Mobile phone fully charged. Water filled in the overhead tank. Ripe coconuts plucked to avoid them crashing onto the terracotta Mangalore tiles on the roof. Candles and matchsticks on standby. Cyclone Management 101 had been meticulously rolled out at our home by the beach in Puducherry.
It was November 25, 2020, and the very severe cyclonic storm Nivar was to make landfall late at night, just 30km north of us, with windspeeds reaching up to 145 kmph. In a year that caught the whole world unaware, this sort of preparedness against the natural world lent an immense sense of achievement. Wait up, Covid-19; bring it on, Nivar!
I have lived and grown up by the beach—or more precisely what was once a beach, but is now a seawall of granite rocks—in this sleepy, former French colony where life only gets as busy as it can between the morning filter kaapi, the afternoon siesta and the lazy, evening game of boule.
Not so long ago, Puducherry had a fabulous sand beach all along Goubert Avenue. However, an ill-planned fishing harbour just south of the city blocked the natural movement of sand that nourished the beach, leading to its erosion and eventual disappearance in just a couple of decades.
And it is on cyclonic nights like these, when one can clearly hear the ominous, rhythmic crashing of waves despite all the doors and windows of the house being shut, that I miss the beach even more.
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SAFFRON ON RED
Can left veteran Ashok Bhattacharya overcome the BJP’s surge in Siliguri?
There is a pattern to the attack on Central forces in Bengal
Sunil Arora, who demitted office on April 12, chose THE WEEK for his last interview as chief election commissioner. He said he was anguished over the constant attacks the commission faced, especially from the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. He also said that the attacks on Central forces in West Bengal was worrying and had a pattern.
INDIA ON GUARD
THE SECOND WAVE OF COVID-19 CAUGHT US LACKING AND SLACKING. REINING IN A RESURGENT VIRUS WOULD NEED BETTER ADHERENCE TO SAFETY PROTOCOLS AND A MORE NUANCED APPROACH TO VACCINATION
No value in vaccinating everyone at this stage
The second wave hit India despite the vaccine rollout. And, vaccinated people are now getting infected. The vaccine was never expected to stop any wave, second or otherwise. All the Covid-19 vaccines available in the world right now have this handicap, that they cannot stop transmission of the virus. This is unlike the vaccines for polio or smallpox, which can interrupt transmission and thereby eradicate the disease eventually.
Fit for the future
DRDO labs are being closed or merged to prevent duplication and to focus on futuristic technologies
BRINGING MANHAS HOME
THE WEEK brings you the inside story of how a nonagenarian social worker, a tribal leader and a group of local journalists secured the safe release of Rakeshwar Singh Manhas, a CoBRA commando captured by the Maoists of Bastar
Fighting our people
CoBRA is burdened by law, which demands that it upholds the Constitutional and human rights of civilians. Naxals have no such burden
Fallen star
With K.T. Jaleel forced to step down as minister, the Pinarayi Vijayan government suffers a big blow at the fag end of its term
Due procedure followed in case against activists
THE 2020 DELHI riots, which claimed 53 lives, the farmers’ protest at the Red Fort and the arrest of activist Disha Ravi on sedition charges have all taken place during S.N. Shrivastava’s tenure as commissioner of Delhi Police. He spoke to THE WEEK about the status of investigations in these cases, monitoring social media and terror threats to the capital. Excerpts:
Booster shot
Picking up the pace of vaccinations is not only a health and welfare concern, but also key for India’s economic prospects
5 states to vote on biggest polling day
High Stakes For Cong; BJP Hopes To Gain
पांच राज्यों की 475 विधानसभा सीटों पर जोर आजमाइश कल
छह अप्रैल के चुनाव के लिए प्रचार का शोर थमा, कई दिग्गजों के किस्मत का होगा फैसला
पांच राज्यों का चुनावी शाखनाद
भाजपा को सबसे ज्यादा उम्मीद पश्चिम बंगाल से है। ध्रुवीकरण और सत्ता विरोधी लहर के सहारे भाजपा बंगाल सागर पार करने में जुटी है। उधर, विपक्ष को पता है कि जिस तरह नरेंद्र मोदी की अगुवाई में भाजपा का प्रदर्शन रहा है यदि वैसा ही रहा तो विपक्ष के लिए मुसीबतें और बढ़ जायेंगी। वहीं कांग्रेस और विपक्ष का अपना आकलन है कि वह तमिलनाडु, केरल, असम और पुडुचेरी में सरकार बनाने के रेस में है और अगर ममता भाजपा को बंगाल में रोकने में सफल हो गई तो यह भाजपा के पतन की शुरुआत हो सकती है।
₹6,000 farmers' dole to apply to fisherfolk too
DEFENCE Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said the Centre will provide an assistance of ₹6,000 per year to fishermen on the lines of the aid currently given to farmers under the Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme. The BJP’s manifestos in Bengal and Puducherry have promised to replicate the annual assistance of ₹6,000 given to farmers for fishermen as well if it comes to power.
5 राज्य चुनाव - राम, वाम या काम
5 राज्यों के विधानसभा चुनावों का रोमांच चरम पर है. भाजपा धार्मिक शोरशराबे के जरिए चुनावी नैया पार लगाने की कोशिश कर रही है जो पश्चिम बंगाल में सिमट कर रह गया है, जहां लड़ाई ममता बनाम मोदी की हो कर रह गई है. बाकी राज्यों मे क्षेत्रीय दलों का दबदबा है. कांग्रेस अपने मुनाफे के लिए जोड़तोड़ में लगी है. देखना दिलचस्प होगा कि मतदाता किसे चुनता है.
Accurate machine guidance made affordable
The improved efficiency offered by machine guidance means that most of these systems ultimately pay for themselves. The question is, at what accuracy level and price should a farmer invest in such a system, particularly now that the market is becoming more competitive? Stehan Cloete explores these issues.
अमेठी-वायनाड के बीच फंसे राहुल
जब छाछ फूंक कर पीने की आदत पड़ जाती है तो क्या होता है केरल में राहुल गांधी का कार्यक्रम मिसाल है. पुदुचेरी में दूध के जले राहुल गांझी को मलप्पुरम में इंडिपेंडेंट ट्रांसलेटर की मदद लेनी पड़ी क्योंकि कांग्रेस नेताओं की हरकतें अब उनको समझ में आने लगी हैं ऐसा लगता है वी. नारायणसामी का ट्रांसलेशन सुनने के बाद राहुल गांधी को पहली बार लगा है कि कांग्रेस नेता कैसे अपने स्वार्थ के लिए उनकी आंखों में धूल झोंकने की कोशिश कर रहे हैं.
27 मार्च से शुरू होगी मतदान प्रक्रिया
पांच राज्यों के लिए बजा चुनावी बिगुल
8 चरणों में विधानसभा चुनाव
एक तो कोविड महामारी, उसके साथ आररोप-प्रत्यारोप की बाढ़, इन दो कारणों की वजह से इस बार बंगाल विधानसभा का चुनाव हर ओर से अनोखा माना जा रहा है।
Polls in five states begin on March 27, results on May 2
Elections in Bengal will be held in maximum 8 phases while Assam to vote in 3. Polling in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will take place in a single phase