CN & heard

Threat to freedom of press
Terrorism could be the last thing that Panjab University’s highest decision-making body — the Senate — is expected to discuss or take up. However,it became a major issue,when a journalist had a brush with one of the veteran senators in the last Senate meeting. The journalist,who was allegedly capturing the unruly and heated exchanges between the senators on his mobile phone,was caught and manhandled by a senator,who accused the scribe of being a terrorist. The senator tried to snatch away journalist’s phone to which the poor fellow replied,“Why are you snatching away my phone? Am I a terrorist”; in reply of which the senator said,“Yes,you are a terrorist; that’s why you are clicking these pictures”. If this is the behaviour of our educationists,we can’t expect much better from others.

‘Hi’ tea
The councillors of the Municipal Corporation seem to be quite excited to receive invitations to high tea at Raj Bhawan. Since Shivraj Patil has taken over as the Punjab Governor and UT Administrator,the councillors are being accorded some importance. Most of them are singing paeans hailing the Administrator and praising the ‘positive’ step that he has taken. Even city MP and Union Minister Pawan Bansal and Advisor to the Administrator Pradip Mehra,who did not have a cordial relationship with the previous occupant of the Raj Bhavan are making a lot of courtesy calls to the new governor.

Doesn’t hold much water
Most bureaucrats who come on Chandigarh on deputation highlight their idiosyncrasies vis-a-vis the Sukhna lake. This is best explained by a range of new schemes which are launched by them. Babus in various capacities have launched different schemes for the Sukhna at one time or the other,with each being more impractical than the other. Some of them include- a dysfunctional windmill,a weird island,hopeless restaurants etc. There is more in the offing with plans for a meditation garden,a reading room,a subway (connecting lake and parking area). We don’t want to sound over critical or cynical but the problem is that no effort is being made to save the lake. Someone needs to tell these fancy big shots that if Sukhna goes dry,then all these adornments would be rendered futile.