Of Matters Military: Evolving Challenges (Indian Military)

Part – 1

Lending a Helping Hand

Pokhran II: The Challenge of Sinking Shafts

Hoisting Bucket with Winder Assembly in the Background

Pokhran II took place in May 1998 under Operation Shakti. A total of five tests with weapon grade plutonium were conducted – three on 11 May and two on 13 May. The tests included a 45 kt fusion bomb (also called hydrogen or thermonuclear bomb), a 15 kt fission bomb (atomic bomb) and three experimental sub-atomic devices of 0.5, 0.3 and 0.2 kt respectively.

Dr K Santhanam of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was the director for the test site preparations. In an interview to Times Now TV channel in April 2008, he revealed that India had dug two deep shafts at Pokhran in 1981-82. The fission and fusion bombs were placed in these shafts. For sub-atomic tests, use was made of three abandoned dry wells in the near vicinity. These wells had earlier been dug by the villagers and deserted as no water had been struck.

The Indira Gandhi government had decided to carry out tests in 1982-83 and the army was asked to sink the shafts. 113 Engineer Regiment completed the task ahead of schedule but the tests were shelved due to external pressures. More than a decade later, Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao asked the scientists to go ahead with the tests in 1994-95. Unfortunately, the US satellites detected the preparations. Once again, India was forced to abort the tests.

A word about shaft sinking will be in order here. To approach underground mineral seams, a vertical opening (shaft) is provided from the surface to the mining zone. These shafts are used to carry men, material and equipment to the mining zone; as also, to haul the extracted ore to the surface. Being the lifelines of all underground mines, shafts are sunk with exacting technical specifications.

Essentially, a shaft contains a head-frame (tower) to house the hoist; a shaft collar of reinforced concrete to provide foundation support to the head frame and to accommodate mechanism for men, materials and services to enter and exit the shaft; and shaft barrel that continues from the collar to the planned depth. The shaft also carries ducts for the pumping of fresh air, dewatering pipes and electrical fittings. All mining manuals term shaft sinking to be the most dangerous and hazardous task of all mining operations. It requires domain expertise and specialised equipment. There are a handful of shaft sinking companies in the world, normally called ‘sinkers’. All mining companies outsource shaft sinking operations to them.

113 Engineer Regiment, located at Jodhpur, was asked to undertake the task. The regiment was under the command of the late Lt Col KC Dhingra (later rose to the rank of Major General). Col Dhingra was an extremely intelligent officer with phenomenal memory and exceptional capacity for sustained hard work. The regiment was acutely aware of the criticality of the task and the trust that had been reposed in its capability to deliver. It was determined not to let the nation down. I was a Major in the regiment and had the privilege of being involved from the beginning to the culmination of the task.

Head Frame Tower under Camouflage Nets

It was an unprecedented assignment. To sink a shaft hundreds of feet deep with no experience and no equipment was a huge challenge – more so as none of the officers had ever visited a mine or seen a shaft; nor had anyone studied mining engineering which is a specialised course. Although site preparations for Pokhran-I were also carried out by the army engineers, the task was of entirely different genre and did not entail sinking of subterranean shafts ab initio. Pokhran-I was conducted at a much shallower depth, using an abandoned dry well.

Site Selection

It was the month of January 1981. After an exercise in the desert, Col Dhingra asked me to accompany him for an operational reconnaissance. While driving to the Pokhran ranges he told me that the regiment had been tasked to sink a deep shaft of more than 500 feet. Repeatedly stressing the need for secrecy of the mission, he gave out other broad parameters. With maps in our hands, we traversed the ranges a number of times over the next two days to get a feel of its extent and zeroed on to a nine square km area that satisfied our security and secrecy concerns. It was well away from the highways and the villages. The aim was to identify a location where the water would pose minimal impediment to the shaft sinking operations. Hence, site selection was a highly critical step. But, how to go about it? We had no knowledge.

Within a week, I was back in the Pokhran area with a team of officers and men for detailed ground reconnaissance. After much scouting and ground survey, we selected four tentative sites that lay in the inter-dunal low-lying areas with least sand overburden. We also approached the nearby villagers to draw benefit from their local knowledge. We told them that the army wanted to establish a permanent camp and was looking for reliable water sources. We showed them the four sites and asked them to advice as to where the water could be found. We, of course, intended to eliminate those sites.

