Beyond the headlines in Pune

The hospitable Ralegan Siddhikars 
Villagers from any state in India are the most generous and hospitable of people. This was on display in Ralegan Siddhi too on August 16, the day Anna Hazare was arrested and whisked away to Tihar jail.

His fellow villagers, enraged by the government’s act, blocked the state road that runs through their village. They also shut all shops and eateries and decided to observe a day-long fast.

Even as the large group of mediapersons, both electronic and print, who had braved a highway blockade to reach the village, was worrying about their lunch, the village sarpanch announced on the microphone: “Brothers and sisters from the media, do not worry. We have made arrangements for your lunch at the school hostel. Kindly go and have your lunch.”

The alert Puneri
The citizens of Pune are known for their alertness and knowledge of rules. Officials of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) got a taste of this alertness recently.

A PMC team was undertaking the demolition of hoardings using gas cutters to cut the steel structures. But they had to stop work suddenly, when an alert Puneri pointed out that the gas being used for the cutter was from a domestic gas cylinder. PMC officials hastily requisitioned industrial cylinders and continued with the work. Moral of the story: Never take an alert Puneri lightly.
 
Arm twisting, media ishtyle
Time is precious for journalists in the evening. It is deadline time and every minute counts. Recently, one of our colleagues was filing a report on the death of a prominent citizen.

However, the mandatory official quote from the doctors of the hospital was not forthcoming. The hospital receptionist refused to connect our colleague to the doctor concerned.

Exasperated, our colleague then decided to do some arm-twisting. She told the receptionist that as she was filing a negative report about the hospital, and the doctor’s quote was mandatory.

The ploy worked like magic. She was promptly connected to the doctor. Our colleague apologised to the doctor about the arm-twisting, but the doctor just brushed it aside with a laugh.

Bribe? Nah, just speed money!
Even as the anti-corruption movement gathers steam across the country, corruption and bribery seem to have become part of our daily lives. Recently, one of our colleagues was shocked to see a prosperous looking businessman blatantly pushing a crisp 500-rupee note into a government clerk’s pocket. The note was presumably to facilitate the movement of a file.

When our colleague questioned the businessman about the issue, the man was nonplussed. He said, “Aare yeh toh bribe nahin hain. This is only speed money. Only under-the-table payments of over Rs1 lakh qualify as bribes.”
 
‘Off-the-record’ means ‘cell switched off’ too
The issue of illegal constructions in Pimpri-Chinchwad has been making news for some time now.

Our civic reporter recently tried to get a low-down on the issue from a senior PCMC official. After much humming and hawing, the official said, “Please, I am not supposed to talk about this. You need to speak with someone else about this.” And he promptly cut the call.
Not one to give up, our determined reporter got back to the official on another phone number. When asked why he had cut the call and switched off his phone, the official said, “As the matter is off-the-record, we have been instructed to switch off our phones!”
 
The shoe is on the other foot
Recently, one of our colleagues was invited as a resource person for a training workshop for government officers. The organisers had kept their fingers crossed as the media and government officials are usually at loggerheads with each other. They had expected sparks to fly.

The organisers watched with bated breath as our scribe took her position on the dais for the question & answer session with the
officers.

Our colleague greeted the officials and said that it was a lovely opportunity for her to interact with so many government officers at one time. One of the officers promptly responded by saying, “We are enjoying this. Normally, the media grills us. Today, we can grill you.”
 
(Contributed by Rahul Chandawarkar, Dinesh Thite, Partha Sarathi Biswas, Archana Dahiwal and Bhagyashree Kulthe. Compiled by Rahul Chandawarkar)