Cn & Heard

Let us meet. No,let us eat
A city resident in an RTI application demanded to know the expenditure the Municipal Corporation incurs on refreshments or entertainment during the monthly meetings of the civic body. Details of the money sanctioned to the officials as well as the Mayor were also demanded. The reply showed that in the last 13 years,the Corporation has spent Rs 77 lakh on refreshments. This includes Rs 46 lakh on the general house meetings,Rs 28 lakh as expenditure on various officials and Rs 2.65 lakh on other meetings.

Dial-a-tune
Crime reporters and some discerning readers of this newspaper have observed a peculiar fact. Most police inspectors and investigating officers in Chandigarh Police have religious songs as caller tunes on their cellphone. So,if you make call to any DSP or SHO,you first get to hear a spiritual tone. Now,mostly,the common man calls a police officer only in the hour of distress. Maybe this is police’s way of telling the public that when in distress they should ‘keep the faith’. Ironically,the faith of the public in the Almighty may be unflinching,but the same cannot be said about the confidence they repose in our cops. For details,please read the next one about the apathy of the Panchkula Police.

Sleepy now. Call tomorrow
Recently,a call was made to a DSP by a victim of sexual harassment. It was eight in the morning and the perturbed woman’s call was met with a curt response by DSP Ram Chander Rathi,who replied,“It is too early for the police incharge and his staff to reach the spot,as they sleep late at night. So we would send them at the spot tomorrow.” It was only after the intervention of SP Amitabh Dhillon that the police staff were sent on the spot and action taken against the accused.

Unbiased sweating
If the monsoons are delayed any further,the power situation is bound to deteriorate in the city as well. A senior UT bureaucrat when asked about the chances of the power situation getting worse in the coming days,answered in the affirmative. In fact,he was quick to add,“We shall start introducing the power cuts from Sector 1 onwards. Even the VVIPs should bear the heat. In fact,we won’t even spare ourselves. Officers who enjoy air-conditioned offices,must also experience sweaty weather.”

Mathemagic
In the recent Board exams,the city’s students put on a phenomenal performance in mathmeatics,with over 50 of them getting more than 100 marks. Mukesh Arora,a popular teacher,who claims to have taught more than half of these students (including all of those who studied at Carmel Convent and St John’s High),feels satisfied at his performance. “Some liberal marking by the Board examiners,committed students and additional time to go through the question papers has facilitated the performance.” It is also a kind of sweet revenge for Arora as he never scored well in the subject during his days in school. “All my fellow pupils were so hopeless in maths that they would keep on nudging me during the exam. My own concentration was affected in the process.”