Publicity Pays?

The forest department seems to be in denial about the condition of Sunder,the 13-year-old elephant kept in a vacant poultry shed in Warnanagar,25 km from Kolhapur. The Bombay High Court had recently directed the state to follow the Maharashtra Forest Department’s 2012 order to release Sunder to a sanctuary and file a compliance report by December 23. After the order,an officer was overheard saying that Sunder had been tested by vets and seems healthy. The officer was wondering what the sudden fuss was about. This came after PETA had released a video last week showing how Sunder’s handlers had allegedly beaten the elephant and showed the court photos of injury marks on the pachyderm.

TOUGH GOODBYE

Amid the political clamour over the re-auction of India’s first aircraft carrier INS Vikrant,among those sad to see it go to scrap is Western Naval Command Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha. Announcing the auction aboard the INS Viraat on the eve of Navy Day,Sinha said as the last Navy officer to fly an aircraft off INS Vikrant,he was “the saddest person to see

it go.”

PRESS PHOBIA?

A Senior official in the civic health department is known for never answering calls from reporters. However,surprisingly,he did not even answer calls from a corporator. “I don’t know what he’s afraid of. He is wary of answering calls and being quoted,” the corporator said. The corporator said the health official is perhaps waiting for his retirement and is too tired to perform his duties. The corporator contacted him on his landline and asked why he was not interested in checking his mobile phone. The official,in a nonchalant tone,said,“Oh,it was your number. Sorry,I thought koi reporter hoga.”