One evening, without informing us, the local headman brought a water diviner from Pokhran town and started appraising the sites. It was a full moon night. Water divining is an esoteric ancient method in which the locals have immense faith. It is believed that the flow of underground water induces some vital currents above the surface and a person with induction attributes can sense them through the movement of a freshly plucked twig. We watched in disbelief while the water diviner announced that none of the sites held abundant water. For us, it was just a gratuitous input of little consequence as the technique lacked scientific authentication.

We approached Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI) at Jodhpur for help in identifying water sources. They explained to us that the availability of perched aquifers (an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock, rock fractures or unconsolidated materials) and underground streams depended on the geology and geomorphology of the area. CAZRI readily gave us geologic and topographic maps of the area. We studied them in detail, trying to relate them to the four sites selected by us. However, we were still not confident and sought application of a more exact and scientific method.

After much persuasion, Col Dhingra agreed to seek help of a local hydrogeology agency that specialised in water prospecting for wells. The agency was told the same story i.e. the army was looking for a camp site with a water source. The agency could carry out core drilling for geologic sampling up to 150 feet only. Once again, the core logging declared all the sites ‘unfit for sinking well’, meaning thereby that water was not available in exploitable quantity. Even the seismic survey gave the same report. Though encouraging, the reports were not a clincher as we had to go down to more than 500 feet.

After studying all the inputs (whatever be their worth), we selected two sites. In consultation with the higher authorities, it was decided to attempt digging at more than one site to cater for unforeseen hold-ups. However, as the work progressed, the authorities decided to go ahead with both the shafts.

Sinking of the Shafts

Two task forces were constituted, and the work started at both the sites in Feb 1981 end without much fanfare. A small ceremony was held to invoke blessings of Ramdevra, the ruling deity of the desert whom the locals consider to be an incarnation of Lord Krishna. Thereafter, diameter of the shaft was marked on the ground with pegs and the digging commenced with picks and shovels. For a few days, hauling of the dug earth was done manually with mortar pans. Thereafter, the unit crane was deployed with a modified coal-tar drum. Soon the crane rope reached its limit. To prevent caving in, revetment of the walls was done with flattened CGI sheets and iron pickets.

As learnt in field engineering, tripod gantry with blocks and tackles to hoist a pulley system was erected. Reeving was done by threading the winch drum cable of a dozer. A larger semi-elliptical bucket was fabricated for removing earth. Such expedients can at best be of interim help. The dozer cable had limited length and worse, the wire-rope started fraying with strands coming apart. In fact, it was ill-suited for the task as the bucket used to swing wildly due to the wire-rope lacking non-twist construction. Soon the digging came to a standstill.

Anticipating the requirement for a proper hoisting arrangement, a team had already been sent to Calcutta to identify and procure a suitable haulage system. After considerable effort, a winder assembly manufactured by a local industrialist was identified. Orders were placed for immediate delivery and operators sent for training. With the imminent arrival of the ground-mounted winder assembly, the head-frames (also called winding tower, poppet head or pit head) were quickly constructed with bailey bridge equipment to house the sheave wheel.

While awaiting arrival of the winders, the time was duly utilised to cast shaft collars (also called the ‘bank’ or ‘deck’) with heavy reinforced concrete in three tiers/levels for required stability. In addition, troops familiarised themselves with the ‘drill and blast method’. A bevy of generators and aircompressors were requisitioned. Captain SB Pendse ingeniously established reliable grids to ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity and compressed air.

As regards the geology and the rock formation of the sites. After having cleared the sand over-burden, we encountered conglomerate consisting of gravel, sandstone and silt stone. Digging was tough as the drill used to get stalled in the bores. We also encountered shale, a fine-grained clastic sedimentary rock. It is a mudstone that is fissile and laminated. Instability of the shaft walls became a matter of concern. Loose or unstable portions often fell down due to the vibrations caused by the drill.

