Pressler may meet Vajpayee
Decks being cleared for Clinton visit
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Nov 23 — With US Senator Larry Pressler’s arrival here on November 24 and his likely meetings with the Indian leaders, including the Prime Minister, the stage is being set for the official visit of President Bill Clinton to India in February or early March next year.

While meetings with the Prime Minister and the President, Mr K.R. Naryanan, are still to be confirmed, the sources said Mr Pressler is also likely to meet officials and leaders of the political parties.

It is understood that Mr Pressler will discuss the forthcoming visit of Mr Clinton during his interactions with the Indian political and financial leadership.

Meanwhile, the Indian Ambassador in Washington, Mr Naresh Chandra, has said that Mr Clinton has expressed a desire to signal a new era of Indo-US relationship. Mr Chandra said Mr Clinton "would like to be the part of the legacy" of the new Indo-US partnership.

"When Clinton visits New Delhi, India will be on the travel map of the next President and the USA will be on the travel map of the Indian Prime Minister on a much more regular basis", Mr Chandra told newspersons in the US capital.

Armed with growing support for India in the House of Representatives and the US Senate, the US Administration has already started preparing the ground for trimming the entities list of Indian firms forbidden to trade with the USA.

Two prominent Republican Senators, Mr Sam Brownback and Mr Connie Mack, have also urged Mr Clinton to lift the ban on World Bank development loans to India.

Mr Brownback, author of the Senate Amendment which gave the US President waiver authority, has pointed out that, currently, 1.235 billion US dollars of development loans for road and power projects are held up because of the US attitude.

"These loans are critically needed by India to develop its infrastructure and to sustain economic activities in rural areas where the population mostly consists of the poorest people", the Senators have pointed out.

By blocking these funds, the administration is inadvertently harming the long-term economic interests of the USA, they have stressed in their letter to Mr Clinton.

"As has been demonstrated during the past year, continued imposition of economic sanctions on India hurts US commerce. Without basic infrastructure improvements, such as electric power and road network, attempts to develop and expand US business interests in India are limited", the Senators have pointed out.

"While we understand that you may be deferring waiver of the international financial institutions loans pending further talks between the USA and the Government of India with regard to non-proliferation issues, we do not believe that holding up World bank loans will accomplish the administration’s goals", they said.

Mr Chandra’s comment that he was confident of the entities list will be trimmed and restrictions on development loans to India by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank is a pointer to the growing understanding between New Delhi and Washington.

While the US Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright, will come here to identify in consultation with the Indian officials and leaders areas in which the two democracies can come closer, many more members of the US House of Congress are scheduled to come to India in the next few months.

Mr Pressler, who has been an old friend of India, will be addressing the students and faculty of the Indian Institute of Technology on November 25.

Mr Pressler’s connections with India began when he was a Rhodes Scholar and met the Indian Rhodes Scholar, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who is at present a member of the Planning Commission. He visited India to work on his doctoral thesis on economic development in India in 1965. Mr Pressler’s doctoral thesis could not be completed as he went into the US Army to serve with the 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam.

The 57-year-old Senator has served on the Foreign Relations Committee for 16 years, and has devoted much time to Asia and arms control, including authoring the "Pressler Amendment" to limit nuclear development in Asia. Mr Pressler has made about 15 trips to India.

Mr Pressler will also be travelling to Saharanpur on November 26 to lay the foundation stone of the Women’s Polytechnic at Rampur Maniharan.

On November 27, the Senator will proceed to Calcutta where he will participate in the convocation function of the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management. He will also address a IIT Kharagpur, gathering on the IIT Salt Lake Campus.

High-altitude troop deployment
SASE identifies avalanche points
By Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 23 — As the Army remains entrenched on the inhospitable peaks and snow-clad ridges along the Dras-Kargil axis as an aftermath of Operation Vijay, the Snow and Avalanche Studies Establishment (SASE) has compiled a study of the terrain and avalanche patterns to facilitate incident-free movement and deployment of troops, besides initiating steps to augment its weather forecasting capabilities.

The recommendations come in the wake of the government's decision to prioritise high-altitude warfare and man positions along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Dras-Kargil sector throughout the year in an effort to prevent incursions or be caught unawares in the future.

SASE Director, Major-Gen S.S. Sharma said that the recce was carried out over a stretch of 150 km along the LoC, with a depth varying from 15 to 20 km inside Indian territory. ''We have sent a detailed report on our observations and recommendations to the Defence Ministry,'' he said. The recommendations, however, are classified.

During Operation Vijay, troops had to fight in inclement terrain and adverse climatic conditions. For example, the 16,000 ft high Zanskar Range, which witnessed some of the most decisive battles during the operation, is made up of rocks and loose sand with very steep edges and devoid of any vegetation. This also makes it prone to landslides and avalanches. Winter temperatures in Dras, the second coldest place on the earth after Siberia, plummet to minus 60 degrees Celsius.

SASE, an institution under the Defence Research and Development Organisation, is engaged in the study of snow and avalanches along major road-axis in the mountains with a view to enhancing mobility of the armed forces. At present, 11 road-axis and numerous tracks are being monitored for snow and avalanche patterns to forewarn troops as well as the civil population of any impending avalanche danger.

SASE has established 22 observatories, eight special snow observatories and two avalanche forecasting centres in various parts of Jammu and Kashmir, besides nine observatories in Siachen Glacier and four in Himachal Pradesh. Some of them are manned by Army personnel.

The observations and recommendations thereof sent by SASE would enable formations based in the Kargil Sector to plan their deployments and movements keeping in mind dangers posed by avalanches or landslides, thereby preventing losses in terms of manpower and material. The observations identify danger spots in that area besides determining areas feasible for tactical movement of troops. Certain field tests and risk assessments are also thought to be carried out.

SASE is also formulating a standard drill to be adhered to by troops during their movement across the terrain as well as during setting up camp. It is conducting regular classes on safety procedures and precautions to be undertaken by troops and also training troops to identify dangerous situations, rescue and first aid.

SASE is also carrying out artificial triggering of avalanches at certain sites in the Kargil Sector to render them safe from avalanches in the near future. Artificial triggering eliminates the avalanche danger on a slope and helps in early opening of the area.

While it has been using remote delivery of explosives through mortars and field artillery for some time, SASE has recently introduced a new technique called ''Sprengbahn''. In this method, avalanches are brought down in a controlled manner with the use of explosives. The charge is transported to the avalanche formation zone in very small quantities through pulleys and wire cables. The detonation is ensured about two meters above the snow surface at the desired time and place. The shock waves cause an avalanche in ''batches'' as required.

Maj-Gen Sharma said SASE is also setting up more Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) in that area to provide real time advance weather forecasts. ''During Operation Vijay, the weather forecast demand was for three days in advance, which we met by using AWS,'' he added.

The AWS collects data from remote stations using satellite communication links for transferring the data to base. Quality data can be assessed in real time at a frequency of one hour. There are at present eight AWS in Jammu and Kashmir and three in Siachen.