Snapshots

Water, Water EverywhereGujarat's Water Supply Minister Narottam Patel believes the water crisis in Saurashtra region is a myth. And he act...

Water, Water Everywhere
Gujarat8217;s Water Supply Minister Narottam Patel believes the water crisis in Saurashtra region is a myth. And he actually proved it during a visit to Rajkot. As Patel and his officers made a presentation for the benefit of journalists, the big screen at the conference room came alive with impressive statistics, figures of demand and supply, projections for coming months all falling in place to show that there was plenty of water. Naturally, the minister looked happy: water scarcity was a myth and he had proved it. But hardly had he finished when a barrage of questions stun-ned him.

8220;Where is the water? Why are taps dry? Have you seen the reservoir outside the town? If you have water, why don8217;t you give it? Do you know, we pay 500 rupees every week to tanker drivers? Why don8217;t you come and live here for a few days?8221; Recovering after a while, Patel said meekly: 8220;We will get water.8221; From where, he did not say.

Might Is Right
Under incessant attack forthe sacking of Maharashtra Director General of Police Arvind Inamdar, deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal has received support from unexpected quarters. While just about everybody and his aunt have taken Bhujbal to the cleaners over the last few days for sacking Inamdar on the seemingly innocuous charge of 8220;not acting responsibly8221; 8212; for not visiting Aurangabad after a riot Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray sprung a surprise when he whole-heartedly supported the Government8217;s right to transfer. 8220;No government servant is above the government and the latter8217;s right to transfer is absolute,8221; ruled Thackeray in an editorial in Saamna, of which he is the editor. On second thoughts, maybe it8217;s not all that surprising. Remember Thackeray8217;s penchant for that remote control?

Double Fight
The fight against pollution often suffers due to the much larger evil of corruption. This diarist saw a hard-boiled traffic police officer deftly handle both. In the course of a recent anti-pollution drive in Mumbai8217;ssuburbs, a truck belching black smoke well over the permissible limits had been intercepted by a cop.

The driver got off and began the routine plea bargaining skit. This involved touching the cop on his arm and requesting him to reconsider, for a fee of course. The first time, our man in khaki who was busy scribbling down the truck8217;s particulars, warned him off by touching his holster. The driver initially backed off but persisted. This game continued for a while and our officer had obviously had enough. In one quick Clint Eastwood-style move he unholstered his pistol and held it out while glowering menacingly at the driver. The startled driver got the message and paid up double quick.

Two Holidays And A Festival
Two official holidays for the same festival. That is what happened in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh this time. The State governments first declared January 5 a holiday to commemorate the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru. But, when most Gurdwaras in the Statedid not celebrate the festival on that date, and preferred to celebrate it on January 14. The Government went ahead and declared another holiday on January 14. The entire controversy arose after the introduction of the Nanakshahi calendar by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. This calendar was to decide the dates of all Sikh religious festivals.

The Nanakshahi calendar had arrived at January 5 as the date for celebration. But with the Akal Takhat staying the implementation of the calendar, most people decided to celebrate the occasion on January 14, which was arrived at by the lunar calendar. While the devout were confused at the controversy, employees have never had it so good.