Some silence please
As the city remains gripped in the clutches of exam fever, it seems that even the Delhi Metro could not escape its deadly hold for a while. As Delhi Metro Rail Corporation continues to tunnel its way through the city day and night, our VIPs were worried about the study hours of their children being disrupted by the cling-clang of the Metro’s gadgets. The Result: Metro officials are getting constant “requests” to keep the volume down, the latest from an SC judge bothered about the effect of the noise coming from the site of the upcoming Race Course Metro station. Bound by a tight schedule, Metro officials claim they can’t stop work, but will definitely try to tip-toe their way around it.

Outstation MLA
It seems Gurgaon has a seasonal MLA. As per reports and the staff at Congress MLA Dharambir Gaba’s office and residence, “If you want to meet sahib you should come during winter.” Sources say that Gaba’s son is settled abroad and every year with the onset of summer, Gaba heads west to beat the heat. He does visit his constituency in between, but more often than not, his work and home wear a deserted look as soon as the sweaters and blankets are put into closets. Last week, a distressed villager went to meet Gaba thrice till he was finally told that ‘his Excellency’ would now only be available after October. Well, when it gets hot, the MLA simply gets going.

Selective ‘news’ network
Censorship prevails on YUNI-net, an online social networking group, which connects expatriates across the Capital. Last week Newsline reported that recent aberrant filtering of messages in this eight-year-old portal has created a schism among members, giving rise to an offshoot, Delhi-net. So subscribers of both groups decided to conduct a little experiment, posting the Newsline story to members in each. Funnily enough, while it reached subscribers of Delhi-net, the article didn’t find its way to YUNI-net. One member plans to complain about the ‘undemocratic’ state of affairs to the service provider, Yahoo Groups.

All work and no play
Joint Commissioner (Crime) Alok Verma is a busy man with the list of his responsibilities getting longer by the day. Airports, which have always been under Joint Commissioner (Operations), have also been handed over to Verma.
The absence of Joint Commissioner (Operations) has been cited as the reason for transferring airports to Verma, but insiders say that it is a permanent change to help the Joint Commissioner (Crime) get a plump portfolio. Guess, sometimes you do pay a price for being the blue-eyed boy.

Coffee table celebrations
The Delhi Development Authority is publishing a coffee-table book to commemorate its golden jubilee. The book, which is likely to cost a hefty Rs 4,000, will list all major projects undertaken by the DDA in the past 50 years. Likely to be out some time next month, the DDA hopes the book will highlight its achievements. However, among DDA members the project is a bit of a concern, “Who will be able to afford a book that costs so much and why all the secrecy around it if it is meant to highlight our achievements?” a senior DDA member was heard remarking.