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Ahmedabad:
A Neat Job From being the
country's first woman IPS officer, to earning the sobriquet 'Crane' Bedi, the adviser to
the Lt-governor of Delhi continues to make news. Kiran Bedi's latest vow was that she
would not rest till she had cleaned up the surroundings of the house in which Mahatma
Gandhi was born in Gujarat's Porbandar. Here to attend a function last month, Bedi was
appalled at the filth and stench surrounding the Mahatma's birthplace: the result of
fishermen drying their catch in the area. Typically, she swung into action, seeking
redress through a writ petition in the Supreme Court.
In Porbandar last week with three senior lawyers in tow, Bedi
held meetings with local and state Fisheries Department officials, fishing industry
representatives and fishermen. Among the options discussed was a scientific method that
would ensure that the area did not reek of fish even as the catch was being dried.A report
will be sent to the state Government for further action. Bedi's approach has convinced the
fishermen that the source of their livelihood will not be targeted by the cleanliness
drive. As the high-profile policewoman says, "Where there is a will, there is always
a way."
Bhopal: Flights
of Fancy
As managing director of the state Leather Development
Corporation, senior ias officer S.K. Dixit went to Las Vegas last year to attend a trade
fair. Dixit, accompanied by his chairman Ramkishan Ahirwar, had a whale of a time until
the two reached New York on their way back. There, Ahirwar, a grassroots politician, lost
his bag -- containing over $2,500 (Rs 1 lakh) -- at the airport. Part of the money had
been taken by Ahirwar as travel advance from the corporation. When the company started
proceedings to recover the money, Ahirwar said the bag was "stolen" by Dixit's
New York-based daughter-in-law who had come to see them off at the airport. The charge
made Dixit run for cover. Last week, the two made up -- the politician sermonising about
having forgiven the babu.
Bangalore: Running on Remote
Here's a case of stretching the joys of technology too far.
For four months every year, Ramanath Cowsik, director of the Indian Institute of
Astrophysics (IIA) at Bangalore, handles his job in his own way: through faxes and
telephone calls from the US, where he has taken up an assignment as a visiting McDonnell
professor. So what if it leaves the institute without a head? A section of the staff and
students at the IIA -- which comes under the Centre's Department of Science and
Technology(DST) -- has, however, begun to object to Cowsik's disappearance since there's
no acting director in his absence, by itself a violation of the institute's rules.
Especially delayed by Cowsik's absence is the setting up of a DST-funded Rs 20 crore
telescope at Hanle in Ladakh that is supposed to be completed this year. Cowsik, though,
has his own argument: "I am on deputation from the Tata Institute of Fundamental
Research (TIFR) where I had the US assignment every year for several years," he says,
"and the same terms were accepted at the time of my deputation to the IIA."
Meanwhile, the students and staff at the IIA carry on with their work, without a director.
Calcutta: New Lesson
No English please, we're Marxists. Jyoti Basu, whose
government's dogmatic insistence on primary education in the mother tongue has rendered a
generation of Bengalis uncompetitive, almost admitted to another "historic
blunder" recently. At the inauguration of the Calcutta Book Fair, the chief minister
hinted that there may be a rethink in favour of English and that it may be introduced at
the Class III stage instead of the present Class VI. The shift in the Government's stance
may have been necessitated by growing evidence of public disagreement. Scores of
government primary schools are without students and private English-medium schools are
thriving because of the Marxists' double standards in favour of the
"English-educated". Bengalis would appreciate it if Basu rectifies the blunder
soon.
Chandigarh: Helping Hand
The tumultuous response to their first joint rally in Rohtak
on January 28 delayed the take-off of both Sonia Gandhi and Congress chief Sitaram Kesri.
The two Pawan Hans helicopters were to land in Delhi before 2.00 p.m. But a heavy rush in
the skies delayed the landing by about half an hour, in violation of security restrictions
-- a week-long ban from January 26 on all non-scheduled flights during specific hours in
view of the Republic Day celebrations. Civil aviation officials immediately cancelled the
licences of the four senior pilots, pending an inquiry. Their plea that they couldn't have
left Sonia at Rohtak didn't cut much ice. However, things were sorted out after 10 Janpath
stepped in, pulling strings in the Home Ministry. Thanks to Sonia's helping hand, the
charges against the pilots were dropped, and the delay blamed on the Air Traffic
Controller.
Chandigarh: Playing Spoilsport
Like in other sports in the country, politics won the day at
the famous "rural Olympics" that Kila Raipur, a Punjab village, has hosted for
the last seven decades. The 65th version of the games fell victim to a clash between the
organisers and supporters of local Akali MLA J. S. Garcha even before it could start on
February 1, much to the dismay of the 5,000 competitors, including teams from Britain,
Canada and the US. The row stems from attempts by the ruling Akali Dal men to gain control
of the games which has become a money-spinner in recent years, thanks to media exposure
and corporate sponsorship. The organisers protested against the Akalis' move to use the
games -- it draws about 10 lakh spectators -- as propaganda for the elections.
"Politics has played spoilsport," says former hockey Olympian Sukhbir Singh
Grewal, one of the organisers. There are moves to take the matter to court. But that's bad
publicity for a unique sporting tradition.
