiles with the help of the Israeli MF STAR AESA+ Barak8 NG combination.

10Kms ahead and on the left was Flt. Lieutenant Akram Khan. Information between PAF F16’s were being exchanged through the secure data link-“Link 16” that the F16 block 52’s possessed.

The superb AN/APG 68 radar was turned off for the time being to ensure no radar waves were transmitted to be picked up by the Indian radar battery operated out of Bhuj AF base as the flight approached the Indian coast line in total radio silence.

The Plan as to fly close to the sea surface to confuse enemy radar and take advantage of the sea clutter and bypass the radars installed in IAF Station Bhuj. Additionally once over Bhuj the F16 would turn on the ALQ-211 EW system to defeat the Indian radar network specifically the Akash NG and the Sypder SAM combination that might exist as per latest Intelligence reports. Bhuj was also home of the IAF’s No15 Squadron the Flying Lancers which were equipped with the superb Su30MKI fighter. 2  Su 30 fighters were assumed to be part of the Quick Reaction Force with additional 4 on operational readiness mode but the Air Planners at Sargodha hoped that with the IAF radars “tricked” the Su30’s would be a danger only after the mission was accomplished.

In addition to AF Station Bhuj, the IAF noting the strategic importance of Jamnagar had commissioned an air base at Jamnagar which currently was home to the No 28 Squadron: The First Supersonics equipped with the IAF Mig 29’s know world over as one of the best dog fighter. Legend has it that during the Kargil War when the Mig 29’s or Baaz as its fondly referred to in the IAF flew top cover as the Mirages were bombing the life out of the hapless Pakistani intruders, an F16 A (early version of the F16) was locked on by the Mig 29 radar, the Baaz followed the Governments ill advised dikkat of not engaging beyond the LOC let its prey go!

To be continued……

The Indian Rafale's - Part 1

2019!

Eagerly waiting for the year to come when we would start receiving the 1st of the 36 contracted

Rafales. Suffice to say, without making it sound like a cliché, those Rafales would be a game changer

in the increasingly challenging and complex Asian security scenario.

Armed with the deadly MICA and Meteor AAM (Air to Air Missile) cued on by the superb RBE radar

 most of the PAF fighters would be toast if it were to tangle with the IAF.

Currently in the BVR (Beyond visual Range) scenario at least on paper the PAF is at near parity with the IAF. The IAF do have the superb and heavily armed Su30MKI but the R-77 BVRAAM missile that it carries is plagued by manufacturing issues and cannot be counted as a guaranteed protector against a likely swarm attack of US AIM120C AMRAMM equipped F16 Block52.

Intractable issues with the R-77 BVRAAM NATO reporting name AA-12 Adder forced the IAF to hunt for the R-27 NATO code name AA-10 Alamo from Ukraine and support whole heartedly the home grown Astra AAM missile. So desperate is the situation with the R-77 that the IAF is even looking at arming the Meteor with the Su30-MKI.

IAF fighter pilots responsible for evaluating fighter jets in the now cancelled protracted MMRCA contract have rated the Meteor+Rafale combination very highly and subsequently would more than likely have war gamed the Meteor+Rafale against the PAF F16 and the PLAAF Su27/Su30 copies.

Once the Meteor armed Rafale and the Astra/Meteor armed Su-30MKI gets inducted the complete dominance of the IAF vs the PAF would be restored.

We will look at an air war scenario in depth in future write ups , lets now concentrate on what additional the Rafale brings on to the table.

Apart from the Air to Air dominance that the Rafale would bring in assuming the current inventory of the PAF does not gets upgraded ;with its RBE radar, SPECRTA electronic warfare system, fusion sensors and MICA+ Meteor WWR/BVRAAM missiles, the most striking and least talked about factor in the $9Bn+ USD (at 2016 prices) deal for 36 Rafales is the PBL or Performance Based Logistics that is engrained into the contract. At any given time 75% of the Rafale fleet must be operational as per the PBL clause in the contract. For an air force facing squadron shortage and Russian designed and developed aircrafts having poor serviceability and turnaround time the PBL of 75% is extremely critical to ensure the deterrent against PAF and PLAAF squadrons based out of Tibet.

More to follow in Part 2