Turning rumour mongers

To the disappointment of several people, many of the tech news these days are 'rumours.' Ironically, even websites which were earlier considered trust worthy, and supposed to provide authentic information about technology, have also jumped on the 'rumour' bandwagon, as much of the tech news is based on 'rumours'. A social media buff said, “It is ironic that when people are looking for reliable information on the web from reputed sites, they are banking on the 'rumour' mills. So what is the difference between an authentic, reliable information sources and rumours or gossip mongers? No difference! But sadly, much of the online media is now becoming rumour multipliers, thus wasting time of readers.”

A (non) smart city 

Even after three years of having been selected to be developed as a smart city by the Centre with yearly funding of Rs 200 crore,  Ludhiana stands nowhere to claim the title of even a partially model city. The urban infrastructure remains shabby, delivery of civic amenities leaves much to be desired and not even a single project under the smart city mission has seen the light of the day. It has taken the governments of the day nearly three years to appoint a full Chief Executive Officer of the SPV (special purpose vehicle) required to execute the projects under smart city mission. Even at this stage, matching annual contribution of Rs 100 crore by the state government seems a distant dream in view of the precarious financial health of the state. Will the city ever become 'smart' — is a million dollar question?

Outsiders entertained

Recently, the Sutlej Club had organised an event in which a leading Punjabi singer was called to entertain the "club members". But it seems the club officials indiscriminately extended invitation to whosoever asked for it! The members, who give monthly subscription were seen struggling to get seats and to have a glimpse of the singer, while the outsiders were seen ruling the club. Be it the youngsters or the middle aged or elderly, the club members looked perturbed to see such huge crowd of outsiders. The stage, meant for the singer and his musical band, was surrounded with crowd. The singer himself made repeated requests to fans that he cannot shake hands with all and avoid taking selfies on the stage! 

Contributed by: Gurvinder Singh, Kuldip Bhatia, Shivani Bhakoo