Delhi: Humbled Raja
After Sonia Gandhi entered the campaign, former prime
minister V.P. Singh went out of his way to treat her with kid gloves. Even as his friends
in the uf simmered, Singh announced that she couldn't be held responsible for the Bofors
scandal. At a Rashtrapati Bhavan reception recently, Singh and wife Sita Devi moved chairs
to sit next to Sonia and chat with her. The Raja thought the lady -- who has long held
Singh responsible for the lax security that led to Rajiv's assassination -- had been
mollified. Then came Sonia's blistering attack in Amethi, virtually indicting Singh's
government for facilitating Rajiv's murder. Now, UF leaders are giving him the
"we-told-you-so" looks, and comrade H.S. Surjeet refers to his prolonged illness
obliquely -- hinting that Singh's utterances about Sonia did not reflect the UF's views.
Jaipur: Courting Trouble
It turned out to be a costly dialogue for the Ramjane crew
and cast, including Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla. Aggrieved over Khan's remarks against
lawyers in the film, some lawyers of Kota filed a defamation suit against the entire crew
of the film last year. The defendants moved the Rajasthan High Court seeking exemption
from personal appearance. But the court asked them to first file the petition before the
trial court within a month. Used as they are to arriving late for shoots, the stars filed
their application only in November. The result: the trial court judge recently dismissed
their exemption petitions and issued bailable warrants for March 24. The people of Kota
are now awaiting their favourite stars' "personal appearance". As for the
lawyers, all they wanted was a "genuine apology", but now it's a matter of
principle. What happens next, only Ramjane (God knows).
Mumbai: Playing Favourites
As the term of Maharashtra Governor P.C. Alexander expired on
January 18, there is a flurry of activity in the Prime Minister's Office to install
another favourite of I.K. Gujral at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai. Since the caretaker Gujral
Government succeeded in installing A.P. Mukherjee and T.R. Satishchandran as governors in
Mizoram and Goa respectively, there are many who are eyeing such coveted appointments.
Alexander has made it clear that he is not willing to continue further and wants to be
relieved. Gujral is equally happy as he could get another favourite installed in a state
capital. But this time, Gujral wants a Punjabi, having obliged a Bengali and a South
Indian. Obviously, to send a message to his voters in Jalandhar. But will the President
oblige ?
Mumbai: Lord of the Internet
The gods can now enter not just the hearts and minds of the
devout, but also their PCs. And leading the way is Lord Ganesh who recently acquired an
address in cyberspace: http://www.siddhivinayak.org. The 200-year-old Siddhivinayak temple
in Mumbai has just got a website of its own. On offer is a complete multi-media prayer
package -- from an opening hymn to a frontal view of the temple, followed by images of the
Ganesh idol, a photo-album of the 108 Ganesh shrines and images of aarti being performed
with a full rendition of the hymns. "It's a way to reach people who are very far
away," says Pradeep Bhide, temple trustee.
Apparently, off-hand suggestions by visiting NRIs -- the
temple attracts three crore devotees annually -- prompted the project that took nine
months to develop. Purists may balk at the concept of praying to a pixel image of Ganesh
but Bhide says the response so far has been very encouraging. But, of course, there's more
to the website than just adding a touch of divinity to the Net. Topmost on the agenda of
the temple is to have a fool-proof method for devotees to transmit donations through
credit cards -- they can then request for an on-line puja. Connecting to God obviously has
never been easier.
Patna: Resigned to their Fate
Even the elite civil services seem to lose its sheen when it
involves a posting in Bihar -- such is the image crisis that this lawless state suffers
from. The latest indicator of the degeneration comes in the form of the resignation of
Vikram Handa, an Indian Police Service (IPS) probationer. Handa's parents compelled him to
put in his papers after news of the state's latest massacres -- at Laxmanpur-Bathe and
Rampur-Chauram in Jehanabad -- reached them. In fact, even the officer's fiancee, a native
of Karnataka, refused to marry him once she heard that her future husband had been
allotted the Bihar cadre.
Handa was among the nine IPS officers of the 1996 batch who
were given the Bihar cadre. Apparently, the Jehanabad killings had shocked the young
police officers, many of whom were new to the state. But what seemed to have triggered the
panic was the suspension of Jehanabad SP A.S. Rajan. It shattered the confidence of many
officers like Handa -- a topper in his batch -- who thought they too could one day become
scapegoats for their political masters. Handa, though, has cited "family
problems" for his decision to resign. In the past, senior IPS officers like Arun
Narayan Singh and Ajoy Kumar had quit the services to join the private sector, while
fellow officers Yashwant Sinha of the IAS and Syed Shahabuddin of the Indian Foreign
Service had resigned to join politics.
Handa, the son of a retired brigadier, was reportedly under
pressure from his parents after he was posted as assistant sp at Bhagalpur last December.
His mother, in fact frequently called his immediate superior, SP M.V. Rao, to enquire
about her son's well-being. Handa had spent barely a week in Bhagalpur, a town known for
its mass blindings and the worst ever riots in the 1980s, when he went home on leave. He
later sent his resignation letter from Bangalore. Says Rao: "I tried my best to
convince him and his parents, but unfortunately it did not work." A sad comment on
the state of affairs in Bihar. |
