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| | | | | Comments On News Reports | | | A letter to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi - 1985
----- Original Message -----
From: floriano
To: goaworldtoday@gmail.com ; gulf-goans@yahoogroups.com ; Goa-Goans@yahoogroups.com ; canada goans ; goenchimxapotam ; moira-net@googlegroups.com ; dasyagoa@gmail.com
Sent: Friday, May 28, 2010 12:24 AM
Subject: Fw: A bit of Indian History
Dears,
The appreciation of these two posts has driven me to my long forgotten archives. And luckily, through the devastation caused by the little terrorists we call termites I have managed to find what I was looking for. A long communication with none other than Shri. Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister of India circa 1985
----- Original Message -----
From: Dr. Ferdinando dos Reis Falcão
Sent: Thursday, May 27, 2010 7:21 PM
Subject: A bit of Indian History
Okhil Chandra Sen wrote this letter to the Sahibganj
divisional railway office in 1909. It is on display
at the Railway Museum in New Delhi . It was
also reproduced under the caption "Travelers' Tales"
in the Far Eastern Economic Review
Okhil Babu's letter to the Railway Department :
"I am arrive by passenger train Ahmedpur station and
my belly is too much swelling with jackfruit. I am
therefore went to privy. Just I doing the
nuisance that guard making whistle blow for train to
go off and I am running with 'lotah' in one hand and
'dhoti' in the next when I am fall over and
expose all my shocking to man and female women on
plateform. I am got leaved at Ahmedpur station.
This too much bad, if passenger go to make dung that
dam guard not wait train five minutes for him. I am
therefore pray your honour to make big fine
on that guard for public sake. Otherwise I am making
big report to papers."
Any guesses why this letter was of historic value?
It apparently led to the introduction of toilets on
trains.
And
----- Original Message -----
From: "Comma Consulting"
To: "Comma Consulting"
Sent: Thursday, May 27, 2010 1:13 PM
Subject: [Goanet] We Are Also Part of India's Democracy
This article is from the blog res gestae (www.rajivndesai.blogspot.com
)
Here the author touches on the topic of how new generation communication facilities were inducted during Rajiv Gandhi's Premiership.
And therefore, this:-
Cheers
floriano
goasuraj
9890470896
**
From:
FC Lobo,
Villa RC Lobo –Alto Pirazona – Moira Bardez Goa -403514 – India
Mombasa – 25 July, 1985
To,
Shri. H.P. Wagle – Dy. Director General (ML) – Post & Telegraph Board – Department of Telecom – Dak Tar Bhavan – Parliament Street – New Delhi – 11- 001 – India.
Dear Sir,
I am very highly honoured to receive your letter ref. F 24-1/85-MR, dated 6th. May, 1985, regarding the up-grading of the Coast Radio Stations.
It has been noticed that, already, Bombay Radio is paying much more closer attention to the calling bands than ever before. This, in itself, is a proof of genuine improvement. I am very grateful for the remedial steps taken by your good office I this respect. It will certainly be very satisfying to see Bombay Radio functioning as one of the best Coast Radio Stations in the Indian sub-continent in the future.
Thanking you, Yours faithfully.
**
F 24-1/85-MR
Post & Telegraph Board – Department of Telecom – Dak Tar Bhavan – Parliament Street – New Delhi – 11- 001 – India.
Dated; 6th. May, 1985
To:
Shri. Floriano C Lobo - Radio Officer – Cargoship Navigation Ltd., - C/o Seaarland Shipping Management Ges. m. b.H.- Nikolaigasse 24 – 9500 Villach- Austria.
Villa RC Lobo – Alto Pirazona – Moira Bardez- Goa-403 514
Sir,
Kindly refer to your letter dated 15.1.85 addressed to the Prime Minister of India regarding working of coast stations.
Department of Telecommunication is seized of the problems being faced by the Shipping Community due to the limitations and inadequacy of equipment s at coast stations. A programme for upgradation of coast stations has accordingly been taken up. This includes replacement of existing transmitters, receivers, and antenna systems. New services like narrowband direct printing, NAVTEX, Radio Telex Service and VHF coverage along the entire coast line are proposed to be taken up in a phased manner. We expect to upgrade the Bombay Station during the next two years.
However, in the meantime, Bombay coast station has been improved by provision of new HF receivers. Arrangements have also been made for extending VHF calls to international destinations from Bombay and Supervision at this coast station has been tightened.
We are thankful to you for showing interest in our maritime telecommunication services.
Yours faithfully
Sd/-
(H.P. Wagle)
Dy. Director General (ML)
**
MT CONY – CARGOSHIP NAVIGATION LTD – MONROVIA
C/o Seaarland Shipping Management Ges. M. b.H.- Nilolaigasse 24 – 9500 Villach- Austria.
Mombasa, Kenya – January 15, 1985
Mr. Rajiv Gandhi - The Prime Minister of India – Parliament House – New Delhi – India.
Respected Sir,
My deepest sympathies to you and to your family, on the tragic demise of your dear mother, and our beloved Prime Minister. At the same time I offer you my heartiest congratulations, on your exultant victory in the National general elections. Millions of our peoples have shown their preference, and have placed their well being and their hopes in your hands. May The All Mighty GOD give you the courage and the strength to deal with the pressures of your Office.
