“You might hurt somebody with that umbrella,” a police officer told a journalist as he attempted to enter the fortress that is called the Main Press Centre (MPC) on Monday.
The local journalist had to remove the umbrella and a can of deodorant from his backpack in order to be allowed through the entry point of the MPC.
“The laptop or a camera lens or other equipment that the photographers carry can cause more damage than an umbrella,” one chipped in without being sure whether the policeman would appreciate the comment.
“You won't smash your laptop; it is a costly item,” pat came the reply.
'Orders from the top'
“These orders are coming from the top; we don't know what for these items are being barred. But there is a list that is pasted here,” said another officer. That list contains 30 items including match box, cigarette, ‘gutka' etc.
“How does he get back if it starts raining if he can't carry an umbrella?'
That is of course not the concern of the police. Luckily they allowed the scribe to keep the umbrella at the gate in deposit. That procedure itself is strictly forbidden, but the security men were nice.
“The frisking has been oppressive at the swimming pool,” said a reporter. But that alone has not been the concern of the scribes.
“This is the road to the MPC and the International Broadcasting Centre,” said one volunteer as the mini bus hit a ditch on the road on its way towards Gate No. 10 at the Pragati Maidan that houses the media centres.
Someone had made quite a mess about the choice of entry and exit points to the MPC and the IBC. The path is strewn on either side with scrap, waste and filth.
Filthy entrance
Nothing could have been worse than this. The entry point at Gate No. 10 itself is filthy.
“The foreigners will go back with the impression that this is how you manage a big international event,” the volunteer told his colleague as he balanced himself on the step of the overflowing mini bus.
The security forced journalists to part with their remote for the central locking system of their cars at the opening ceremony on Sunday.
“It costs Rs. 4000 to 5000 to refit it,” said an affected photographer.
“They stopped even pens at Gate No. 14 at the Nehru Stadium last night,” said a television channel crew that had come from Kerala.
The Organising Committee (OC) has lost touch with reality; the Government is effectively in charge of media operations, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) to be specific.
