Delhi Underground

Autos to get GPS,but what about govt?

Even as it was pushing auto drivers into installing GPS devices at the earliest,the Transport department realised that its central operations control centre was not equipped to monitor them. On the first instance,the Transport department extended the deadline for installing GPS devices in autorickshaws to June 1 — stating that autorickshaw unions were protesting against the amount fixed by the government. Though the autorickshaw unions later agreed to the government’s conditions,it rescheduled the deadline again,this time citing lack of equipment as the reason.

Busy with Baba No 2,media ignores SMSes

Even as the media spotlight remained on Ramdev Baba’s missing aide Bal Acharya,S K Tijjaranwala — staunch devotee and media advisor for the “mega-fast” spectacle — sent text messages to the media,stating that “knee injuries suffered during the police crackdown” will keep him away the public eye for a while. However,with the media too pre-occupied with Baba’s number two,none of the SMSes managed to make the headlines.

To fast or not to fast,that’s the question

After the crackdown at Ramlila Maidan,the volunteers at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib unexpectedly found themselves engulfed by a flood of Baba Ramdev’s supporters. With the yoga guru’s press conference at Haridwar scheduled only after lunch,many devotees — exhausted by the events of the night before — decided to sit down and have prasaad. One of the devotees said: “There was no way of knowing if the fast was still on,and we heard that the Baba had broken his fast at the airport. So,we collectively decided to partake of the prasaad.” The volunteers at the Gurdwara,however,thought differently. “We thought these people were on a fast,so no special arrangements for food were made. However,by 12 noon,people started saying the fast was off,so we had to make fresh prasaad,” a woman volunteer said. Despite their best efforts,food at the Gurdwara got over and the devotees had to go to Hanuman Mandir in Connaught Place for more prasaad.

With Chand gone,who will bell Fortis cat?

With Special Secretary Diwan Chand getting transferred to the Education department,there are many who cannot wait to see who ends up taking responsibility for the ambulance deal with Fortis. Planned for the Commonwealth Games,the public-private partnership deal for the fleet of ambulances was scrapped at the 11th hour. Issues in this regard were,until now,being handled by Chand. With new Health Minister Dr A K Walia showing renewed interest in the deal,it remains to be seen who will get the coveted project in its second innings.

In midst of Ramlila chaos,they tried to sleep

Soon after the police crackdown at Ramlila Maidan on Sunday,some cops decided to lie down in one of the corners of the pandal and catch a few hours of shut-eye. However,their seista came to an abrupt end when a woman police officer spotted them. DCP (North) I B Rani,who had been deployed to maintain law-and-order in the premises,lost her cool when she saw around 60 policemen resting on the job and gave them a blasting that they would remember for a long time to come.

Holiday mood lacking among 2G accused

With the special CBI court handling the 2G scam now closed for summer vacation,the accused don’t know whether to be happy or sad. Accustomed to spending entire days in the “comfort” of the AC courtroom with their relatives,the culprits will now have to remain confined to their hot Tihar cells until the vacation is done. However,some of their relatives are not complaining. As they were camping in the Capital ever since the trial began,they are now excited at the prospect of returning to their hometowns. “Since they are not getting bail,we had to come here everyday. So much so that sometimes,it felt like we were also in custody. Now that the vacations are on,we can finally go back to our families and relax,” said a particularly exasperated relative.

Gurgaon cops open toll gates to frustration

The logjam between the Traffic department and DS Constructions over the issue of traffic congestion at the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway toll plaza just doesn’t seem to be clearing. The Traffic police have defied all agreement norms and demanded that the gates be opened whenever major traffic snarls occur. When asked to comment,they have but just one answer to give: “We will do whatever it takes to prevent traffic jams.”

Ramdev gets a helping hand from MCD

While the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is not openly supporting Baba Ramdev’s mission against corruption,the civic body had taken every possible step to make last week’s yoga camp a success. From offering to set up mobile toilets to arranging for 100 sanitation workers,the MCD has been tripping all over itself in its efforts to help the Baba. This week,in anticipation of the camp,most meetings were cancelled too. After the yogi was removed from Ramlila Maidan,Mayor Rajni Abbi herself visited the area and met most of the people who were injured. She,however,said it had nothing to do with her being a BJP leader,and maintained that her visit was purely non-political in nature.

Eng teachers use humour to counter semesters

Probably to keep the students and mediapersons interested,English department teachers have been coming up with novel methods to register their protest against the semsester system. JAB,therefore,was not merely an acronym for the Joint Action Body,but also a verb. Terry Eagleton’s quote about resisting the apparently inevitable to test its inevitability has been used on plenty of occasions. After the Vice-Chancellor urged teachers to consider the first few years under the semester system as an experiment,the 2011-2012 batch has been christened ‘guinea pigs’. Friday’s Committee of Courses meeting at the English department also inspired some — a teacher composed a song on semesters to the tune of Neil Diamond’s Song Sung Blue and posted it on Facebook.

Clock ticking,but Cong yet to decide names

Even as the last date for electing people to the posts of Mayor,Deputy Mayor and Senior Deputy Mayor draws near,the Congress — which claims to have the support of the maximum number of councillors — is yet to reach a decision on the names of its candidates. There seems to be a divide in the party on the issue. With the meeting for deciding on the posts fixed for June 14,only time can tell who will land the top slots.

Anxiety hits the roof as Noida DGP holds meet

During a particularly long meeting on the imposition of Section 144 in Noida,DGP Karamvir Singh seemed to be running against time to deliver his lectures on policing in the area. However,not everyone was appreciative of the meeting,which lasted for more than three hours. Most of the senior cops thought it could culminate in a surprise inspection of sorts and,hence,work at all police stations was stepped up to avoid any trouble. Constables were positioned at spots that were most likely to see any commotion. Even officers who had gone out on night patrolling duty were are asked to report to work during the day. Finally,when the meeting got over after three long hours,junior police officers came out looking as exhausted as their senior counterparts. It had been the longest day they had witnessed in a while.