Senior ISRO scientists distraught over turn of events

"It's like ISRO edifice crumbling" is how a senior scientist termed the turn of events involving four of its fraternity in the scrapped Antrix-Devas deal and outbursts of the space agency's former chief G Madhavan Nair against his successor K Radhakrishnan.

Reflecting a sense of disquiet, senior ISRO scientists, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was a sad episode and the space agency's image has certainly taken a severe beating.

"It's like whatever work we have done over the years...it's shattered in one moment", a scientist said. "It's worse than a couple of mission failures." Nair and three other retired ISRO scientists have been barred from holding any government posts, present or future, in a damning government action on the controversial deal about allocation of scarce S-band space segment to private firm Devas.

Nair, architect of India's first moon mission, has blamed current ISRO Chairman Radhakrishnan for the action, accusing him of misleading the government and pursuing a "personal agenda".

There is palpable disquiet among senior ISRO scientists following the turn of events. "I have no idea at all. I have nothing to do with it," former ISRO Chairman U R Rao told PTI when asked for his reaction on the action against Nair and three others.

Radhakrishnan has chosen not to react to Nair's attack on him. A source close to Radhakrishnan claimed the ISRO Chairman is unfazed and "believes he has not done anything wrong and remains unperturbed by the affected party giving vent to their feelings".