Ringside view

Disappointments ahead?
SOME of the present public prosecutors in the nine cases of communal riots reported from Gujarat in 2002,seem to have lost hope of being appointed as special public prosecutor in the cases again. The Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT),which is reinvestigating the cases,is to suggest names of Special Public Prosecutors (SPP) in the cases to the Legal Department. But,some non-government organisations and witnesses in the cases have officially shown their dislike for some advocates for the post of SPP in the riots cases. Expecting that this might go against him,one of the public prosecutors in one of the cases,before giving an interview to a television channel recently,said in a lighter mode,“This could well be my last interview in the riots cases.”

Kuch meetha ho jaye
SWEET is the fruit of success for those who sweat it out with tonnes of patience and perseverance. So,it was no surprise that sweet marts across the state had a windfall on May 28,the day when the HSC board exams results were declared. The high pass percentage meant high number of celebrations in homes,where students passed out with flying (or even dull) colours,because success is after all success in whatever measure it may be. This was one occasion,when even the poor and the lower middle class forgot the bitter prices of sugar,the main ingredient of sweets! Sweets were sold anywhere between Rs 150 and Rs 400 a kg and no one was found complaining about the prices. Now,the next ones to rake in the moolah will be photo copier shops,what with students being required to attach photo copies of a plethora of documents like mark-sheets and others. Celebration time for all….

Initiative turns turtle
VADODARA: THE initiative to create a smooth flow of traffic by barricading the intersections on Alkapuri has ended in increased cases of traffic violation. This is in addition to the chaos that already prevails at the BPC junction during the peak hours. Earlier,the traffic from the bylanes on both sides of the Alkapuri road used to get diverted from the Express petrol pump. But now,many commuters are seen driving on the wrong side to reach the GEB Circle as the intersection at the Express petrol pump is blocked. This often results in minor accidents at circle. Now,this ‘initiative’ calls for a rectification.

Surpassing the limit!
IF you think that it only happens in the BCCI,where members leak details of the proceedings in a meeting,then you have another example here— at the MSU in the Senate and Syndicate meetings. Former MSU Syndicate member Pragnesh Shah is allegedly sending out mails concerning Syndicate and Senate meetings,and the varsity authorities say that some Senate/Syndicate members were aware of this. And everybody knows that officials are appointed based on their political affiliations. Meanwhile,MSU officials said,”These things are going on in the varsity and we can serve show cause notices for all his deeds. There is a limit to everything,we will not tolerate this in the coming academic years.”

Idea hijacked?
EVERYONE wants to have the crème de la crème — best credit for ideas. Every year,after the declaration of the Board examination results,reporters and cameramen are found scurrying from school to school in search of city toppers. Tired with the run,some reporters went to the Vadodara District Education Officer (DEO) with the proposal to call all the toppers at one spot. Now,the moment they blurted out the proposal,the DEO coolly said,”Oh,I already had that in my mind.” The results are out and the toppers interviewed,but the credit of the new idea… well,the DEO declared it to be his initiative,while some reporters still say- “amnej aapyutu idea. ene enu idea kai chali didhu.”(We were the ones who gave the idea to him,but he took the credit).

— Contributed by Debarati Basu,Hitarth Pandya,Parimal Dabhi,Shubhlakshmi Shukla,Tanvir A Siddiqui,Ujjwala Nayudu and Vikram Rautela.