Mumbai Underground

Air apparent
Winner of Mumbai North-East Lok Sabha seat, BJP’s Dr Kirit Somaiya, recently conceded that it was the NaMo ‘tsunami,’ which had worked its magic all over the country. The newly-elected MP was also touched by a superstition that his son Neil and his best friend “sported” for a month to bring good luck to him.

“Neil and his friend believed if they do not shave their beard till the declaration of election results, it will bring me good fortune,” said Dr Somaiya. Neil said the belief signified “love and confidence” in his father’s fate. “It was only after the news of his victory that I decided to shave. I did not want to look chikna,” quipped Neil, who is the general secretary of the BJP Yuva Morcha in Mumbai. The junior Somaiya can now celebrate his father’s victory by putting a razor to good use.

Sweet success
EVEN as the Shiv Sena was edging closer to victory in the Mumbai South constituency, sources close to the Sena candidate Arvind Sawant were not sure whether to start distributing sweets or stay put until the final results were out. “Let’s wait till the last few counting rounds are over, just to be sure,” a Sena volunteer was seen telling another volunteer.

“Even we were not expecting so many votes. The Modi factor played beyond our expectations,” a source from the party said. Sawant was visibly surprised with a sweeping victory in a constituency where the Congress has had an upper hand. “Milind Deora had won the Lok Sabha elections for the past two terms. This time it is clear people want a change,” he said after the results were announced.
HAPPY ENDING
A COUPLE from Uttar Pradesh recently approached the Mumbai police crime branch saying that their young daughter had gone missing and was last traced to Mumbai, triggering investigation spurred by the lingering memories of a recent case in which a techie from Andhra Pradesh was murdered.

After two whole days of tracking cellphones and shaking down informants, all of it under the radar as the case came with reference from a senior police officer, the investigating team finally found out that the girl had eloped with her Mumbai-based boyfriend as she knew her parents would never agree to an inter-caste marriage. The police then gave the parents a dressing down for driving their daughter to such extremes due to their stubbornness.

The frightened father wasted no time and gave his consent for the marriage the same evening. He also personally delivered a box of sweets to the investigating team the next day.

ESCALATING FEARS
THE newly-constructed escalator at platform number 5 of Andheri station has been more of an exhibit than a commuter-friendly addition to the railway station.

Although the escalator, the first-ever at the busy station on Western Railway, has been open to public for over a week, at most times of the day, passersby stand by it in the hope of hopping on to it but eventually end up taking the good, old concrete staircase down to the platform. Most of them fear that they may topple off the escalator or that it might cease functioning. The escalator that has very few takers yet, may take longer to instil confidence in the minds of railway commuters.

‘Weighty’ issue
APART from triggering heated debates between corporators, the BMC’s standing committee meetings can also show various sides of corporators, sometimes causing much embarrassment to their leaders. On Tuesday, as standing committee chairman Yashodhar Phanse’s chair cracked a bit, it fuelled comments on the ‘weight’ of the prestigious chair. And as other corporators deliberated over issues plaguing the city, one corporator, who could perhaps not bear the wait, was spotted watching a video that had gone viral on YouTube.