During Pokhran-I, within one month of commencing digging, loose shale strata had fallen on the digging party, killing one and injuring four persons. Criticality of shaft stability was well understood by us. At deeper depths, a cave-in could bury the working party alive. Initially, we tried to anchor wire mesh with rock-bolts on the walls to trap falling stones. It proved to be of little use. Blasts used to loosen rocks along the natural cracks on the walls, uprooting the mesh.

Choice of shaft lining depends on the nature of rock strata. In some shafts, lining is done with precast concrete segments and shotcrete. Concrete is highly reliable but is normally used for shafts that are permanent or long-lasting. It is an expensive and time-consuming option. In our case, the shafts were required urgently and for one-off use only. We were at our wit’s end. After much deliberations, we hit upon a unique system of having prefabricated steel jackets in the form of segments of a circle. These could be easily lowered into the shafts and bolted together to form a circular steel liner. Provision had been made to drive rock bolts through them for proper anchoring. Jackets also lent themselves to grouting to block water ingress.

Time for each ‘drill and blast’ cycle varied with the rock formation encountered for drilling and the depth of the shaft. As we went deeper the turnaround time of the haulage bucket increased significantly and removal of rubble took much longer. A standard cycle consisted of the following steps:-

Clearing of the floor of the shaft and construction of a sump in a corner to collect and pump out water.

Drilling of multiple slanting holes of varying depth to create free face with delayed detonators for optimum blast effect.

Filling of the holes with explosive and connecting all detonators through a ring main circuit for firing.

Removal of drills, pumps and other construction equipment out of the shaft.

Firing of the charges.

Removal of the blasted rock (rubble) to obtain the floor face for the next cycle of drilling.

Misfire used to be the most dreaded nightmare. A single defective detonator could fail the entire circuit and the charges would remain unfired. In that case, one had to wait for two hours before entering the shaft, lest a stray spark set the explosive off. Thereafter, the senior-most officer at the site had to go down to the base of the shaft to remove all the charges. By then the shaft used to be flooded with water. It was a highly risky task. The water used to be murky and the officer had to go underwater to locate all the charges by touch. The whole ring main circuit had to be dismantled and all detonators brought over-ground for replacement. Every such misfire invariably put our progress back by a day.

At each shaft, the work was carried out round the clock in shifts. Daily progress report was being submitted to the authorities. After every 10 feet of depth, we had to pause to stabilise the shaft walls with steel jackets and rock-bolts.

We encountered water seepage at 60 feet depth. Although the quantity of inflow was limited, it still posed problems in digging. It had to be collected in a sump and pumped out at intervals. Only electricity driven submersible pumps possess high pump-head. However, they cannot be used in the shafts due to the risk of electrocution of the working party. During Pokhran-I (January 1974), ingress of water had stalled the progress on the shaft within three months of commencing digging. The problem could not be solved even by the scientists. In the end, the incomplete shaft had to be abandoned. As there was no time for attempting a fresh shaft, a dry abandoned well was prepared for the test in May 1974.

We were totally at a loss. To learn about the methodology to pump out water, Col Dhingra and the two shaft commanders (Major S Jagannathan and I) made a quick visit to Khetri copper mines and Zawar zinc mines. There, for the first time, we saw the air operated double diaphragm (AODD) pumps and immediately realised their indispensability. Steps were initiated to procure them. Their receipt helped us go full steam ahead. There was no stopping us thereafter. With the maximum head of AODD pumps being limited, we evolved a system of pumping out water by stages. As we went down, additional stages were erected.

The scientists in army uniforms used to visit us periodically to study the progress and specify additional facilities for tests. They expressed the requirement of niches/alcoves at various depths of the shafts for placing monitoring instruments. Cabling network was also indicated. A tall observation tower was constructed at a distance with crib-piers.

On reaching the stipulated depth, we were asked to make a side chamber of a large bedroom size. As a powerful nuclear device is always placed under natural rock strata to contain blast effect, thermal radiation and radioactive fallout, such a requirement was already anticipated by us. We knew that our shafts would finally be L-shaped. The side chambers were duly completed without much difficulty and completion report submitted.

