The Hyderabad Police, for once, seem to have taken their tagline, “people-friendly police”, a little too seriously.
Last week, when hundreds of ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists) workers were protesting in the State capital to mount pressure on the government to accept their list of demands, the police behaved in a certain manner, which was amusing as well as surprising for media persons covering the programme.
On one hand, the policemen were seen foiling the protests and bundling the ladies inside the police vans and on the other hand, they were also seen distributing water packets to these very agitators.
Since it’s summer and the lady protesters were tirelessly raising slogans, we did not want them to be dehydrated, was the police officials’ explanation for this kind gesture.
A letdown for scribes
What was meant to be an exclusive interaction with select reporters in the city turned out to be a big letdown for scribes who had travelled from one end of the city to the other just to meet Union Minister Harsh Vardhan.
The minister, who was already into his address at a research lab when the media arrived, shied away from taking questions, citing another commitment; a meeting of BJP party workers scheduled last minute was offered as an apology by the organisers.
Miffed with the Union Minister as he had not given them the exclusive interaction promised, the reporters looked at their notes from the address to sift out news.
To their horror, they realised what was said was a mere repetition of what was said a day before!
Bakers go all out!
Come Muharram and bakers go all the way to attract people to ‘dum-ke-rote’, a cookie now associated with the first month of the Islamic calendar.
Although there is no religious significance to it, local customs bring people to bakeries.
But every year, a question arises as to which bakery offers the best cookie. While a few say the rote prepared by a bakery in Nampally tops the chart, the others vouch for the ones prepared at Chaderghat and Mozamjahi market. A few just regard their local bakers as the best.
Many feel it is time some persons come forward and organise a contest so that people participate and get to taste which baker’s product is good.
Of power supply and marriages
A connection between power supply and performance of marriages? Looks like an attempt to link two different subjects but Union Minister of State for Home, Haribhai P. Chaudhary, has a different tale to tell.
In the initial stages of Narendra Modi’s regime as Gujarat Chief Minister, public representatives were flooded with requests for continuous power supply. “Please give uninterrupted power to our village for one hour so that we complete 10 marriages scheduled at that time,” they would plead.
Recalling this at a meeting recently in city, Mr. Chaudhary claimed that within a few years, Mr. Modi had improved the power situation in Gujarat.
The Minister proudly claims that now the BJP government is giving 24-hour power supply in that State. Perform any number of marriages now, he said.
Hope Mr. Chaudhary’s government at the Centre repeats similar success in road accident deaths and farmers’ suicides.
Reporting by Rahul Devulapalli, Rohit PS, Asif Yar Khan and Marri Ramu
