Tag Archives: Siachen

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‘Internal politics’ forces DRDO scientist to quit

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By Pradip R Sagar | Published: 08th October 2017
NEW DELHI: With a dream to work for his country after spending a successful stint overseas, Dr Gausal Ahmed Khan applied for the post of senior scientist in the country’s premier defence research institute—DRDO—in 2009. Eight years down the line, Khan’s dreams were shattered when he was forced to resign in September owing to ‘internal politics’.
Khan, a physiologist, worked on a project to reduce the acclimatisation time of Indian Army personnel stationed at high altitude locations like Siachen. He has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi exposing nepotism, politics, and corruption prevailing in the DRDO. “Unfortunately my scientific temperament and hard work proved to be a disqualification in one of the country’s most reputed organisations—DRDO,” Khan wrote to the PM.

Dr Gausal Khan

“Bereaved, my broken and humiliated conscience prompted me to write to you and apprise you of the prevalent politics, corruption, and other work conditions in DRDO. I am writing with a hope that in future work condition in DRDO may improve and will prevent scientists from leaving the organisation,” he added.

While disclosing how he was involved in litigation after not given credit for his work, he said, “I spent the last three years in the organisation defending myself in unwanted litigations imposed on me by higher officials due to their politics, personal vengeance, and family lineage.”

Khan got some relief when he approached the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) against a disciplinary case imposed on him. The Tribunal in its order stated: “He has been conferred with ‘developing world scientist award’ at international level for his research of unique nature.

Assuming that there are some lapses on the applicant (scientist), the disciplinary authority should have taken a lenient view on account of the excellent scientific research by him which brought laurels not only individually for him but to the country as whole. However, the respondent (DRDO authorities) has not given due credit for his research in the scientific field. This depicts sorry state of affairs. Instead of appreciating his research work, he has been treated shabbily and awarded punishment in gross violation of law”.

When contacted Khan, who is leaving for the US, said, “I came with a vision and a dream. My working conditions forced me to leave. But before leaving, I wanted to apprise the top leaders of the poor work atmosphere. PM talks about self-reliance in defence, but we cannot achieve it unless we weed out corruption and internal politics.”

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Bacteria from Antarctica or cow dung? DRDO’s bio-toilet claim questioned

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By ABHINANDAN MISHRA | New Delhi | 21 August, 2016 -The Sunday GuardianDRDO_Logo_New copy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some scientists working with the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) have questioned the veracity of the claim that the DRDO uses bacteria brought from Antarctica in its much-talked about bio-toilets that are being installed in railway coaches and public places. According to these scientists, who have filed a complaint with the Chief Vigilance Commission seeking an inquiry into the claims being made by DRDO, the defence outfit is using cow dung in its bio-toilets.

The bio-toilets that are being developed by DRDO’s Gwalior-based Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE) and the Tezpur-based Defence Research Laboratory (DRL), use anaerobic microbial bacteria to decompose and convert biological human excreta into usable water and gases.

DRDO has claimed that the anaerobic bacteria used in these toilets have been imported from Antarctica and that they can effectively function in extreme conditions and temperature ranging from -6 degree Celsius to 50 degree Celsius. However, scientists with DRDO have claimed that the imported bacteria cannot survive in high temperatures.

“These bacteria need a certain amount of heat (from 0 degree C to 5 degree C) to work efficiently and this was the reason why many such bio-toilets installed at Siachen for the Army are now useless as these could not function for the lack of heat. The DRDO, which has been claiming that it was using imported bacteria, is now forced to use cow dung in its bio-toilets,” said senior DRDO scientist Dr Y. Ashok Babu, who has lodged a complaint with the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) and sought a probe in the matter. Ashok claimed that the whole thing is a farce and certain people within the organisation want to make easy money by making the government believe that they were using a sophisticated technology in their bio-toilets.

Another senior scientist working with DRDE, Gwalior, told this newspaper: “They are using cow dung rather than bacteria brought from Antarctica. The Defence Minister can independently speak to any microbiologist in the country and he will get to know the entire story.”

Earlier this month, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, while replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, had stated that cow dung was being used in bio-toilets to multiply the bacteria from Antarctica, which was being used primarily. His response was based on the information provided by the DRDE.

