#everydayquiz
The NewYork times(hindi)
HONG KONG — “It was like what we were told a nuclear bomb would be like,” Zhao Zhencheng, a truck driver, told the Associated Press. “I never even thought I’d see such a thing.”
In the still of the night of Aug. 12 in Tianjin port, some 90 miles from Beijing, an explosion(धमाका ) ripped( फटना) through a warehouse(गोदाम ) housing volatile(परिवर्तनशील) chemicals, killing more than 170 people. Hundreds more were injured( घायल).
Chinese social media blazed( प्रज्वलित) with grief(शोक ) and indignation(रोष ), but little surprise. “This will happen again, the only question is when and where,” a friend of mine said on the night of the disaster(विपदा).
Ten days later, on Aug. 22, an explosion(धमाका ) rocked(कंपित होना) a chemical factory in Zibo in Shandong Province( प्रांत ). On Aug. 31, another Shandong chemical factory blew up(विस्फोट से उड़ा दिया). And on Oct. 12, two months after the explosion(धमाका ) at the docks( जहाज गोदाम), an inferno(आग ) tore through(के माध्यम से फाड़) a different Tianjin warehouse.
Meanwhile( इसी बीच में), too many Chinese buildings prove(साबित करना) to be less sturdy( मज़बूत) than a house of cards(कार्ड के एक घर), collapsing( ढह जाना) to the ground, killing occupants( निवासी). Among recent examples, a two-story building under renovation( मरम्मत) in Henan Province collapsed to dust on Oct. 30, taking with it 17 lives.
Mega-engineering projects are not immune( बचा हुआ) from low building standards( मानदण्ड ). From 2007 to 2012, 37 bridges reportedly(खबर के अनुसार) collapsed, with a toll of 182 deaths.
These disasters( विपत्ति ) are concealed( अप्रकट) by headlines touting( प्रस्तुत करना) China’s economic miracle( आश्चर्य). They are a result of the government’s love of mega( बहुत बड़ा)-projects combined( मिश्रित) with rash( जल्दबाजी में) planning, endemic( स्थानीय) corruption and careless construction, supervision(निरीक्षण ) and regulation(व्यवस्थापन ).
As Chinese capital flows abroad, dangerous practices are at risk of being exported( बाहर भेजना). China’s experience at home should serve( उपयुक्त होना) as a warning to other governments and companies. Chinese firms may offer the lowest bid on an infrastructure project, but Chinese construction brings tremendous( ज़बर्दस्त) risks( खतरा).
Teams of Chinese state-owned companies are rushing( जल्दबाजी में) across(सभी ओर) the world to run super projects. In Sudan, a Chinese group is erecting(स्थापित करना) a huge dam. In Ecuador, along with a dam, the Chinese are constructing an oil refinery(धातु इत्यादि साफ करने का स्थान या यन्त्र). Chinese companies are helping to build bridges in Cambodia, Bangladesh and Kenya.
The construction and managing of nuclear power plants abroad are especially( खास तौर पर) troubling( चिंताजनक). In October, President Xi Jinping and the British government signed deals paving the way(
पक्की सड़क का रास्ता) for China to help build at least two nuclear power plants in Britain.In China, however, nuclear power projects are controversial( विवादग्रस्त), with some observers(अवलोकनकारी) saying that China does not take safety seriously enough. He Zuoxiu, a nuclear expert and Communist Party loyalist, has expressed dissatisfaction(असंतोष ) with the safety provisions( प्रावधान ), describing( बयान करना) the government’s ambitious( महत्त्वाकांक्षी) nuclear plans as “insane( पागल , बेसुध).” From everything we know of Chinese building and supervision(निरीक्षण ) practices, an accident in a Chinese nuclear power station is just a question of when and where.
There’s no reason to expect(उम्मीद रखना) the safety standards and the quality of building to be higher in China-run projects abroad( विदेश). As in China, most overseas(विदेशी) projects will be managed by Chinese state-owned companies. Many of the site workers are imported(आयातित), low-paid Chinese laborers, and the high-level company managers are mainly Chinese government appointees(नियुक्त व्यक्ति ), or even government officials.
Chinese practices have not gone unnoticed( अज्ञात). The transportation minister of Vietnam publicly(खुले आम) criticized( आलोचना करना) a Chinese company for its role in a series(सिलसिला) of accidents at the construction site of a rail line in Hanoi. The World Bank blacklisted(काली सूची में नाम लिखना) at least 12 Chinese companies suspected(संदिग्ध) of fraud(कपट ) and corruption, banning( प्रतिबंध) them from projects funded by the bank.
Corruption is rampant(तेजी से फैलने वाला) among company leaders. Take the case of the China National Petroleum Corp., which is financing the oil refinery in Ecuador. In recent years, a large number of company officers, including the chairman and chief accountant, have been investigated or arrested for corruption.
Although accidents linked to careless construction practices are certainly not rare in other parts of the world, China is distinct( भिन्न) because the same kinds of disasters(विपत्ति ) happen again and again. People keep dying, and they keep dying for the same reasons.
When disaster strikes( प्रभावित करना), the Chinese government goes into emergency mode, organizing rescue( बचाव) and relief( सहायता कोष), demanding answers, and at every turn, displaying a staggering ( लड़खड़ाहट) lack(अभाव) of professionalism(पेशेवराना अंदाज).
During the Tianjin catastrophe(तबाही), fire fighters did not know how to deal with a fire caused by a chemical explosion. And for the first 10 hours after the explosion, the most influential local TV station still broadcast soap operas; not a mention was made of fatalities(नाश).
The Chinese authorities have learned nothing from these frequent(बारबार) accidents. The only government competence( क्षमता) on show is with information control: hiding( छिपाव) facts, forbidding(डरावना) media reporting and rapidly ( शीघ्रता से)closing social media accounts suspected( संदिग्ध) of spreading( प्रचार) “rumors(अफवाह).” The government’s instructions are always described as “brilliant(बहुत बढ़िया)” and the victims(पीड़ित व्यक्ति)’ families are always “emotionally(भावात्मक ढंग से) stable( संतुलित).” Each disaster becomes an occasion( मौका) for government self-congratulation. Meanwhile( इसी दौरान), lessons go unlearned( ठीक से न सीखा हुआ) and responsibility unclaimed( बिना दावे का).
For many government leaders, Chinese corporate global expansion(प्रसारण) means a boost(बढ़ावा) to their incomes. The Chinese government has greatly expanded(प्रसारित) its overseas investments, but the profits, we can fairly(निष्पक्ष रूप से) assume( कल्पना कर लेना), go mostly to officials and their families. Rarely is a moral audit taken of these projects, which bring little benefit to ordinary Chinese people.
Chinese people have paid the heaviest price for this flawed( दोषपूर्ण) system. Now that Chinese-style construction and management are going global, what price is the world prepared to pay?
#SSC #IBPS #SBI #RBI #NABARD #NICL #NIACL #CAT #NMAT #everydayquiz
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