Arms and the management

Arms and the management

If it wasn't such a tragedy, Friday's conflagration at the Bharatpur Ammunition Depot would have been a major embarrassment. It exposes the pitiable chinks in our armour. That an estimated 10,000 metric tonnes of ammunition a third of the Southern Command's stocks could have been allowed to go up in smoke like a Diwali bonfire because of a mere bush fire is ludicrous in the extreme. Can a nation like India, a nuclearised one at that, afford to be so astoundingly careless in the management of its stockpiles; so appallingly shoddy in the storage of its ammunition, including anti-tank missiles, artillery shells and rockets? Bharatpur, let it be reiterated, is no mere dump. It purports to be the nation's second largest ammunition depot. Its very location speaks for its importance, feeding as it does several crucial strike corps. If the Armed Forces could not ensure the safety and security of this extremely vital feeder unit, it speaks volumes for its general defence-preparedness.

But the aftermath of the apocalypse can almost be predicted. There will be the usual round of recriminations and attempts at passing the buck. For the moment, all blame is being levelled on the bamboo grass that grew outside the complex. Which is very convenient. But unless the newly-instituted committee to inquire into the imbroglio, to be headed by Major-General C.B. Suku, unearths the various breaks in the security system of the depot, the various omissions and commission of the men who manned it, it may as well not waste its time. The country has more than its share of dud inquiry reports and it doesn't need one more. From Kargil to Kandahar, not one chaprasi, not one havaldar, not one clerk, not to speak of the higher eminences, have had to pay for lapses that cost the nation dearly.

There is much that requires to be done in the wake of Friday's inferno, which has already claimed several lives both within the complex and outside it. While Defence Minister George Fernandes has ruled out sabotage, it is vital to make doubly sure that this is indeed the case after all the evidence has been pieced together. The failure of safety measures in the complex must also be probed. Why, for instance, was the elephant grass known to be combustible in summer conditions not cut? Why were grenade consignments left in the open? Besides seeking answers to queries of this kind, a complete inventory of the destroyed ammunition needs to be made so that the Army can replace it as quickly and efficiently as possible.

As for the safety of the people of Bharatpur and its environs, this is of topmost priority. They must be given every possible information and assistance to protect themselves from unexploded shells and rebuild their shattered lives. Combing operations have been ordered, but they must be accompanied by mass contact programmes so that the local villagers are educated about the ever present danger to their lives. Finally, an environmental impact assessment must be made to gauge the adverse effects of the fire on the local ecology. This region after all is much celebrated the world over, and justly so, for its astounding variety of bird life.