Ashok Babu, however, clarified that “DRDE is claiming that it is using a ‘consortium’ of bacteria brought from Antarctica in the bio-toilets but the truth is that it brought a single species of bacteria and is now passing off a bacteria found in cow dung as bacteria from Antarctica. The Defence Minister should ask the concerned scientists in DRDE to list out each bacterium in the ‘consortium’ of bacteria; this will bring out the truth. After their attempts to impress the Army at Siachen by building bio-toilets failed, they are now trying to sell them to Indian Railways.”parliment question

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DRDO’s bio-toilets raise a stink

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By Hemant Kumar Rout Published: 13th August 2016 – The New Indian Express
BHUBANESWAR: The much-hyped bio-toilets invented by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and installed in railway coaches, public places and colonies seem to have sparked of a controversy with some senior scientists raising voice against the functioning and technology which allegedly uses cow dung instead of imported bacteria.

Developed by Gwalior-based Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE) and Tezpur-based Defence Research Laboratory (DRL), both laboratories of DRDO, the bio-toilets, fondly known as ‘E-loo’, use anaerobic microbial bacteria to decompose and convert biological human excreta into usable water and gasses.
DRDO e looThough initially, the bio-toilets installed in high-altitude regions such as Siachen and Ladakh performed as expected for a certain period, now many of them are reportedly abandoned or unused for obvious reasons leading to objections from the armed forces.
While the DRDO said the anaerobic bacteria have been imported from Antarctica and can effectively function in extreme conditions and temperature ranging from -6 degree Celsius to 50 degree C, a group of DRDO scientists claimed that the imported bacteria cannot survive in high temperature.

“Since such type of anaerobic bacteria are abundantly available in cow dung, the cattle waste is now being used in bio-toilets while the research organisation is hoodwinking the people in the name of technology development by wasting crores. Like the bio-toilets, the normal septic toilets also have a perfect anaerobic environment with the only difference being addition of cow dung in the name of inoculum culture in the former,” they said.

According to senior DRDO scientist Dr Y Ashok Babu, who has lodged a complaint with the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) seeking a probe into it, the imported bacteria worked perfectly well in the laboratory but did not work efficiently in the Siachen region, for which a solar panel heating system was added to accelerate digestion process.

“There is no requirement of specific bacteria in the normal temperature and local bacteria in the septic tank will do the same task more efficiently if cow dung is added to it. The technology is a farce which allows a handful of greedy business people to earn crores of rupees,” the complaint stated.

DRDE Director Dr Lokendra Singh, however, refuted the allegations. He said the cow dung is used only to multiply the bacteria brought from Antarctica, which can survive in Indian conditions. “Actually the cow dung used in the toilets is not the cattle waste but the bacteria which are transported through it. The toilets are working perfectly for which the Railways has given bulk orders,” he claimed.

The DRDO has so far made the transfer of technology (ToT) agreement with 56 companies which are producing bio-toilets at a cost ranging from Rs 15,000 to Rs 75 lakh depending on the volume of population using it and quality of materials.

Singh informed that while already 40,000 bio-toilets have been installed in railway coaches, additional 80,000 toilets are to be installed shortly. Besides, around 20,000 E-loos have been placed in colonies, urban areas and villages. The Indian Railways has planned to install 2.5 lakh toilets in all coaches by October 2, 2019

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Jairam Ramesh’s pet project ‘Bio-toilet’ stands abandoned in Odisha

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By Hemant Kumar Rout – BALASORE/BHADRAK Published: 14th August 2012 11:45 AM
Union Minister for Rural Development, Drinking Water and Sanitation Jairam Rameshs’s ‘India Dream’ to free the country – the rural populace in particular – from open defecation, seems to have faced a setback with people unwilling to use DRDO made Bio-toilets raising a stink.

Villagers have blamed the DRDO for poor quality installation work near Dhamarai temple as one portion of the toilet has depressed and its fiber body disfigured. Express photo.
Villagers have blamed the DRDO for poor quality installation work near Dhamarai temple as one portion of the toilet has depressed and its fiber body disfigured. Express photo.

After launching the bio-digesters in Odisha’s Dhamra village, close to Wheeler Island from where India test fires its all long range missiles, the Minister on June 24 even called it no less important than the Agni missiles. Today, the bio-toilets stand abandoned.  The villages are reluctant to use it claiming that they lack required facilities.

The e-age toilets were formally launched at a glittering function by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) at Dhamra in Bhadrak district.

The toilets are so small and air-tight that a person feels suffocated after a few minutes. There is no system for air circulation, says villagers. PTI photo
The toilets are so small and air-tight that a person feels suffocated after a few minutes. There is no system for air circulation, says villagers. PTI photo

While initially at least six bio-toilets, christened as eco-friendly loo (ELoo) were installed in five villages in Dhamra and Basudevpur areas, the DRDO had assured to install more such toilets along the 90-km Jamjhadi-Dhamra stretch. Though the DRDO claimed that these toilets were opened for public use after their successful trials in Siachen and Jammu and Kashmir, people here are not ready to buy it.

