Mumbai underground

Deadlines are Forever

EVEN as Railways continues to struggle with approvals from the state government,it has found itself in tricky situations when it comes to project deadlines. A railway officer said the file on the Mumbai Urban Transport Project phase 3 that was sent to Urban Development Department for the state government’s approval in April,had been gathering dust until recently. The file,approved by the board of directors at Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation,continued to remain on the table of a UDD officer for weeks. It was sheer perseverance on the part of clerical staff that managed to save the file from going into a bunch of old papers that were to be sent to a scrap dealer. It is learnt that the file has finally been looked at.

Home,poem,home

THIS year,instead of hiring an expert to compere its lottery of affordable houses,MHADA used in-house talent,IPS officer Ramrao Pawar,Special Inspector General,MHADA Vigilance. Pawar kept the audience entertained by spontaneously reciting shayari in Hindi and Marathi. Whatever the situation was,whether a first-time applicant won a house,or a person got a house after trying for more than five years,or whether applicants had been consistently trying but were still unlucky,he had couplets ready for every occasion. To make the lottery more festive,MHADA had also hired musical instruments such as dhols and a tutari (traditional wind instrument),which were played every time a lottery winner walked to the dais.

‘Decent’ proposal

A senior IAS officer in BMC expressed his reservations on the proposed ban on mannequins saying “it is justified”,especially coming from a certain section of society. Saying all the “chatter and protest” was mostly restricted to the “social media crowd”,he asked how a proposal that questions indecency could be termed regressive. “Children are being exposed to all kinds of things and it should not be considered regressive if one can regulate some of the things displayed in public,” he explained. Considering his official designation,his views on the subject were not shared on record.

‘BANDS’ of contractors

In a BMC standing committee meeting,before clearing a proposal to award a Rs 59 crore contract for filling potholes to the same contractors,corporator members launched a three-hour tirade against the civic administration. Inviting peals of laughter,Congress corporator Pravin Chheda,in his 20-minute speech,likened the road contractors to a mafia. He said,“This band of contractors reminds me of Gangs of Wasseypur.” “This discussion is getting too filmy,” standing committee chairman Rahul Shewale quickly said to bring the meeting back to order.

No Answer

DR Ashok Gupta,plastic surgeon at Bombay Hospital who was treating acid attack victim Preeti Rathi,has seen several victims like her in the past 38 years and is no stranger to difficult press briefings. In a 30-minute session Thursday,two days before Rathi passed away,Dr Gupta spoke about the technical difficulties faced by the medical team as none of the crucial surgeries could be carried out on Rathi owing to her deteriorating condition. But the most difficult moment for Dr Gupta,he said,was to answer the question posed by Rathi on day one. “All the victims have asked me the same question — ‘Why me?’ It’s a question I can never answer,” Dr Gupta said.

Lost Sheen

WITH the recruitment scam denting the image of the Indian Railways severely,the seniormost position of Chairman Railway Board (CRB),which was coveted by many in the bureaucracy,has now become somewhat less desirable. A senior railway official,reflecting on his future prospects,said,“I wish to be anything but the CRB!”