Articles by Seema Guha

if these funds did not necessarily get lent within India.
If the prospects of operating an offshore centre in Bombay are so very uncertain, why are Indian commercial banks showing such fascination for the idea? Could it be for other, yet unstated, reasons? Even in the West there is considerable argument about the absence of adequate supervision and control over offshore banking operations, be it with regard to reserve requirements or liquidity ratios. But the banks engaged in offshore operations are naturally opposed to any sug- WITH unfailing regularity, the floods of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries have been causing widespread destruction to life and property in the entire Brahmaputra basin year after year. Flood control work, which started in the early 1950s, has had little impact. Most people in the state are cynical about the work done by the Brahmaputra Flood Control Commission (BFCC) and feel that the protective measures undertaken are not in proportion to the huge amount of money allocated to it each year (around Rs 28 to Rs 30 crore annually and the cost is going up every year). This feeling is heightened by the belief that there is rampant corruption in the flood control department. However it would not be fair to blame the BFCC alone for floods in Assam. Harnessing a river as big and un- wieldy as the Brahmaputra requires huge resources and advanced technical knowledge which may well be beyond the scope of the state government. Indeed even the Government of India would probably have to resort to large-scale borrowings from external financial agencies to augment any plan for the effective control of the Brahmaputra.

places, killing an unspecified number of people. The police bloodshed and violence has scared the people of many villages away from their homes. After the March 17 firing at Pakaria, truck- loads of CRPF began raiding all the villages in the neighbourhood and pick- ON January 22, 1979, a major accident took place in the Bargolia coalfields of the Upper Assam district of Dibrugarh. 12 miners died on the spot and 60 others had to be hospitalised. Among these, four more miners succumbed to their injuries bringing the death toll to 16 altogether. Most of the miners killed were young (three of them were recently married) and nearly all were the sole breadwinners of their families. A compensation of Rs 1,000 has been paid to each of the families of the deceased and the company has also promised to give employ. ment to one member from each of the affected families. The Union Ministers for Labour and Energy, both of whom visited the site of the accident, held an inquiry as well.