Delhi underground

In escape mode
While the mayhem surrounding the new Bus Rapid Transit corridor reached its peak with trial runs, teething traffic problems and an actual date of inauguration, two people who were rather conspicuous by their absence were the experts who designed it—Dr Dinesh Mohan and Dr Geetam Tiwari. It turned out they were in Mexico last week, attending a global seminar on transport and safety. While their absence initially seemed like an attempt to escape the attention and chaos expected in the wake of the impending inauguration, it turned out that Dr Mohan had made a prior commitment to moderate one of the panel discussions last year and had no choice but to leave the officers to face the criticism and brickbats expected.

What’s in a name?
Is a name a moment’s inspiration or a much-thought after affair? Well, the Delhi High Court recommends the second course of action. Hearing the case of a missing 13-year-old girl, a senior judge on the Bench was “shocked” on hearing the girl’s name—“Nirasha” (disappointment). The judge went on to express his reservations about her parents’ choice and was keen to know the reason behind it. As expected, the lawyer for the parents had an answer ready: “My Lord, she was their fifth daughter.”

Bending the rules
No powder-strewn corridors or faces streaked with colours at DPS, RK Puram this Holi. So students decided to make-do-and-mend: when the bell rang on Thursday afternoon, water bombs were replaced with water bottles, swiftly emptied down unsuspecting backs. And those who thought they could leave the school compound unscathed were ambushed at the paan shop outside. Showering their classmates with concoctions of coke and colours, students set the pace for the festive day ahead.

‘Blacked out’ promises
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati’s home district of Gautam Budh Nagar went without power for close to 20 hours and has been reeling under a shortage ever since. Interestingly, the announcement to make Noida and Greater Noida “power-cut free” came around the same time. The state power minister later visited the power station that had caught fire and ordered the transformer and other equipment to be replaced. But, with the target for restoring a 24-hour power supply to the district set as April 10, officials are beginning to panic. Sources say that even after the supply lines were restored, the district would be falling short of 45 megawatts per day, making it difficult to go without 3-4 hour power cuts on a daily basis. Worse, the adjoining district of Ghaziabad, whose supply was diverted to Noida to ease the crunch through the week, has been reeling under a severe shortage too.

Reward cut
In Y S Dadwal’s regime, officers, it seems, will get nothing more than a pat on their backs for carrying out acts of bravery. Dadwal first cancelled all monetary awards being given to administrative staff and now, he has restricted the money being given to Special Cell and Crime Branch officers. Special Cell officers had sent a proposal for receiving Rs 7.5 lakh as award for arresting dreaded criminal Brajesh Singh. The arrest, it seems, failed to impress Dadwal, who cut down the award money to Rs 1.5 lakh. Such a drastic cut in the award money is unheard of in the Special Cell’s history.