Hindustan Times, August 3, 2014

Pilot project to modernise IAF airfields launched at Bathinda

(SP Sharma)

The Pilot project for Modernisation of Airfield Infrastructure (MAFI) was on Thursday commissioned at  the Air Force Station Bhisiana (Bhatinda) by Air Marshal RK Sharma , Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS). The formal Acceptance and commissioning of the MAFI pilot project at Model Base; Air Force Station Bhisiana, an ambitious air-field infrastructure development project of the IAF, Navy and the  Coast Guard.

The MAFI project in the Bhisiana air base would be fulfilling the need to match ground infrastructure with capability of the modern aircraft, will enhance the overall capability of the India’s Air Power. “MAFI would substantially improve all – weather capability, aid the civil aircraft that operate from the joint – user aerodromes, enhance Aerospace safety and in the process aid growth of the aviation sector in the country.”

The pilot project is a part of the Indian Air Force’s ambitious 2,500 crore initiative to modernize all airfields of the IAF, Indian Navy and Coast Guard in a phased manner. Tata Power (Strategic Electronics Division) bagged the 1,220 crore contract signed in Mar 2011 to modernize thirty operationally important Indian Air Force airfields and install one DVOR/DME at Naval Base, Kochi in the Phase-I of the MAFI project. The remaining airfields of the IAF, Indian Navy, Coast Guard and ARC are included in the Phase-II of the project under the     'Option Clause'.

The Indian Air Force and Navy have seen induction of modern aviation platforms and up-gradation of their existing aircraft fleets at regular intervals in the past. Need was also felt to upgrade the navigational aids and associated airfield infrastructure commensurately. Also, AAI and civil airlines operating from IAF airfields have been demanding installation of the Instrument Landing System and other navigational aids to avoid cancellation of flights during poor weather conditions.

The MAFI project includes installation and integration of CAT II Instrument  Landing System (ILS), CAT II Air Field Lighting System, Automated Air Traffic    Management           System, Distance Measuring Equipments (High and Low Power),  Doppler VHF Omni-Directional Radio Range (DVOR), Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) and associated                           infrastructure. In this project, all the navigational aids will be  of international standards meeting the ICAO specifications. The up-gradation of    navigational aids and infrastructure under the MAFI project would enhance the  operational capability by facilitating air operations of military and civil aircraft even in  poor visibility conditions/adverse weather while  enhancing Aerospace Safety.

The pilot project involved complex and extensive integration of various  navigational aids and other equipment, it was first executed at Air Force Station, Bhisiana, a premier airfield in the Western sector, selected as the 'Model Base’. From the experience gained while executing the pilot project and the design review, a template for the remaining airfields has now been crystallized. The navigational aids and other equipment installed have been thoroughly tested over a period of time by trials conducted by the IAF's fighter, transport and helicopter aircraft before the Acceptance Checks were completed and the Model base formally declared operational . The Commissioning of the MAFI project was marked by lighting up the runway with the new airfield lighting system and a Sukhoi-30 aircraft carrying out a DVOR/ILS approach.

. The MAFI project would now progress in phases to meet the geographical needs of the defence forces with a focus on joint user aerodromes that are used by civil aircraft as well. Addressing a gathering of senior officers from Operational Directorates of Air HQ and HQ Western Air Command, on the occasion”.

Coins

Kashmir crisis

Pangong Lake in Ladakh

The Pangong is an endorheic lake in the Himalayas situated at a height of about 14,270 ft in the Leh district of Jammu and Kashmir. It is 134 km long and extends from India to Tibet. Approximately 60% of the length of the lake lies in Tibet. The lake is 5 km wide at its broadest point. All together it covers 604 sq.kms. It freezes completely in winters,despite being saline water. The most notable feature is that the lake frequently changes its hue.
The lake is in the process of being identified under the Ramsar Convention as a wetland of international importance. This will be the first trans-boundary wetland in South Asia under the convention.
Pangong is in the disputed territory between India and China. The Line of Actual Control (LAC) passes through the lake. A section of the lake approximately 20 km east from the LAC is controlled by China but claimed by India. The Eastern end of the lake is in Tibet and is not claimed by India. The Western end of the lake is not in dispute. After the mid-19th century, Pangong Lake was at the Southern end of the so-called Johnson Line, an early attempt at demarcation between India and China in the Aksai Chin region.
The Khurnak Fort lies on the Northern bank of the lake, halfway of Pangong Tso. China has controlled the Khurnak Fort area since 1952. Pangong saw military action during the Sino-Indian War in 1962. 
Pangong is still a delicate border point along the LAC and incursions from Chinese side are common.
The Pangong Lake was an important location in the movie 3- Idiots when Kareena Kapoor came riding a scooter to meet Aamir Khan.

