Lucknownama

Mace of Hanuman for battle on terror
Obama might have won the world8217;s top job, but to help him execute it, a city-based institute is invoking the blessings of Lord Hanuman. The students of Sardar Bhagat Singh College of Technology are sending the 8220;gada8221; of Lord Hanuman to the US President-elect all the way to Chicago. One of the functions of the weapon would ostensibly be to fight terror 8212; their congratulatory letter makes a special mention of the fact that they depend on Obama to win the battle against terror that was begun by Bush. The college authorities have completed all the groundwork to ensure that Obama receives the gift. College Vice-Chairman Pankaj Singh Bhadauriya said: 8220;Obama is currently residing in Chicago. I have got his Chicago address where the gift is being sent through courier service.8221;

Seat sharing? The matter of pact
Trust Mayawati and her style of politics. Now, how does one justify the nomination of Akhilesh Das for the Rajya Sabha polls, who has spent a crore in his Lok Sabha election campaign for the Lucknow seat? Questions are bound to be asked 8212; is there any secret understanding between Mayawati and the BJP over seat, which is currently held by Atal Bihari Vajpayee? If the grapevine is to be believed, then Mayawati has reached a tacit understanding with the BJP and Vajpayee is most likely to contest from this seat once again in the forthcoming elections. For the BJP, it was an uphill task to find an alternative to Vajpayee and losing this seat to a greenhorn like Das would have sent a negative message for the party desperately waiting to grab power at the Centre. As for Mayawati, the onus is on her to prevent the Congress-led UPA, backed by the Samajwadi Party, from coming to power. So it8217;s not a bad bargain for her to back the NDA bandwagon.

Polio resurgence? Centre8217;s fault
Why work when you can blame it on others?
The state government seems to be in no mood to pay heed to the resurgence of polio P1 virus 8212; the most virulent type 8212; in the Badaun district.
Health organisations from across the world have proven that negligence in conducting the polio immunisation drive during the first quarter has led to the present resurgence.
Interestingly, following the pressure from Centre as well as media to take action, the government sent transfer orders to the district Chief Medical Official for negligence in conducting the polio drive.
But rather than ensuring quick identification of the cases and increased routine immunisation activities in the area, the state government is busy blaming the Centre for not taking action or formalising any separate strategy for the state.
Asked about polio eradication in the state, a senior officer of the state Health Department associated with the polio eradication says: 8220;We did our best. Changes in the strategies have to be made by the Centre and they are not reacting fast.8221;

Blood brothers in jail
Now, imagine this: camaraderie between jail authorities and its inmates 8212; that, too through blood donation.
The latest missive to jail authorities by the prison department asking them to donate blood has left the officials amused. For each unit of blood they would donate, some inmate facing medical emergency would be treated.
Those who have to donate blood see no rationale behind this decision. But on the other hand, the bosses hope that the noble deed will help promote brotherhood among the inmates and the jail officials.