Soon, we received mock-ups of the nuclear devices. They were lowered and placed in the side chambers to ascertain suitability of the hoisting mechanism. The scientists had demanded that the chambers should be ‘without a drop of water’. We had to harness considerable ingenuity to achieve that. To demonstrate the dryness of the chamber, we laid a carpet on the chamber’s floor and gave tea to the scientists from a thermos flask. The scientists were keyed up and ecstatic. One of them poignantly commented, Oh my God. This is the most memorable cup of tea – over 600 feet underground.

The Disappointment: the tests that were not to be

General KV Krishna Rao, Chief of the Army Staff, also visited the shafts. He could not believe that the army engineers had completed the task without any external help. After visiting both the shafts, he told Col Dhingra, I knew it was a tough assignment but can appreciate its magnitude only after this visit. You have amazed me. You must be a very proud commanding officer. Do you realise that your unit is writing the history of India. Col Dhingra conveyed the Chief ’s words to both the shaft commanders.

Visits by the scientists became more frequent. Things were moving fast. The atmosphere was charged with excitement. Trial with mock-ups was seen by us as an affirmative sign. We were upbeat and thought that the tests were imminent – it was a question of ‘any day’. However, it was not to be. We waited for days and weeks without the much-awaited bang. With great disappointment, we learnt that the government had decided not to go ahead with the tests. It was ruled that the shafts be maintained and dewatered regularly with submersible pumps, awaiting another opportune moment for the tests.

Our regiment had been in the desert for over three years. We were asked to hand over the maintenance of the completed shafts to another regiment. Various regiments continued with the maintenance till 1998 when they were finally put to nuclear tests. We learnt of the tests with immense pride but somewhere down in our hearts there was a tinge of disappointment. We were not destined to be a part of the historical event.

Sinking the shafts of over 600 feet depth, lining the walls and preparing side chambers in such a compressed time frame had been a monumental achievement. The world over, the average rate of sinking shafts with ‘drill and blast’ method is pegged at 3 feet per week by the professional companies possessing decades of experience, consummate expertise and latest equipment. We, the soldiers of 113 Engineer Regiment, had no experience, no knowledge and no equipment. We did struggle initially but our perseverance helped us overcome all challenges. It was an unparalleled feat by all standards.

According to the information available in public domain, no country in the world has ever asked its army engineers to dig deep shafts for the nuclear tests. As India has declared self-imposed moratorium on nuclear tests, need for deep shafts will never arise again. In other words, the feat of 113 Engineer Regiment will remain unequalled. As General Krishna Rao had stated, 113 Engineer Regiment contributed to the history of India: a unique distinction indeed. The regiment has deservingly earned the appellation Shaft Sinkers to the Nation.

Army’s Aid to the Railways Raised Many

Eyebrows

September 29, 2017 will long be remembered for the tragic death of 23 people in a stampede on a narrow foot-over-bridge (FoB) connecting Elphinstone Road and Parel suburban railway stations in Mumbai. Consequent to the national outrage, the railway authorities woke up to the requirement of having newer FOBs at several suburban stations with wider pathway to handle large rush-hour crowds. Three stations (Elphinstone Road-Parel, Currey Road & Ambivali Road) were identified to be in immediate need of FOBs.

As time was of the essence, the Railway Minister wanted the said FoBs to be built expeditiously. The railway engineers wanted more time. Hence, a request was made to the defence ministry. As is its wont, the army never shies away from challenges, especially when the well-being of the countrymen is impacted. Although the army possesses no expertise in such civil works and the construction had to be carried out without disrupting movement of the suburban trains, the onerous task was readily undertaken by the elite Bombay Sappers located at Pune.

Although plans for FoB at the Elphinstone Road station were approved in 2015, it was only the September tragedy that galvanised the somnolent engineering department to initiate call for bids. Therefore, many felt that it was the disappointment of the Railway Minister Piyush Goyal with his own ministry’s functioning that forced him to make such a request to the defence ministry. Worse, failure of the railway engineers to accept the challenging time-bound assignment is seen by many to be indicative of their lack of self-confidence.