INDUS WATER TREATY TROUBLESOME FOR INDIA

INDUS WATER TREATY TROUBLESOME FOR INDIA

                                  By SP Sharma

 

The world's most generous Indus Water Treaty (IWT) between India and Pakistan has become troublesome for India as Pakistan was trying to stall the hydroelectric power projects being constructed on the waters of the three rivers of Jammu and Kashmir falling under the pact.

Under the IWT India agreed to set aside 80.52 percent of the waters of the six-river Indus system for Pakistan, keeping for itself just the remaining 19.48 percent share. Both in terms of the sharing ratio as well as the total quantum of waters reserved for a downstream state, this treaty's munificence is unsurpassed in scale in the annals of international water treaties. This unparalleled water generosity, however, has only invited trouble for India.

The International Court of Arbitration (ICA) on December 20 rejected Pakistan's plea for stopping construction of the prestigious Kishenganga hydroelectric project in Jammu and Kashmir. Earlier, Pakistan had vainly also tried to create hurdles in construction of the Salal, Baghliar and other projects earlier.

The ICA refused to grant stay to Pakistan which claimed that construction of the Kishenganga project was in violation of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) between India and Pakistan. Earlier in its "partial award" in February, the court upheld India's main contention that it has the right to divert waters of Western rivers, in a non-consumptive manner, for optimal generation of power. 

Construction on the dam was halted by the Hague's Permanent Court of Arbitration in October 2011 due to Pakistan's protest of its effect on the flow of the Kishanganga River (called the Neelum River in Pakistan).
The three Western rivers, Jhelum, Chenab and Indus, were assigned to Pakistan under the World Bank-sponsored IWT of 1960. The treaty was a result of Pakistani fear that since the source rivers of the Indus basin were in India, it could potentially create droughts and famines in Pakistan, especially at times of war. However, India did not revoke the treaty during any of three later Indo-Pakistani Wars.

According to IWT, the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, which constitute the eastern rivers, are allocated for exclusive use by India before these enter Pakistan. Successive governments in J&K have sought that the IWT should be scrapped because it has come as a hurdle in tapping the vast hydroelectric potential that was flowing waste. Jammu and Kashmir can produce an assessed hydroelectric potential of 8825 MW and also irrigate another 0.53 million acres from the three western rivers but the IWT was coming in its way.

The "final award" pertaining to the Kishenganga project specifies that 9 cumecs of natural flow of water must be maintained in Kishenganga River at all times to maintain the environment downstream. This is much lower than the 100 cumecs of natural flow that Pakistan wanted to maintain.
The court said alternative techniques will have to be used for Kishanganga hydroelectric project and all future run of the river projects undertaken on western rivers of the Indus system. 

The Kishenganga project is part of a run-of-the-river hydroelectric scheme that is designed to divert water from the Kishanganga River to a power plant in the Jhelum river basin. It is located 5 kms North of Bandipura in  Kashmir and will have an installed capacity of 330 MW. Construction on the project began in 2007 and is expected to be complete in 2016.

In 2010, Pakistan appealed to the Hague's Permanent Court of Arbitration  complaining that the Kishanganga Hydroelectric Plant violates the IWT by increasing the catchment of the Jhelum River and depriving Pakistan of its water rights. In June 2011, the court visited both the Kishanganga and Neelum–Jhelum Projects. In August 2011, it ordered India to submit more technical data on the project. India had previously reduced the height of the dam from 98 m (322 ft) to 37 m (121 ft). After Pakistan's application was first rejected, the court asked India late September to stop constructing any permanent works that would inhibit restoration of the river. While India cannot construct the dam, they can continue on the tunnel and power plant in hopes that the court will allow the project. In February 2013 the Hague ruled that India could divert a minimum of water for their project. In this partial award, the court upheld India's main contention that it has the right to divert waters of western rivers, in a non-consumptive manner, for optimal generation of power.

