Delhi underground

No surprise checks

The Mayor of South corporation,Savita Gupta,had to give in to councillors’ aversion to surprise inspection. BJP councillors were all for surprise checks,but their Congress counterparts said suck inspections were an infringement of their rights. Indu,a Congress councillor,said,“You cannot come to our area without informing us. We are the representatives of our wards and not even the Mayor can encroach upon our right to be informed.” Gupta had to back down and agree to inform councillors one day in advance.

A fair compromise

As Ramdev returned to Ramlila Maidan 14 months after the police crackdown,the yoga guru praised the “efforts” of policemen in his speech. “They (police) have not repeated their mistake this time. So,we must laud their efforts to make things easier for us,” he said. While he was saying this,a his aides were arguing with policemen manning the gate. “The police had kept the keys to the back gate,where all our guests were to enter from. A contingent of seven-eight sadhus had come and the police refused to open the gate for them. Senior members of our team requested the police to open it,but they refused. We were forced tor raise our voices. How can they keep the keys when we are the organisers?” one of the aides at the gate said. After senior police officers intervened,the policemen at the gate agreed to allow a representative of the organisers at the gate.

Changing tones

When former Haryana Minister Gopal Goyal Kanda was summoned by police,a senior officer initially referred to him as Kanda saab. “Kanda saab ko humne bulaya hai aur tin din ka time dene se mana kiya hai (we have asked Kanda sir to come to the police station).” After police found out that he had given them the slip,the same officer changed his tone. He said,“Kanda aaj aaya nahin. Humne apni teams bhej di hain (Kanda did not come. We have sent our teams to look for him.”

Losing sleep

Cribbing about superiors is a tendency which cuts across professions. Policemen summoned to court are not immune to this. Two police officers were heard discussing a Rohini court judge known for being thorough. One said,“You cannot sleep for two nights before testifying in that court because you have to prepare thoroughly.” The other replied,“Yes,but you will lose many nights’ sleep if you go in there half-prepared and get caught.”

Deep impact

A brief spell of rain was enough to immerse Gurgaon residents up to their knees. This despite spending lakhs of rupees on infrastructure and tall claims by various agencies,which claimed to be fully prepared for the monsoon. A little rainfall managed to bring about heavy waterlogging and long traffic jams. One can only shudder when imagining the effect of a heavy downpour on Gurgaon.