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Correspondent

21 August 2024 at 3:50:16 pm

Persistent Eye

With the successful launch of the EOS-05 aboard the GSLV-F17, India has finally acquired its first dedicated Earth-imaging satellite designed to operate from a geosynchronous orbit. The imaging satellite is a significant step towards strategic self-reliance and will make us less dependent on foreign technology and intelligence. The imaging satellite gives us something every serious space power needs: the ability to watch, rather than merely look. Given the magnitude of our threats and...

Persistent Eye

With the successful launch of the EOS-05 aboard the GSLV-F17, India has finally acquired its first dedicated Earth-imaging satellite designed to operate from a geosynchronous orbit. The imaging satellite is a significant step towards strategic self-reliance and will make us less dependent on foreign technology and intelligence. The imaging satellite gives us something every serious space power needs: the ability to watch, rather than merely look. Given the magnitude of our threats and challenges, persistent surveillance is the only way out. Our very own imaging satellite was perhaps the single-most important element missing during Operation Sindoor, where we otherwise demonstrated our skill in precision targeting. Nearly 36,000 km above the Earth, the satellite will have a vastly different vantage point from conventional low-Earth-orbit satellites, which periodically pass over a particular area and provide snapshots. EOS-05 is designed to repeatedly observe large swathes of territory, including the Indian subcontinent and adjoining regions. A satellite that passes overhead can tell you what happened when it was there. But persistent eye can tell you what is happening real-time. This matters enormously when the subject is a rapidly changing battlefield or in monitoring activity along a remote border. India has long depended on a combination of its own satellites and imagery acquired from foreign commercial and government sources. The less we look elsewhere for strategic eyes, the greater is our autonomy. EOS-05 strengthens the country’s capacity for continuous intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. It can add another layer to monitoring the Line of Actual Control and other sensitive borders, track developments across the Indian Ocean and provide commanders with a more persistent picture of a fast-moving situation. There is a civilian dividend, too. The same ability to repeatedly observe a large area can prove invaluable during cyclones, cloudbursts, floods and forest fires, when conditions can change faster than conventional satellite revisits allow. Its visible, infrared, multispectral and hyperspectral imaging capabilities can also assist agriculture, environmental monitoring and the management of natural resources. Without compromising national security, ISRO should regularly release a non-sensitive image of interest from EOS-05. If a dramatic natural event occurs, point the satellite at it and show the public what India's new eye can see. There is also a historical irony here. India could have possessed this capability several years earlier had the EOS-03 mission not failed in 2021. The successful launch of EOS-05 is, in that sense, a recovery of lost ground. For a country surrounded by difficult borders, exposed to an increasingly contested maritime domain and operating in an era of rapidly escalating technological warfare, knowing what is happening is the first condition of knowing what to do. India has spent decades learning to reach space. It is now learning to keep an eye on Earth.

Dangerous Departures

Updated: Oct 30, 2024

Dangerous Departures

In yet another shocking incident adding to Mumbai’s infamous tryst with stampedes, chaos erupted at Mumbai’s Bandra Terminus following a weekend stampede that left at least ten persons injured, two critically so. A crowd surged toward the Gorakhpur-bound train with nearly 1,500 people vying for seats in 22 unreserved compartments, leading to the stampede. Several others narrowly avoided tragedy, with some even pushed onto the tracks. This is not a unique episode but rather a recurring theme in Mumbai’s bedevilled crowd management, one that has haunted the city’s public spaces, particularly as festive seasons magnify the crowds.


Mumbai is no stranger to stampedes. A horrifying incident in 2017 at Elphinstone Road Station left 23 people dead and nearly 50 injured. The cause was a familiar one: an overwhelming crowd confined to a narrow footbridge during peak rush hour. The tragedy sparked an outcry, with promises from authorities to upgrade infrastructure and enhance safety protocols. Yet seven years on, crowd-related incidents continue to be a constant danger. Today’s incident reveals a similar lapse—a lack of foresight in managing the thousands who gather on platforms ahead of Diwali, eager to return to family. That the Gorakhpur Express was unreserved and heavily crowded was predictable.


The issue lies beyond simply crowd density; it is emblematic of deeper systemic negligence. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), responsible for local public safety, along with the Railways Ministry, bear responsibility for ensuring order at such high-risk hubs. Although the BMC acknowledged the “festive rush,” it appears little was done to pre-empt it. Swift action could have been taken to either disperse the crowd or reroute passengers. Instead, chaos prevailed.


Political reaction has been swift but uninspiring. Aaditya Thackeray, son of Uddhav Thackeray, launched a scathing attack on the Union Railways Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, branding the incident a result of the minister’s “incapable” leadership. This hardly addresses the immediate need: a substantive plan to manage crowds and prevent similar incidents.


Mumbai’s transport infrastructure remains sorely outdated. Platforms are undersized, signalling systems frequently falter, and crowd control mechanisms are grossly inadequate. Despite repeated accidents, there has been little investment in comprehensive crowd management systems or the deployment of personnel trained in emergency response. While railway footbridges were widened after the Elphinstone tragedy, Bandra’s incident demonstrates that such incremental changes are insufficient. Mumbai, which sees a swelling populace during festivals, demands a robust strategy to address its vulnerabilities. This should include technology-driven crowd monitoring, clear communication channels to inform passengers of platform conditions, and additional security and medical staff on high-demand days. It is essential that crowd management training for personnel becomes a priority rather than a reaction to tragedies.

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