Delhi Underground

Rodent menace

Animation movies such as Ratatouille may portray rats as lovable creatures,but officials at the Delhi Zoo are not buying it. Angry over the ever-increasing rat population that has been bothering the animals in the enclosures,the zoo has set up rat traps everywhere. Last week,however,the zoo was left in a lurch when the traps caused the death of two pea fowl hens. The two birds were found dead in the morning,and zoo officials realised they must have tried to eat a dead rat caught in one of the traps. Since then the authorities are contemplating whether the traps should be removed.

No say for naysayers

After expressing displeasure on the snail’s pace at which the Finance department conducts its activities,the Health department now has a bone to pick with the PWD. Administrative officials at Delhi government hospitals are unhappy with the Public Works Department on various fronts. While the PWD is responsible for carrying out the upgrade of hospital facilities,the Health department has no power to regulate their activities. “They miss deadlines; there are issues with the funds,and they keep missing meetings. Projects in at least four hospitals,including the super-speciality GB Pant Hospital,are getting delayed because we do not have any power over them,” said a senior official.

Rules are to be broken

At this year’s Beating Retreat ceremony,many of audience members were seen sneaking cellphones in,despite the stringent security measures. Enthusiasts keen on capturing the grandeur of the ceremony also managed to bring in still and video cameras,strictly banned at the venue. While security personnel were seen stopping those with pens and water bottles,certain determined audience members managed to evade the security without trouble.

Bone of contention

For almost four months now,the Delhi government has been splitting hairs over the circle rates issue. After shuttling between the Delhi Secretariat and the Lieutenant-Governor’s (L-G) office,it seems now the file has been put on the back burner by the Home ministry. L-G Tejendra Khanna had opposed the Delhi government’s proposal,while the latter maintained that the L-G did not have a say in the issue as it had been decided by elected members. Delhi’s unique status,however,makes the L-G the head of the state. The Home ministry had sent the file to the Attorney General to decide who gets to have a final say on the issue. Sources say the Attorney General’s opinion is in favour of the Delhi government,but the Home ministry seems reluctant to send the file back.

Courtroom courtesy

Here’s crucial evidence that prosecutors can sometimes be more in sync with courtroom lingo than the judge himself. At a city court recently,a judge,after hearing the arguments,was dictating his observations to his typist. “Following the submission of Additional Public Prosecutor…”,when the prosecutor,standing nearby and listening intently,softly intervened. Unhappy at being interrupted,especially as the hearing was over,the judge adjusted his glasses and looked up with a frown. “It’s ‘learned’ Additional Public Prosecutor…” the man in black suggested sheepishly. The judge then relaxed and directed his steno to make the necessary changes in the script.

Alumni takeover

In a few years,private schools across the Capital will be out of bounds for general category parents,say irritated parents. And they have their reasons. With pre-school admissions in Delhi already giving sleepless nights to parents,many believe the “trauma” of getting your child admitted in a private school will only get worse as years roll by. One parent said,“Every year schools create at least 200 alumni. With alumni points becoming increasingly important,there will come a point when the alumni will overtake all seats,leaving little scope for admission of a general category applicant.”

Unfair probe

Public Works Department engineers and officials are miffed with auditors of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India who are at present analysing Commonwealth Games projects. After shooting off a letter to the CAG and the Prime Minister complaining that auditors were questioning them on technical decisions without the required knowhow,engineers are now preparing another complaint. Sources said PWD Secretary K K Mishra has sought an appointment with senior CAG officials to personally convey the complaint that auditors are not equipped to understand complex engineering decisions,nor are they willing to understand the engineers’ clarifications on auditing queries.

Job first

Some people are married to their jobs. A professor at a Central University in the Capital recounted that he was in class when his wife went into labour with their second child. He was informed that she was at Safdarjung Hospital. ‘I had a class,’ says the professor nonchalantly. “I asked her to hold it in.” She didn’t; it was a boy.

Quick redressal

While residents of Modinagar have been complaining about traffic jams due to shopkeepers’ encroachment on the a certain road stretch,two senior police officers realised the problem was real only when they got stuck in a traffic jam on the same road while on their way to investigate a loot. So effective was the officers’ wrath that the traffic cops were sent scurrying and the encroachment was removed in two hours flat.