Magic on the road

It happened during the reign of the same prime minister and, ironically enough, as a result of the steps taken by him to tighten up the system. Rajiv Gandhi created a new ministry of progamme implementation. A road was being constructed in Assam and a team was scheduled to come and check out the claim that a couple of kilometres had been added to it. 8220;Of course, it was a false claim and we were in a fix since the time at our disposal was only three days. Our gang of five,8221; one of them recalled later, 8220;were swindlers. Now, disaster stared us in the face. All of us would be suspended. An inquiry would drag us through the dirt. Then a dismissal from our jobs. The more we pondered, the worse appeared to be our fate.8221;

Wasn8217;t there a way out 8212; a piece of road duly done up?

8220;A day passed. Our blood pressures rose a notch higher. Four of the group had assembled again. We sat motionless! Then arrived our fifth colleague.8221; 8216;8216;Well guys, there is one way we can save our necks!8217;8217; he announced. The foursome looked up in disbelief. 8220;What is it?8221; they shouted. 8220;That is a secret for the time being, but if you agree, we will have to shell out one lakh each. And leave the rest to me.8217;8217; The deal was okayed.

The inspection team arrived by a chopper and taxied to the relevant spot. There was the piece of road, shiny and clean, stretching as far as the eye could see. The milestones bore testimony to the newly added kilometres. Satisfied, the visitors flew back. The group hugged the saviour but could not guess how the magic had been done. Next day, the saviour had a visitor.

8220;I am the taxi driver who drove you yesterday. Where is my cut?8221; 8216;8216;What are you talking about?8221; asked the saviour. 8216;8216;Well, you uprooted the milestones, fixed them elsewhere and collected five lakh in the exercise. I must get a lakh as my share!8217;8217;

The saviour weighed the pros and cons. He went in, returned with a packet of currency notes and handed them to the driver, 8220;Ok. This is the end of the story. Forget all about it and don8217;t talk of it to anyone! Clear?8221;

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