Sir, the attached is not a report really, but a pouring out of the resentment of many years, which could not be contained much longer. There never was a more favourable time than the present one, for this report to have found a sympathetic ear. As an ex-commercial pilot, you understand what communication is all about. Hence, I have picked-up my courage and have decided to send it to you directly. I am sure you are unaware of the damage our coast radio stations are doing to our National Prestige.
I shall certainly be highly honoured to receive an acknowledgement from you good Office, when I shall know that my sentiments, which are also the sentiments of all Radio Officers and the maritime community at large, have reached the right ears.
I mean no harm to anybody, but only want to see that things are done properly. Nothing will please us more than to see our beloved Bombay Radio (VWB) made into an institution of efficiency and respect.
On this ship we are a few Indian Officers among Italians. We hungrily wait for the All India Radio or the BBC (Hindi service) broadcasts each day, to hear about all the favourable changes that are being brought about under your administration and leadership. We wish you well.
I remain,
Yours faithfully
Sd/- FC Lobo- Radio Officer.
REPORT ON BOMBAY RADIO – VWB [Trimmed as the original is very long and in depth]
In the past decade, India’s shipping tonnage has increased phenomenally, and indeed, shipping plays a very important role in the economy of the country. With the increase in shipping, the ship-to-shore communication needs have increased ten folds. Indian as well as the foreign ships patronizing Indian Ports, rely, for their communication needs, on Bombay Radio- VWB, for this is the only significant coast radio station in India.
However, it is saddening to say that this coast station is, and has been for the past many years, operating at a sub-standard level, and a stage has reached where it couldn’t be worse, thus depriving the shipping at large the basic and modest services.
As a radio officer who started out at sea in 1971, my observations will to be any different from those of hundreds of other radio officer when it comes to the service extended to ships by Bombay Radio. In short, this coast station is grossly inefficient, carelessly indifferent and is inadequate to handle ship-to-shore radio traffic.
India today plays a very definitive role in electronics (space as well as in industry) and is steadily forging ahead with a promising future in the field. The rate at which television network is expanding in India is commendable and has been lauded by many foreign countries. A recent newscast on Bahrain’s television that ‘ India is replacing the existing tedious bureaucratic filing system in the government by computers’ has come as a most welcome news.
In this context, the plight of Bombay Radio, as it stands today, is morally unjustified. The need of modernizing this station to keep up with the increasing standards of communication has been steadfastly overlooked. Supervision has decayed to almost a rot. People responsible for this station (or stations) have plainly abandoned their responsibilities. Incompetent operators on the staff are given a free hand at running the station with obvious lack of any fruitful output. Probably the station is under-staffed and operators, as given to understand, are required to perform other ordinary duties, thereby inundating efficiency and abandoning listening watch on the international distress and calling frequency [500 KHZ] as well as on the other HF bands.
A time has come to make a qualified assessment of this radio station and put to end an era of inadequacy, in incompetency and inefficiency, and jolt responsible people into awakening to the needs of this station.
BOMBAY RADIO AS A REVENUE EARNER.
To cite an example of India’s attitude towards good communication, in the late sixties, the Indian Naval radio –VTG was classified un-cooperative and dropped from the strategically positioned world naval area stations’ chart, a scheme whereby commercial messages (merchant navy) were accepted and/or relayed free of charge, to help in merchant navy’s inadequacy in worldwide communication. Later, this scheme was totally abandoned as merchant shipping began to stand on its own legs........................
At times I have wondered if the services of the Indian Coast radio stations are just published to save face. Nobody ever checks if these services are implemented and are in use.
.......................
I seems that effective communication was never a priority in India. This is obvious from the statement one normally hears “The Phone is out of order” As one America tourist put it to me Quote What is with this phone out of order thing?? In USA the phone is either connected or is disconnected Unquote. Many places in India are tourist attractions. But overseas telex or telephone facilities are miserable. In Goa, where I come from, foreign tourists sleep overnight outside the telegraph office, waiting to contact their respective countries. Booking a ‘lightning - city to city call’ is such that it is wise to sit on a motor-cycle and go talk to the person concerned rather than wait for the call to come through, which never does. In cosmopolitan and business city like Bombay, one generally goes to the Central Telegraph Office [CTO] at flora fountain, to look for STD facilities. However, there is no STD facility there. One is directed to Colaba exchange. In emergency, one finds his way to the city airport to use this facility.
A time has come where communication needs to be placed at the topmost priority in India. After all, good communication is good business, good business is prosperity and prosperity leads to satisfaction and peace....................
We Indians are particularly gifted with a flair of working with antique equipment, no matter what is at state. If I am not mistaken, Bombay radio is possibly still using the second world war vintage receivers type ‘MERCURY’ and ‘ELECTRA’ obsolete long ago. A bank of identical modern digital display receivers will do a world of good not only on the performance, but as regards servicing and trouble shooting during failures, where spare parts (PC cards system) can easily be interchanged..............
The revitalization of this beloved radio of ours is not only important to the shipping industry, but also to India’s prestige and a good image of an up-coming country. It is imperative that his radio station be rescued from the grip of the incompetent people and handed over to the right people, people with foresight and imagination, importantly to the people who care.
For a job well done, the satisfaction will be entirely ours.
Jai Hind.
END
NOTE: In just 25 years, the communication technology has changed so drastically that the technology which the world went by will not be even found in the scrap yards of the world. But the modern generation needs to know the growth trends in order to appreciate what is now taken for granted.
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