The Hindu : New Delhi News : INSIDE DELHI

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 25, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

INSIDE DELHI

End this nightmare

The ritual of Kanwarias bringing Ganga water from Hardwar and offering it at various temples across the Capital became an annual affair long ago. But continued mismanagement by the authorities in Delhi and neighbouring Ghaziabad over the years has caused many problems for those living in areas along the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border.

This year too is no different. Those living in East Delhi and Ghaziabad have had to face many hardships in commuting between Delhi and Ghaziabad as major connecting roads were partially blocked by the civic administration.

To facilitate smooth movement of Kanwarias, the entire Delhi-Meerut-Hardwar highway remained closed for heavy vehicles, while only a single lane was opened for other vehicles, forcing people to take long detours to reach their destinations.

Similarly, one stretch of the busy GT Road and Anand Vihar-Mohan Nagar Road was also closed, badly affecting the routine of those living in areas adjacent to these roads. Office-goers, school children and workers were all virtually confined to their homes as major roads remained blocked.

Questioning the logic behind closing main roads to inconvenience lakhs of people, the residents are now demanding a permanent solution to the issue. "Closing one road puts pressure on other roads, causing major jams and traffic chaos. To reach Delhi, I had to go through Noida throughout last week. This reflects poorly on our traffic management system," said Deepak Kumar, a resident of Vasundhara on the Delhi-U.P. border.

-- Sandeep Joshi

Bid to foster Indo-Japanese ties

Two-dozen young men and women from India have been selected for the 2006 Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) programme that promotes mutual understanding between Japan and other countries.

To encourage people-to-people exchange, especially among the youth, the Japanese Government has significantly expanded the JET programme in the country this year. Of the 24 qualified Indians selected for the programme, two have been selected as Coordinators for International Relations (CIR) and 22 as Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs). The Indian participants will leave for Japan in August to join the 2006 JET programme and will be assigned to local governments and public and private junior and senior high schools across Japan.

Aimed at enhancing foreign language education in Japan, the JET programme is geared to promoting international exchange at the local level through fostering ties between Japanese and foreign youths. The participants are given an opportunity to serve in local authorities as CIR as well as in public and private junior and senior high schools as ALT.

Started in 1987 with the cooperation of the governments of the participating countries, the JET programme started inviting Indian youths from 1998. And in 2001 two Indian young ladies participated in the programme as the first ALTs.

-- Madhur Tankha

Airport ordeal

Competition might be driving domestic airlines to go a step further to retain customers, but the same logic doesn't seem to apply to some international airlines as a harassed Delhiite realised this past weekend.

With her only checked-in bag having gone "missing" on a Thai Airway flight, she found trying to get it back a nightmare.

Officials at the counter explained that the bag had not been lost, only "missing", and would arrive the next day and probably even delivered to her at her doorstep. Far from doorstep delivery, she got no information from the airline the next day.

Having been assured that the bag would be traced and she could call the office at the airport even on a Sunday to find out the latest on her case, she found that the numbers given to her were always busy. After spending the whole day dialling the numbers, she finally found out that the office only opens at 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Desperately worried, she finally got through to the office at 6-30 in the evening, only to be told that her bag had been found and she could come and collect it. Relieved that it was not lost, she went to the airport to collect the bag.

Determined to find out why she had not been informed by them about the bag on their own, she was told that the officials tried to call her at night but her mobile phone was switched off. When she asked why no one sent her a text-message then, the supervisor told her that they call customers on their mobile phones but they don't send out SMSs!

-- Mandira Nayar

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi