The Gas problem!

                One thing everybody in Bangalore would know about is the L.P.Gas and Electricity connection number marriage. Most have no clue why it is being done and even what needs to be done, although the deadline is almost here. In the queue where people where waiting to submit the papers, I just asked around as to why did we have to submit it. Guess what, nobody even knew why they were giving in all their documents! The only best answer they had was “To make sure I don’t stop receiving my GAS cylinders”. Well, is that a reason you should be doing something for? I would call it FEAR, fear of losing that is making you do that. As citizens should we be living this way? Doing things out of Fear?

                The Government (or the food and civil supplies commissioner) realizes this and are scaring people to get things done!! Puzzled why am I saying this? Here is the reason. Take a look at the image below, this is from a newspaper insert (Wed 2/2 TOI Page2), from the commissioner of food and civil supply. 

Now read carefully the third note, first line says “In an Earlier notification by the department it was stated that in case of failure to furnish the information asked for….ration card will be cancelled and the supplier will be asked to stop supply of gas”. The second & third lines says “However since no such action has been taken till now… if any distributor refuses to on such ground (ground of rules from the previous notification?) it will be violation of rules”!!! Violation of rules? The previous statement did say that the supply will be cut off and now they say cutting off will be violation of rules! They make the rule themselves as to cut off the connection. When people get the fear of losing connection, leave everything in life to go give the papers right away (due to short deadline), the commissioner comes back to say that cutting off the connection is against the rule!!! Playing cat and mouse? Making people wet their pants in fear and then say nothing serious!      

                Even better stuff is when the government comes to “Help”, trying to help people cut down the queues and submit from their desks, on their website! Although I am personally impressed with this option, I love it. I appreciate the government taking this step of taking things online. Its really easy to submit it online, whether you are at home or in Office. You need not have to stand in long queues and besides most of us in Bangalore understand the online world really well. We can use the website and leave the physical paper work for those innocent about online world and/or want to go down personally and give it off. But what was disappointing was our minister Shobha’s reply to the media on the site’s down time, “Stop cribbing! If the website isn’t working, try it tomorrow or day after”!! It’s not a favor done to the public by having easy ways to work with govt. It’s your responsibility Aunty, you have chosen to be there and do just this. You had taken oath to do this and now feel people are cribbing?

                My dear elected minister, while I accept and appreciate the fact that you are doing things to make this a better place for us to live, why portray a “BAD GUY” image? Understand, Realize and Reason what you are doing. I see three things that we want you to be doing for us. First is clarity, tell clearly as to why and what is being done. Knowing why we are doing will prevent the feeling of rejection. You could avoid half the hassle right here, of people complaining, refusing, seeing the request as a “Hitler order”. Secondly, I would call it “proper planning”, give it time to be put practical. If you are rolling out a rule, it shouldn’t put people’s feet on fire. You are talking to lakhs of people in Bangalore. Give some time, don’t expect to have things completed overnight. Third is, own it, take the responsibility. If the site has a down time, it isn’t a small thing enough to ignore or say people are cribbing. You could just have your people find out what is happening and tell us that you are working to fix and will be up soon. Simple? This could avoid all the brush ups with the public. Now you can spend all your time fighting out the blames by the oppositions (which I feel will never end, no matter what one does)!

Drink and drive nakabandhi!

                 I want to start off this blog with something that really kept rolling in my mind since about two weeks, including today, which is what finally pulled me to start writing this blog! Quite often, either due to a long day at work, or when out to catch up with friends on a weekend, I end up driving back home past 10:30PM (although I must confess, lesser traffic past 10 is a main reason for the delay most of the days). Something I really enjoyed was the traffic police’s Nakabandhi for looping in those driving after downing a few pegs. I used to enjoy seeing the policeman’s somewhat disappointed expression seeing the breath analyzer, I had blown into, which said I was clean. Driving past the barricade seeing people negotiating with the inspector trying to get out of the mess, added to my joy. It was so very joyful that I was always looking forward for these checkpoints every time I was driving after 10:30. During weekends, it was an assured visual treat.

                I used to come across at least two checkpoints, in my regular route. One was at the end of the cubbon road, near the stadium, and the second one was near Windsor manor hotel, at the golf course corner. Cubbon park police, for some reason, shifted their “adda” and started the business opposite to the stadium’s main entrance. I dint loose hope, I changed my route to continue in M.G.Road and then reach cubbon road junction driving past their new location. It however din’t make much difference to me, since I was driving in the parallel road now. The sight near Windsor manor hotel started to be less frequent and got completely stopped! So I was now left with just one location for my “maja sigo jaga”, the cubbon road junction one. It was holistically a confirmed fact to see them during Friday, Saturday & Sunday, and if it was any other days of the week, it was a 50-50 possibility. Now, they too have started disappointing me! Not to be seen at all since about 2 weeks now!

                Even today, all way thru, until I reached home, I have been figuring out the reason as to why they could have stopped doing this. To spice it up, I tried linking this up with the most discussed topic these days of the current government situation “Corruption”! I am a strong believer of the saying “Yatha Raja thatha praja”. So if somebody tells that our current ministers are after making unaccounted money, I would see it trickle down all way and hold good for the cops too!. How do you buy that? I have heard from a lot of people, who were caught in these nakabandhis, that if you are caught drunk, the cops accept only the legal fine and don’t agree to “yeno nodi, adjust maadkoli sir”. So I would say, they are not investing their “Precious sleeping” time anymore in this job which is not earning them any extra bucks!

                Don’t agree? Here is the extra dose! Checking still happens at the golf course junction! Yes, it does. But not to see if you have gulped down Mallya’s tonic before starting the engine! They now only stop trucks and goods vans! All of us have seen a million times, the “Gandhi paper” being passed within closed hands when a goods vehicle is stopped by a man in white shirt and Khakhi trousers with a round white hat in his hands, hiding what he is doing.

                Looks like, they really are just making sure that all the time they are investing, without sleeping and staying out on the street in freezing cold, is giving them some extra returns!

                The problem I have is not with losing out the maja I was having, not even with those who are getting away without being caught. It is the fear that this could be true! I just put a rough thought and ended up concluding what you just read. It might not really be the true reason for what is happening, but if it is, it means we are in a very bad situation and will get worse very soon.