Delhi Underground

Censored news
Inside Tihar Jail,inmates were given newspapers after officials had cut out news reports of an undertrial getting pregnant inside the jail in May this year. The cable connection was also cut off when news of the pregnancy flashed,a few inmates said. The 35-year-old Tihar inmate,an undertrial since 2008,was taken to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for medical termination of pregnancy. She was two-and-a-half months pregnant. “So much for our rights,” an inmate said. “We only get to read positive stories about Tihar and when it is bad news,it is censored.”

Illegal mining
After media reported seven trucks being seized by the Gurgaon Vigilance Department on October 28 for allegedly transporting illegal mining material,the Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner constituted a district task force under the chairmanship of the ADC to check cases of illegal mining. After visiting the areas in Shikohpur,Sakatpur,Darbaripur,Naurangpur,Bargurjar,Nainwal,Kakrola-Gwalior,Sahravan,Kho,Kasan,Manesar and Raisina,the team said “no excavation was seen”. It was,however,evident that the road blocks — supposedly put in place to prevent trucks and dumpers from reaching mining site — were hurriedly placed as the branches posing as obstruction on road were freshly cut. District officials,meanwhile,gave a clean chit to illegal mining activities being carried out in these regions. The district administration was quick to issue a press release for the same. Asked to comment on the Vigilance Department report,the ADC declined.

‘Frivolous’ appeal
It is not only those accused cases and the police who receive a rap from courts for their lapses. A complainant drew severe flak from the court after he dared to move an application,asking for a speedy decision in the case by framing penal charges against the accused. Taking strong exception to the move,the magistrate at Karkardooma made it clear to the man that he was aware of the duty to expeditiously decide the case and that the complainant had no legal standing “to advice the court as to what should be done and what not”. The magistrate then threw out his application terming it to be “frivolous” and cautioned him against filing such pleas in the future. Notably,the criminal case has been pending since 2003 and the court is still to frame penal charges.

Ice-breaker
At the inauguration of an English training programme for Delhi Home Guards,attendees were taken aback when the instructor chose to speak exclusively in English. The 60 men assembled in the hall soon lost interest when the trainer chose to flaunt his heavily-accented language and make an impression rather than explain concepts. However,he slipped soon enough and delivered a “Hinglish” line that his audience understood.

BSES power plant
Having been constantly hounded by controversy over the last few months,discom BSES has truly had its annus mirabilis and a bit of good news probably would not hurt. One way for BSES to rectify its waning image is to speed up the process of setting up its proposed 1,400-MW power plant — the largest of its kind in Delhi — for which the discom has already been allotted land. The only hitch is that while DDA has cleared the allotment on paper,there are pockets of unauthorised populace on the land that need to be rehabilitated by the land owning authority before the BSES can begin work. Considering the pace at which the DDA is moving,it looks like the BSES may have to wait a long time.

Not keeping count
While the departments preparing for the 2010 Commonwealth Games seem to have already switched to the fast gear,amid fears of embarrassment and running behind schedule,the organising committee,led by Suresh Kalmadi,seems to have lost track of time,literally. After a spate of efforts last year to keep a tab on the deadline by fixing tickers on buses and counters across the city,the committee has stopped updating the number of days left for the event on its official website. The counters set up at The Ashoka Hotel,too,have been out of action since the last 10 months.