Malati Majhi, a villager from Dhamra said the toilet installed in the village lacks water supply and proper ventilation. “It does not have a window or a space for ventilation. As the inside area is inadequate, it is difficult to sit there. The toilet was used only for a couple of days after their installation. We don’t use it now for its stinking smell,” she said.

The Minister too had expressed his dissatisfaction over the lack of ventilation facilities in these toilets during the inauguration. The loos are so small and air-tight that a person feels suffocated after a few minutes. There is no system for air circulation as these are fully covered with fiber body.

The technology used to develop the bio-toilets is anaerobic processing system that treats excreta, typically with small volumes of flush water. This is usually a better process than the aerobic decomposition, which requires supply of oxygen either as compressed air or by agitation and process culminates into water and CO2.

The Bio-digester technology has been developed by Gwalior based Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE) and Tezpur based Defence Research Laboratory (DRL) which claimed the ELoos can effectively function in extreme conditions and temperature ranging from – 6 degree C to 50 degree C.

As per the claims of the DRDO, there is a bio-digester underneath where the temperature is maintained at 5 to 30 degree Celsius and the Psychrophile bacteria break down the waste. There is no foul smell, disease-carrying organisms or solid matter. The bio-gas is released into the air continuously and the residual liquid can be drained without any ill effect.

A local Bikartan Behera said no such degradation is done here. “Every time bad smell is coming out from the toilet making it unviable for use. People have to carry water from a faraway place to use the toilet, which is not possible always. The facilitator needs to equip the toilet with water supply,” he said.

The villagers also have blamed the DRDO for poor quality installation work near Dhamarai temple as one portion of the toilet has depressed and its fiber body disfigured. A retired defence employee N K Sahu said the bio-toilets were first tried between 1993 and 1998. However, systems failed because of foul smell, breeding of cockroaches and flies, maintenance requirement, need for daily addition of bio-enzymes.

“But now though the DRDO claims to have used the bacteria Psychrophile in the toilets, but the loos should be made user friendly with spaces for ventilation and round-the-clock water supply. Or else it would be left unused,” he said.

Local defence officials though admitted the shortcomings in these toilets, but none agreed to comment on it. They said all the problems would be sorted out soon and more toilets installed in the area to curb the habit of open defecation.

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Army Tramples on Faulty DRDO Study on Siachen Deployment

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By Pradip R Sagar
Published: 02nd Nov 2014 06:06:55 AM The New Indian Express – The Sunday Standard

Vigilant Indian soldier - Siachen
Vigilant Indian soldier – Siachen

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise visit this Diwali to the world’s highest battlefield, Siachen, to applaud the Indian army troops deployed there again brought into national focus the difficulty of operating under such adverse climatic conditions.

A study by Defence Research and Development Organisation, India’s premier defence research institute, to find solutions and shorten the acclimatization period has been junked by the Army.

Keeping unforeseen events in mind, the Army wanted to reduce the pre-acclimatisation training period to faster deploy its troops to high-altitude locations in cases of emergency. And for this, the DRDO was mandated to carry out a study on how to reduce the pre-acclimatisation training period in May 2009 with budget of over `3 crore. Delhi-based Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), a wing of DRDO, carried out the study for which they selected 210 soldiers. In order to study the soldiers’ physiology changes, they were asked to stay in a make-shift chamber filled with nitrogen for intermittent periods. But the Army has rubbished the study report and criticised the methods adopted by the DIPAS scientists.

In a strongly worded four-page letter to DIPAS on 10 September, the office of the Director General Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS) has raised serious objections and sought explanation on various key points related to the study including selection of troops for the study, use of multiple investigators to collect data, use of master step test as an indicator of exercise performance for high altitude and disparity in heart rate date from the same cohort at different points of the report.

DIPAS had used intermittent hypoxia study at sea level before dispatching soldiers to high-altitude locations. Explaining the terminology, a DRDO scientist said that Intermittent Hypoxic Training (IHT) is a test protocol usually given to the individual with reduced oxygen concentration as prevailed in high altitude for pre-acclimatising them at sea level in a normobaric hypoxic chamber, before they are deployed for high mountain warfare.

On the basis the outcome of the study, two costly normobaric hypoxic chambers were planned to be set up in Chandigarh to cater northern command and Sukhna for eastern command troops with a cost of over `10 lakh.

