The Hindu : Inside Delhi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 25, 2002

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Inside Delhi

Spirit of brotherhood

Pained and anguished over the shameful communal riots in Gujarat which claimed many lives and destroyed properties worth crores, the Common Cause man of India, H. D. Shourie, is planning to approach school children with a motto to imbibe in them the spirit of brotherhood and nationhood.

Known for his PILs (public interest litigations) on various issues of interest to the people, Mr. Shourie these days is busy making posters in different languages. These posters would then be pasted in schools of the Capital with the message that it was time to unite India.

``India is one. All religions are one. There is no difference between two human beings. This is the message I want to give to these students,'' Mr. Shourie has been saying to all those who meet him these days.

In fact, a large number of city schools have already agreed to this and are also enthusiastic. The Municipal Commissioner, Rakesh Mehta, is understood to have assured Mr. Shourie to take his posters to the over 1,800 primary schools of the civic body. "This is the need of the hour. Such things need to be encouraged,'' he said.

Fooling the public

How can one have any faith in the Capital's bus operators when they leave no stone unturned to fool the public in every possible way?

Take this case to begin with. Last week, a friend was returning at night from her office in a crowded private bus. As the bus began to cross the ITO bridge towards Laxmi Nagar, the passengers heard something that sounded like a gas leak. The driver confirming their fears yelled that there was indeed a CNG leak and ordered everyone to alight.

The panic stricken passengers started getting off in a hurry and despite all the jostling and pushing, only about half of them managed their way out of the bus. Amid all the confusion, the bus driver announced that it was just a flat tyre. The bus could still move on smoothly, he added to the chagrin of irate passengers.

Yet, with fear writ over their faces, these passengers refused to board the bus again. So, the bus set off with the remaining passengers. After travelling a few metres, the conductor openly celebrated the fact that he had fooled the passengers, many of whom had already paid for their tickets.

In another case, an old woman boarded a bus for Kendriya Terminal on the conductor's word. He even agreed to alert her when the stop would come. But after about twenty minutes when the woman asked the conductor about her stop, the same conductor told her that the bus does not go to Kendriya Terminal. The woman yelled and later cried on top of her voice, but all that the conductor suggested was to get down and board another bus.

Playing spoilsport

Football fever is at its peak in the Capital. With the semi-finals and the grand finale just a few days away, Delhiites, like many people across the globe, are trying to savour every moment of the World Cup telecast.

But enthusiasts here had a harrowing time this past week when they gathered to watch the crucial Brazil versus England match. The major power breakdown due to technical problems at three power stations across the city proved to be a dampener. Western, central and southern parts of Delhi faced a blackout from about 10 a.m., leaving scores of soccer buffs disappointed.

Many enthusiasts had even taken a day off to witness the match, but the power failure ruined all their excitement. Residents of the affected areas made frantic calls to the Delhi Vidyut Board, but to no avail. With no choice left, die-hard fans ran from one corner of Delhi to the other to chance upon a place where they could sit and watch the "top-notch'' game of the tournament.

Though power supply was restored by night in most places, the fuming fans blamed the DVB for playing "spoilsport''.

Tension-free parking

Parking chaos is one thing every Delhiite fears when he or she goes out in a vehicle, be it a visit to the neighbourhood market, auditorium, or even a cinema hall. Pragati Maidan is one such happening place in the Capital which draws lakhs of visitors round the year, but this sprawling place too does not have ample parking space.

Presently, there are a few selective places at different gates of Pragati Maidan, which have been earmarked for parking. However, for lakhs of visitors who throng several exhibitions held throughout the year, the parking space is extremely scant. As a result, hour-long traffic jams is a common scene on roads leading to Pragati Maidan.

However, the good news is that soon there would be no more parking chaos at this place known worldwide for holding specialised exhibitions as a huge space has been provided to the Indian Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), the agency running Pragati Maidan, for developing parking exclusively for visitors.

Now the ITPO will make parking arrangements for around 2,500 vehicles at the vacant land of the Railway Container Depot along the ring road just next to Pragati Maidan. Planners at the ITPO are confident that the space provided would be sufficient to tackle the parking problem easily thus making a visit to Pragati Maidan a tension-free outing.

By Lalit K. Jha and Sandeep Joshi

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