As expected, a major row broke out. Political parties were quick to jump into the fray to fault the government. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh tweeted, The army’s job is to train for war, not to be used for civilian works... It will set a very bad precedent. Former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah commented, The army was to be a measure of last resort to be called upon in extreme emergency. Now it seems like it’s the 1st number on the speed dial.

For asking the army to construct FoBs, the government has been faulted on two counts – one, misusing the army for civilian tasks, and two, for showing lack of confidence in the concerned civilian agency (railways). Similar questions were raised when the army was tasked to construct a foot bridge at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium during the Commonwealth Games at Delhi in 2010. The need arose as the under-construction bridge collapsed a few days before the start of the games. The army completed the task in five days.

Role and Responsibility of the Army

Most social scientists consider army to be the nerve centre of the state, being the most ancient, vital and hierarchy based of all human organisations. In fact, it is considered to be the embodiment of a nation’s conscience and will. It is the most potent instrument available to the state to safeguard national security. It cannot fail the nation. Therefore, its role assignment deserves in-depth appraisal and due deliberation. Indian army’s responsibilities can be grouped under the following three broad heads:-

(a) Military Tasks . In addition to defending the nation against external threats, it is also called upon to counter insurgent movements that pose grave internal threat. Whereas insurgency is a socio-political problem, an effective counter-insurgency operation has to be based on an integrated politico-military approach. In order to create conducive environment for the initiation of the political process, the army has to bring the level of violence down to the expedient level.

(b) Aid to Civil Authority . Aid to civil authority is mandated by law. Under Para 301 of the Defence Services Regulations, the tasks that can be assigned in aid to civil authority include maintenance of law and order; maintenance of essential services; assistance during natural calamities such as earthquakes and floods; and any other type of assistance which may be needed by the civil authorities. As can be seen, the last one is an open ended provision. It must be mentioned here that when called upon to aid the civil authority, the army has to respond; it has no discretion in the matter.

(c) Civic Action Tasks . These are tasks that the army undertakes in the larger national interests. They encompass all activities performed by the army for the socio-economic betterment of the people and to help improve its image. In areas where civil institutions are non-functional, the army runs schools, provides basic medical cover, runs water supply schemes, constructs play grounds and provides vocational training to the local youth. These activities are collectively referred to as civic action programmes.

Launching of FoB at Elphinstone Road

Quite understandably, role-assignment under aid to civil authority is country specific as every country has to countenance dissimilar geo-political-strategic environment. For example, in the developing countries, aid to civil authority in the maintenance of law and order is by far the commonest and most critical assignment. After centuries of deprivation and exploitation, disadvantaged segments of the society agitate for an equitable distribution of resources. Every agitation inevitably results in violence and the army is summoned to help maintain order.

Further, there are certain services whose efficient and uninterrupted functioning is necessary for the nation and the society at large. The army with its large pool of highly disciplined and trained manpower is often summoned to run these essential services in times of their break-down.

Assistance during disasters and natural calamities is another common form of aid to civil authority. Every earthquake or flood sees army soldiers carrying out rescue and rehabilitation tasks.

Canopy Work

In addition to the above clearly delineated responsibilities, there are numerous other fields in which the army participates for the good of the country. For example, construction of pontoon bridges to facilitate movement of pilgrims during Kumbh Melas is a regular task undertaken by the army. Such assignments can either be assigned to the army by the government or can be initiated by the local army formations of their own volition for the benefit of the citizens at large. Such participation often extends to non-traditional areas where in the army acts as a nation builder; a modernising force; and an agent of order, efficiency and social change. These activities are commonly grouped under the concept of military civic action.

An Appraisal of Military Civic Action

Military civic action entails employment of army on projects useful to the local population at multiple levels in such fields as education, training, public works, agriculture, transportation, infrastructure, communications, health and sanitation. In fact, the list includes all programmes that contribute to economic and social development.

As the traditional role of the army continues to be the security of the country, impact of the role expansion on its professionalism has been the subject of much debate for long amongst the policy makers, political scientists, sociologists and military leaders.