Reacting strongly to the samples of troops taken, that had men who had already served in high-altitude postings, the DGAFMS raised concerns on the validity of conclusions drawn from the data presented. While seeking justification for the selection of re-inductees as study subjects, the Army has said, “Current knowledge on the phenomenon of de-acclimatisation is limited. It is accepted by many experts in the field that certain physiological changes induces on exposure on high altitude may persist beyond one month of return to sea level.”

“Hence the choice of re-inductees as study subjects raises questions about the validity of date being presented, especially since the aim of the project is to extrapolate the findings to healthy soldiers being rapidly inducted to high altitude, in all probability, for the first time,” DGAFMC said in his detailed response to DIPAS study.

When contacted, DRDO spokesperson Ravi Gupta refused to comment as it is a classified matter.

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Nearly 700 scientists quit DRDO in six years, says Govt

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NEW DELHI, December 5, 2012 – THE HINDU

Scientists install a DRDO-developed bio-toilet in the icy vastness of Siachen. File photo: DRDO

Nearly 700 scientists have resigned from India’s premier military research body DRDO in little less than six years from 2007, Defence Minister A K Antony said on Wednesday.

In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha on resignation of scientists from Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO), Mr. Antony said a total of 637 scientists resigned during 2007-2011 and 50 scientists up to October 31 this year.

Scientists who had resigned have either cited personal or domestic reasons for leaving DRDO, Mr. Antony said.

However, it is assumed that increased opportunities or incentives available in other organisations and industries are the main reason of such resignation, he added.

On incentives taken as corrective measures to restrict resignation of scientists from DRDO, Mr. Antony said excellent infrastructure facilities have been created at work places and residential complexes and two additional increments have been given on promotion to each grade.

To another question, Mr. Antony said DRDO is a subordinate organisation under Defence Ministry and does not enjoy any special powers or autonomy because of its strategic nature of work.

Asked whether DRDO enjoys a huge amount of autonomy because of its strategic nature of work, he said, “DRDO is a subordinate organisation under the Department of Defence( R&D) in Defence Ministry and is governed by central government rules and regulations.

“Therefore, DRDO as an organisation does not enjoy any special powers or autonomy because of its strategic nature of work.”

Revised delegation of financial powers of Director General of DRDO was carried out in 2010 to address a long standing requirement and was done after due process and deliberation, he said.

“The process of exercise of these powers has been further rationalised and a corrigendum has been issued by Department of Defence (R&D) on November 21, 2012 as a partial modification to the earlier financial powers,” the minister added.

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Question and Answer in  RAJYA SABHA

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
RAJYA SABHA

QUESTION NO 1295
ANSWERED ON 05.12.2012

Resignation of scientists from DRDO

1295 SHRI DILIPBHAI PANDYA

Will the Minister of DEFENCE be pleased to satate :-

(a) whether it is a fact that about 650 scientists have resigned from their posts in Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) during the last five years;

(b) if so, the year-wise and post-wise details thereof;

(c) whether low emoluments in DRDO are the reasons for their resignation; and

(d) if so, what corrective steps are taken / proposed to be taken by Government to persuade the scientists not to resign?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF DEFENCE
(SHRI A.K. ANTONY)

(a) A total of 637 scientists have resigned during 2007-2011 and 50 scientists upto 31st October 2012.

(b) Year-wise and post-wise details are given below:-

Post Year
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
(as on 31st October 2012)
Scientist ‘B’ 166 78 41 38 58 35
Scientist ‘C’ 86 58 18 18 21 12
Scientist ‘D’ 13 8 2 2 5 3
Scientist ‘E’ 2 5 1 3 1 –
Scientist ‘F’ 6 1 3 2 1 –
Total 273 150 65 63 86 50

No Scientist ‘G’, Scientists ‘H’ and Distinguished Scientist have resigned during 2007-2012.

(c) Scientists who had resigned have indicated their personal / domestic grounds as the reasons for leaving DRDO. However, it is assumed that increased opportunities / incentives available in other organizations / industries is the main reason of such resignation.

(d) The following incentives have been granted as corrective measures to restrict resignation of scientists from DRDO:-

• Two additional increments on promotion to each Grade.
• Up to six variable increments on promotion granted on fast track.
• Professional update allowance to all scientists.
• Fast track promotions through assessments.
•Opportunity to acquire higher qualifications at reputed institutes viz. IIT’s / IISc, etc. as DRDO sponsored candidate.
•Young Scientists, Scientist of the Year and other DRDO Awards in recognition to their contributions, etc.
• Excellent infrastructure facilities have been created at work places and residential complexes.

Government is making all efforts to grant Performance Related Incentive Scheme (PRIS) to DRDO scientists at par with scientists of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).