Delhi Underground

Crusade cut short

While Anna Hazare’s crusade against corruption was gathering momentum,several protesters were waiting for the weekend to join the movement. The residents of several RWAs had had banners printed,which they planned to put up at the entrance of their colonies on Saturday,and join the movement at Jantar Mantar on Sunday,their day off. However,with the government and Hazare arriving at a truce early on Saturday morning,Delhiites were left wondering whether the banners should be put away so soon. With Hazare saying he will be back if the Bill is not passed,they hope the banners would come handy someday.

Striking the right note

A senior police officer,who was recently transferred to a remote and sensitive area of Uttar Pradesh,has found succour in classical music. The officer is taking classes from a Gharana well-known in the region,starting his initiation with Rag Bharavi. Instead of cursing his luck,the officer says transfers are a way of exploring many facets of life that otherwise remain unknown to a police officer. Now he wishes to make most of his stay in the region.

Added advantage

As the abundant rains last year led to an increased availability of food,the Delhi Zoo saw a major baby boom. New members were added to the families of animals not only inside the enclosures,but also outside,like the peacock,bringing relief to the zoo authorities. For a while now,officials were struggling with an increase in the number of snakes lurking in the undergrowth. Now,thanks to the peacock,the snake population is under control. “Snakes do not enter the zoo anymore,as the peacocks scare them away,” said a zoo official.

Know your basics

Following the latest super bug study published in Lancet that reported the presence of the NDM-1 gene — which causes antibiotic resistance — in Central Delhi’s drinking water supply,Delhi Health minister A K Walia purportedly avoided interactions with reporters. While a conference was scheduled by the Delhi Jal Board,the Health minister’s reactions were especially important considering the fact that the study had reported the gene in bacteria that caused cholera and dysentery. Sources said the minister had to postpone interviews for a day while he went over the study and consulted experts about the implications. “The day the report was published,Dr Walia admitted that was not updated with the specifics of NDM-1,so he spent some time going over the study before talking to the press,”said a source close to the minister.

Whose file is it anyway?

Last week was eventful for the Delhi administration,with Rakesh Mehta leaving the post of Chief Secretary to become the Delhi Election Commissioner. P K Tripathi,who replaced him,was juggling various departments in his earlier post as the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister,with Finance,Tourism and Training under him,while Mehta had Power as additional charge. The fate of all these four departments now remains undecided. When the Tourism department sent its files to the Chief Secretary’s office for clearance,it refused to accept it,saying Tripathi was no longer in charge of the department. Tripathi has made it clear that he will not take any additional charge as of now. The files were then routed to M M Kutty,the Principal Secretary to the CM,whose office also returned them saying there were no orders at present.

In and out

The season of change continues at the Delhi Secretariat,with the file for the transfers of senior officers,which the Chief Minister had painstakingly stalled till the Budget session,starting to move once again. Transport Commissioner R K Verma and VAT Commissioner Jalaj Shrivastav will be the first casualties. Despite repeated attempts to prevent the move,both officers will be have to join their respective posts outside Delhi soon. It is believed that Verma has already met the Goa Chief Minister and his charge in the state has been finalised. PWD Secretary K K Sharma was also on the verge of being sent to Chandigarh as advisor to the UT administrator,but his transfer has been put on hold. The current advisor to the UT administrator in Chandigarh— Pradip Mehra — is a 1975-batch officer. According to sources,Mehra is slated to retire in March 2012 and will be retained in the post till then. The government did not want to bring him back to Delhi,as he is two years senior to the present Chief Secretary P K Tripathi,a 1977-batch officer. The Delhi government would have found it tough to accommodate Mehra here.

Harvest season

The recent spurt of high-profile scams has brought unexpected cheer to law firms. Apart from fat cheques from top clientele,long queue of law freshers are now seen outside these firms. “Law graduates had been opting for corporate law — considered more lucrative — over the last decade. There was a dearth of freshers taking up the criminal beat,” a senior advocate was heard telling his colleagues the other day after a hearing in court. “With ministers and top babus behind the bars for scam-related offences,criminal lawyers have suddenly become superstars. Many applications are now piled up on my desk.”