Opinion Déjà vu,again
The Pune blast has exposed failures at all levels. The first is the failure to inculcate public awareness.
• The Pune blast has exposed failures at all levels. The first is the failure to inculcate public awareness. If,even after so many blasts and warnings not to touch unidentified or suspicious objects,this happens in a place frequented by foreigners and in a city where one expects a reasonable level of awareness,then no amount of intelligence and police can help.
It was also galling to hear a Maharashtra cabinet minister state that they received intelligence inputs but they were not specific or actionable. What did the minister expect a printed announcement with place,date,time and even dress code? Intelligence is always vague and needs to be filtered at every level below to make it more specific. If the Centre advises the state that a particular city may be a target,then it is up to the state intelligence outfit to work out where and when it could be in that city. Over the past few years even the common man would have noticed that attacks have shifted from religious places to those which could have an international impact,that is,those frequented by foreigners,particularly citizens of the US and Israel. Now we will see a spate of useless naka-bandhis,spot checks,etc,which will peter out till the next blast jolts us back to reality.
T.R. Ramaswami
Stay alert
• Your editorial Internal insecurity in is flawless in its assessment of the recent bomb blast in German Bakery in Pune which took many innocent lives.The entire neighbourhood and some parts of the country are too fragile and vulnerable to terrorist outfits. The states internal security apparatus cannot provide foolproof blanket security. Ordinary citizens have to be extra vigilant about any activity which arouses even flimsiest suspicion,and contribute their bit.
John Alexander
Nagpur
Missile defence
• I disagree with the main points of the editorial Skys the limit. DRDOs V.K. Saraswat did not claim that Indias entire missile arsenal was superior to Chinas. He specifically said that Indias anti-ballistic missile programme is ahead of Chinas,which is true,as there is no reported equivalent to it in the Chinese arsenal. This means that Chinas cities and installations remain vulnerable to Indian missiles,whereas India is developing technologies to shield its cities from Chinese missiles. Regarding anti-satellite weapons,Saraswat did not say that India is developing it,but merely that the building blocks of such a system are in place. The editorial also missed the fact that today,advanced computer testing techniques make it possible to induct missiles after much fewer tests than what were needed earlier. So,India can rest be assured of the effectiveness of the Agni-III.
Abhishek Dwivedi
Thane West
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