Building bridges of what kind?

The Indian Army in addition to man the borders on number of occasion has been called to the rescue of civil authorities in the times of natural calamities.  Army, the India Air Force and Navy have always been there to lend a helping hand. Who can forget the great rescue work done by the Indian Army when the Valley of Srinagar was hit by flash flood that found mention in media all over the world? India Armed forces carry an unmatched respect and their presence is assuring as the approach to carry rescue operation is methodical, professional and driven by an urge to deliver results. However, they are called for extraordinary circumstances that are beyond the scope of any other agency. At times, it has been called to rescue kids that have had fallen in bore wells as the situation called for a prompt and timely action.  However, once the Army has done its work, the government agencies in such cases are known to take it easy and that is the reason that kids falling in bore wells still continues to haunt the authorities. Indian Army was called in September to maintain peace and order at Panchkula and Sirsa after the followers of Dera Chief led a rampage at Panchkula and Haryana Police remained mute spectators.

Army is known to build bridges but of a kind that binds the communities and their hearts together. The proposal of the Maharashtra government to ask the Army to construct the Elphinstone Bridge has raised many eyebrows. The stampede on the foot over-bridge on the central line of Mumbai’s suburban railway network to Elphinstone Road station is a recent and unfortunate example of preventable disaster. The avoidable tragedy, which claimed many lives, was on account of the Railways not being able to address the problem. The civil administration, too, came under fire for not acting in time where the sanction to build the bridge was collecting dust, while the bridge was deteriorating with each passing day presenting a sight that a major mishap was waiting to happen.  Expecting the Army to build a bridge that the civil authorities failed to recognize as a disaster would be an even greater disaster for the institution like Indian Army.   The proposal of the Maharashtra government to ask the Army to build the bridge indicates that the state government and the Ministry of Railways were incapable of dealing with the task on hand.  Whereas the Indian Railway has been hailed for its execution of various projects- having the largest network of railways in the world, and the largest carrier of cargo has to its credit of setting up railway network in many countries like Malaysia, Cango, Kenya to name a few.

There could be a valid argument that the Army has assisted the civil authorities in the completion of several significant civil projects too. A newly built foot bridge had collapsed just few days before the opening ceremony of the prestigious Commonwealth Games and the Army was called in to build the same and saved the image of the country and added to the repute of the army and the country too. However, the same can’t be treated as a bench mark in the case of Elphinstone Road Station Bridge. This bridge has been a case of utter neglect by civil authorities and is sad epitome of the way the authorities sit over files with no concern whatsoever for human. Elected representatives too have an equal role to play in the disaster. They only realized the reality after the bridge came down and the relaxed attitude of the authorities was brought to light.

When the government expects the Army to make this bridge, it implies that the government understands that army will be diverted from its duties. The Maharashtra government assumes that Indian Army which is under the control of the Central government is like an asset and it has a right to misuse it.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been visiting the soldiers at the various outposts to express solidarity with the soldiers and only he presents a ray of hope who would issue a directive that no maltreatment of the army is allowed to happen.