Advocates of military civic action are convinced that the army possesses considerable spare potential, which when suitably harnessed in peace, can accelerate the process of economic development and modernization of the country. They feel that through civic action, the army acts as an agent of social integration. Professor Edward Shils is of the view that the military serves to integrate ethnic groups into a national community, widen horizons beyond villages and locality, keep young men from being infected by nationalistic demagogy and give then a greater concern for the nation as a whole. According to sociologist Morris Janowitz, military becomes a device for developing a sense of national cohesion – a social psychological element of national unity – which is especially crucial for a nation which has suffered because of colonialism.

Completed Elphinstone Road Bridge

In addition, civic action is considered to be an indispensable means of bringing the soldiers and the citizens together. They get to know each other better. Contact with the army promotes cohesion in the society. There are numerous posts on the social media eulogising the dedication and commitment of the soldiers, as witnessed by them at the FoBs. Most Mumbai citizens saw the soldiers working at close quarters for the first time and admitted that they had never been exposed to such a work culture ever before. Thus, civic action helps improve the standing of the army with the population.

On the other hand, many purists feel that the army should concentrate only on its primary task and not divert attention and resources to non-military assignments. They cite four reasons for their opposition. One, bringing in the army to carry out civilian jobs amounts to an admission of the failure of the state and the civil set-up. It shows the replaced civil agencies in poor light, thereby lowering their public standing and morale. In the case of FoBs, they draw attention to the fact that questions are being raised about the competence of the railway engineering department.

Completed Staircase of FoB

Two, excessive dependence on the army can breed a certain degree of complacency in the civil agencies. Requisitioning army provides them an easy way out. Instead of preparing themselves to undertake major challenges that their charter of duties throws up, they tend to resort to the easier path of summoning army’s help for less-demanding tasks as well. Today, the army is called even to rescue a child stuck in an open tube-well bore.

Three, undue involvement in non-military tasks may result in the loss of training time, impeding operational preparedness and adversely affecting army’s combat effectiveness. Such duties can also prove taxing to a soldier psychologically. Frequent switching of roles can dilute a soldier’s focus on his primary task. Four, it can also have an undesirable affect on the apolitical nature of the army, which may start entertaining ideas of a permanent role for itself in civilian functions. It is more applicable to those countries where the civilian administration has yet to acquire the necessary maturity.

It is apparent from the above that both schools of thought reflect extreme viewpoints, probably due to the influences exerted by different politico-socio-military environment. Arguments in favour of civic action are as potent and cogent as those against. Where do we draw the line? One thing is certain, military civic action cannot be faulted as a concept. For, it has always proved highly effective whenever undertaken with due diligence, maintaining balance within acceptable limits as excessive use can prove detrimental.

Side View of the Completed FoB

In view of the above, it can be inferred that Indian army should continue to participate in well-selected civic action activities, albeit with two provisos. One, only the effort that the army can spare without affecting its operational efficiency should be diverted towards civic action tasks. For that, the army’s opinion must be taken. In other words, nothing should be done to dilute army’s focus on the primary task of national defence.

Two, selection of civic action programmes should be such that they do not undermine the civil administration – civic action should supplement the efforts of civil agencies and not attempt to replace them. The army’s entry should not be seen as a failure of the civil agencies to do their job. The army can perform a task for a limited time only and thereafter the civil agencies will have to resume their responsibilities. Hence, civic action should not make them lose their credibility and standing in the eyes of the public. That shall do incalculable harm to the authority of the civil administration.

The Way Forward

There is no disputing the fact that the primary raison d’être for the existence of the army is to ensure national defence against external threats and internal disturbances. Role-expansion should never be at the cost of the ‘professionalism’. However, an army is also an embodiment of a nation’s conscience and will. Being a part of the apparatus of the legitimate government, military owes allegiance to the people of the country. In the case of developing countries, armies are more often called upon to act as a major catalyst in nation building tasks to accelerate the process of economic development and modernization.

The Bombay Sappers prove their mettle yet again

In the wake of the public outrage at the tragedy of 29 September 2017, the Railways sought the help of the army engineers for expeditious construction of three FoBs at Elphinstone Road, Currey Road and Ambivali Road railway stations in Mumbai. It was an unprecedented request but the army never shies away from the