The Hindu : Inside Delhi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 17, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Inside Delhi

ITBP calendar

As part of the golden jubilee celebrations of man's first ascent to Mount Everest, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has brought out a calendar for 2004 dedicated to the determination, dedication and spirit of adventure of the mountaineers of this para-military force.

In fact, the ITBP, which was raised in 1962, has made a significant contribution in the field of mountaineering and has the unique distinction of scaling Everest five times. The Force has the privilege of having 14 Everesters including a woman officer. The only two Indians who have climbed both Mt. Everest and Kanchanjunga are ITBPeans.

The Himveers have climbed more than 140 national and international peaks including 50 virgin peaks. Some of the important national peaks successfully scaled by the ITBP are Kanchanjunga (8586 mtrs), Nand Pal (8266 mtrs), Nanda Devi (7385 mtrs), Kamet (7756 mtrs), Sasar Kangri ranges (7672 mtrs), Nanda Devi East (7434 mtrs), Rimo ranges (7385 mtrs), Mana ranges (7273 mtrs), Hardeol (7150 mtrs), Chaukhamba (7138 mtrs), Nun (7135 mtrs), Pyramid (7123 mtrs), Nun Kun (7087 mtrs), Trishul (7045 mtrs), Sato Panth (7035 mtrs) and Aqtash (7016 mtrs).

The notable international peaks scaled by the ITBP personnel are Demavand (Iran), Mt. Fujiyama (Japan), Mt. Tateyama (Japan), Mt. Aqankagua (South America) and Mt. Meckenley (North America). The special calendar brought out by the ITBP commemorates its glorious saga in mountaineering.

Highway map

How about knowing the shortest distance to a far-off city, its distance from any other city, important tourist centres around it and the highway running through or close to it - and all within 30 seconds? It might sound unbelievable, but Shahnas Palazhi of Calicut, Kerala, has come out with a unique technique for locating 2000 cities of India in no time.

He has come out with a highway map of India, "Any City On Any Highway In Seconds'', that seeks to facilitate easy identification of any city on any highway. For this, the map - which is now figuring at the stall of Shahanas Publications at the ongoing World Book Fair in New Delhi-- has been divided into many intersections which have been formed by criss-crossing of different national highways and has been numbered orderly from 1 to 83. Similarly, the intersection in the North-Eastern States have been marked A to S.

With the help of this basic structure the book, which has a map attached to it, helps the user find out various leading cities and their distance from others.

Giving a list of cities and the hints to locate them on the map, the book also lists the towns falling on all the highways and their distances from others on the same route. Similarly, it provides the details of all the state highways with the towns and cities located on them and the distances been them.

The handy map book also enlists 290 important centres of historical and tourist attraction. It makes a special reference of New Delhi and gives details of 11 must-see places here. And by providing a list of the major lakes and reservoirs, national parks and sanctuaries it makes for a complete reference and travel guide book.

Cop's new slogan

With the Delhi police out to woo the Capital's citizens, it is time for some fresh advertising which make the point directly. So while the traditional "With You, For You. Always" line continues to describe the Delhi police, the slogan of "Citizens First" is fast gaining ground.

Over the past fortnight since the new Police Commissioner announced that the motto would be "Citizens First", advertisements related to various aspects of police-public interface have been prominently carrying the slogan.

The usual mundane, business-like approach of the Delhi police in warning the people of certain dangers and coming out with a list of Dos and Don'ts is also becoming more humane. Through the advertisements, the Delhi police are trying to convey to the citizens the hardships - which, unfortunately, never really come to the fore - faced by personnel in keeping the city secure.

But catchy taglines come with the risk of being turned on their head if things go wrong. In fact, "With You, For You, Always" slogan is often used to make a sarcastic comment about some misdemeanour on the part of the police.

Another slogan, which might see a rather welcome change, is "Lane Driving, Sane Driving". The tableau of traffic police displayed at the Raising Day Parade today, which showcased the Delhi Traffic police's various initiatives in traffic control, had the slogan changed to "Lane Driving, Safe Driving". It only made sense to appeal to the people that what was being suggested to them was meant for their own good and was not a comment on their mental ability.

In these times of advertising, such innovations would hopefully keep the Delhi police in good stead as far as their image among the public of being a sleek force is concerned. In the long run, though, the quality of the product would alone count.

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