Smart look

The look of the UT Secretariat in Sector 9 is changing with the times. For the first time, a new block on the line of the corporate office has been completed for the babus sitting on the fourth floor of the building. Employees have been provided separate cabins with attractive look and the design. Old furniture has been replaced with new chairs and tables. Employees are excited about shifting to their new cabins. Some of them even uploaded their pictures sitting in cabins on their social networking handles. The officers hope the new ambience will improve the employees' efficiency. It will also make good impression on the visitors. But how 'smart look' facilitates public is yet to be seen.

Foot note

The other day when Dera Sacha Sauda chief's 'adopted daughter' Honeypreet was produced in a Panchkula court, a 'chappal' (slipper) also caught attention of the media gathered outside the courts complex. After Honeypreet was sent to the Ambala jail, the media started clicking pictures and shooting videos of the 'chappal', believing it was Honeypreet's. Onlookers also started sharing its pictures on the social media. But the footwear lost the importance once it came to light that it was Sukhdeep Kaur, the accomplice of Honeypreet, who was wearing it and not the dera chief's adopted daughter.

Ups and downs

Filing an RTI application in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation is no less a hassle. The applicant has to first register the application at one window on the ground floor of the MC office, then deposit the application fee of Rs 10 at another window on the fourth floor and then go downstairs to the first floor window to deposit the application. If that was not enough a botheration, applicants may have to wait for attendants at the windows, who are often missing from their seats, even during office hours. The harassment will only deter the applicant from filing RTI application at the MC office again.

Respected wife!

When Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi was reading the name of dignitaries on the dais before his speech at the Founder's Day celebrations at Panjab University the other day, he mentioned his wife as "Aadarniye Sumedha ji" (Respected Sumedha ji). The audience broke into laughter. He also mentioned how the other Nobel laureate from PU, Dr Hargobind Khurana, chose to stay in the USA and varsity's connection with the Nobel remained alive with him.

Anganwadis double up as community centres

Anganwadi centres in Mohali villages have serious shortcomings, including lack of space, toilets and ration supplies. These centres are meant to provide supplementary nutrition to children and improve learning outcomes. But the desired purpose has been defeated with these centres routinely being used for marriages and other social functions in villages. These centres perform the function of a community centre. A teacher at one such centre in Kumbra said she had to send children home whenever there was a function in the village.

(Contributed by Ramkrishan Upadhyay, Rajinder Nagarkoti, Sandeep Rana, Bhartesh Singh Thakur & Pavneet Singh Chadha)