Punjab diary: Lying low till dust settles down

Gurdaspur: Very few men have the virtue to withstand the highest bidder. The rest just buckle in at the sight of the moolah. Officers engaged in making a quick buck were clearly unnerved when news spread that a couple of IAS officers, often referred to as “men of unimpeachable integrity”, left the shores of the country after the Vigilance sleuths turned on the heat. The recent arrest of a few ex-ministers has also proved that these sleuths are in no mood to relent. The consensus among senior officers now is to lie low till the dust settles down. One bureaucrat even went to the extent of saying, “Honest officers are not scared. It is just reminding certain that ‘Jaisee karnee, waisee bharni’.”

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All’s well that ends well

Batala: Three years ago when more than two dozen people died following a blast at an illegal firecracker unit, the administration had gone all out to ensure an encore does not happen. However, businessmen dealing in firecrackers did not listen. The lure of the lucre was too powerful for them to see reason. Business went on as usual, following which the city sat on a powder keg this Diwali season. Residents in general and SDM Shayari Bhandrai in particular heaved a sigh of relief when the last of the firecrackers went off sans any untoward incident. As they say, all’s well that ends well!

Espousing the cause of Punjabis

Chandigarh: Member of Rajya Sabha Vikramjit Singh Sahney seems to be taking his job very seriously. From doing social work through his NGO to meeting diplomats for espousing the cause of Punjabis abroad- Sahney sure is trying to be the “Punjab da Puttar”, especially as his detractors had earlier accused the ruling Aam Aadmi Party of selecting non-Punjabis (Sahney is settled in New Delhi) for nomination of the Upper House.

Beware of scammers

Amritsar: A resident hired the costliest cook for preparing dinner and morning tea. The victim paid Rs 48,000 in advance for the cook he hired through an online agency. “The scammer did prepare dinner for us on the very first day and served tea the next morning. Ever since then, we have not seen him,” said the victim. “Going to the police will require time and resources. I have already learnt my lesson,” he said. For those who are curious, the cook had cooked ‘masra di dal’ for dinner.

CM house residents’ bane

Sangrur: The rented accommodation of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Patiala Road at Dream Land colony has become a bane of residents. Protesters block Sangrur-Patiala Road without thinking even once that the CM does not come here frequently. Apart from farmers, government and contractual staff protest here repeatedly. All the requests of Sangrur administration that “CM does not stay here” fall on deaf ears. “The house will continue to attract protesters. If residents want to get rid of agitators, they should convince the CM to vacate this rented accommodation,” said a protester.