Kerala - Kochi   

Reporter's Diary

Sebastian Luis, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Varappuzha, had the onerous task of welcoming the dignitaries who graced a public meeting to mark the declaration of the Vallarpadam Church as a national pilgrim centre by the Catholic Church on Sunday.

Normally when the task at hand is a little complicated, there is a tendency to make some mistakes. But not Monsignor Luis who made the task appear rather light in his wholehearted endeavour to welcome them.

For instance, when he welcomed the Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, he referred to him, in passing, as Kunjukunju, a name so familiar to people from Puthupally and which has turned into a hunting ground for caricaturists.

The Monsignor also did not forget to remind Mr. Chandy that the whole of Kerala looked up to him and expected a "change of style".

Welcoming the new Minister for Fisheries, Dominic Presentation, the Monsignor said that Mr. Presentation was an actor too, a fact perhaps not known too widely.

The hardest thing would have been for the District Collector, A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish, who is a little sensitive about his name. The notices that were circulated detailing the programme had printed the Collector's name, in Malayalam, as Mohammed Harris. Of course, that was not the fault of Monsignor Luis.

The IG, Armed Police Battalions and Traffic Planning, Rishiraj Singh has done it again. One officer was pulled up for dereliction of duty and three were given rewards for their commitment to work.

This time, one sub-inspector was found fast asleep in a Highway Patrol jeep along Muvattupuzha-Koothattukulam sector and the IG asked the DIG, Ernakulam Range, to take strict action against the officer.

On the other hand, three officers, who were found active along Muvattupuzha-Perumbavoor sector on repeated inspections, were given a cash award of Rs. 1,000. The IG, who himself leads the inspection on the highways, has always stuck to the ratio of one guilty to one reward. This time too, he maintained that ratio. Consistency appears to be one of his strong points.

Anand Haridas

By K.A. Martin and Anand Haridas

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