Delhi underground

Check facts,and fiction
Keep no secrets from a doctor or a lawyer. The adage proved true,though in reverse,when a lack of communication between an accused and his lawyer landed the latter in a soup and the former was slapped with a penalty of Rs 2,000. Charged with vehicle theft,the accused had failed to appear before the court on three consecutive hearings,with his lawyer seeking adjournments claiming the mother of the accused had recently died. Out of compassion,when the court later asked the accused about his mother,the judge left shocked when the accused told the court that his mother had died three years ago. Evidently the lawyer and the accused had not tallied their tales.

Talk at your peril
A government school principal was transferred last week after she spoke out against the poor infrastructure at an Urdu-medium school in Northeast Delhi’s Jafrabad area. The principal highlighted the fact that hundreds of students were attending classes in tents or outside because the buildings had been pulled down during mid-session for renovation under the Roopantar Project of the government. While government officials maintain this is an “internal” matter,the principal said she has been asked to report to the deputy director’s office and wasn’t given any particular reason for the sudden transfer. She said she had been at the school for only nine months. Incidentally,the principal had even issued statements to the media about the poor infrastructure of her school and state of Urdu-medium schools in the city.   

Stray solution
All of Capital’s civic bodies are busy executing various projects for the beautification of the city before the Commonwealth Games. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi,meanwhile,is struggling with a ‘stray’ problem. In a recent House meeting,councillors spent over two hours discussing the need for a special rule to “rid” the Capital of stray animals,including the “most annoying pigs and rats”.

In slow motion
The domino effect of the accidents at the Metro construction site in Zamrudpur is just beginning to surface. With some senior official placed under suspension by DMRC chief E Sreedharan,sources in the corporation said that the work has taken a beating.

Half-hearted protest
It’s not pleasant having to wait for a gathering,and later have only a few faces make up the numbers,but the Delhi Police is not complaining. As more than 100 cops waited for human rights activists to assemble in large numbers outside NHRC building to protest the Commission’s report on the Batla House encounter,around 20 protesters turned up — that too 45 minutes late. The protesters also included some British nationals who are interning with NGOs here. Finally,when the protesters sat down on the road,the British interns could be seen heading back to their cars. 

Advantage: power thieves
With the withdrawal of CISF personnel from the power distribution companies,Delhi discoms may have to rethink their strategy for nabbing the ever-persistent power thieves. Since many power thefts are reported from hostile areas,discom officials are afraid to venture out without security. An official from a Delhi discom candidly admitted that they may have to stop conducting manual raids in areas prone to power theft — a move that will surely light up the eyes of power thieves.