Pakistan had also raised objections on the construction of the Dul-Hasti and Uri hydroelectric projects. The Wullar Barrage has also suffered because of the stand of Pakistan against it.

Work on the Salal Hydroelectric Project on the Chenab River in Jammu was delayed due to Pakistan's tactics of raising objections on its construction. As the construction work commenced in 1970, the project was commissioned in two stages. In the first stage, a 345 MW power station was commissioned in 1987. In the second stage, the station's total capacity was doubled to 690 MW by 1995.

The 900 mws Baglihar hydroelectric project on the Chenab also remained in the eye of the storm as Pakistan raised objections on its design. 

After its construction began in 1999, Pakistan claimed that design parameters of Baglihar project violated the IWT. Thereafter, India and Pakistan vainly held several rounds of talks to resolve the dispute. After failure of talks on January 18, 2005, Pakistan raised six objections to the World Bank, a broker and signatory of Indus Water Treaty. In May 2005, the World Bank appointed Professor Raymond Lafitte, a Swiss civil engineer, to adjudicate the difference.

Lafitte declared his final verdict on February 12, 2007, in which he upheld some minor objections of Pakistan, declaring that pondage capacity be reduced by 13.5 percent, height of dam structure be reduced by 1.5 meter and power intake tunnels be raised by 3 meters, thereby limiting some flow control capabilities of the earlier design. However he rejected Pakistani objections on height and gated control of spillway declaring these conformed to engineering norms of the day. India had already offered Pakistan similar minor adjustments for it to drop its objection

Pakistan has also raised objections to four new hydropower projects of India to be built on western rivers. These include, Ratle Hydroelectric Plant (48MW), Miyar (120MW), Lower Kalnai (48MW) and Pakul Dul (1000MW to be increased to 1,500MW). 

 

FRONTIER REGION KARGIL TO BECOME LIGHT HOUSE OF INDIA

The mountainous frontier region of Kargil that made headlines during the Indo—Pakistan war in 1999, is now set to become the solar power generation capital of India as the area would generate 33,000 megawatts of Solar Photo-Voltaic (SPV) electricity. The Kargil Renewable Development Agency (KREDA) has prepared a master plan to utilize the enormous solar energy to light the region. It is already producing 2 mws from SPV.

According to Kacho Ahmad Khan, chief coordinator of KREDA, the SPV project report has been sent to the government. The agency has proposed to utilize all barren South faced lands to install solar panel and even the roadsides will be utilized under this plan and will try to make Kargil as one of the main supplier of Electricity in J&K.

But this will become true only when Kargil is connected with the Northern Grid after the execution of the Rs 1800 crores transmission line project connecting Srinagar, Kargil and Leh.

The Northern part of the subcontinent, especially the Ladakh region, is blessed with an abundance of sunlight and high solar radiation. Harnessing solar energy into consumable electricity is highly effective and useful. 

In the first phase the KREDA has installed Solar Power Plant of 25 to 65 Kw in 22 villages of Kargil and the whole Lunganak Block of 26 villages in Zanskar sub-division and in other blocks.

Khan said KREDA has established 22 SPV power plants in various villages of the district. In these villages, apart from solar energy, no other viable resource, renewable or otherwise, is available. Before the intervention of KREDA the villagers were receiving electricity from their respective diesel generator sets. As many as 10 SPV plants of 40KW capacity are installed in the villages of Tsazar, Saliskot, Shakar Amzet, Khangral, Lhalung, Barchey, Yurbaltak, Goshan, Pandrass and Gindyal. Among these, Tsazar (Zanskar) was an un-electrified village.

The project was successfully conceived and implemented by KREDA with technical support from TATA BP Solar India Ltd.

Renewable energy is carbon free, inexhaustible and abundant source of energy.