Delhi Musings: Failures are the pillars of…

It is Central Vista again! Somehow this ill-conceived, ill-timed project keeps hitting the headlines. This time the reason was a surprise visit by the PM. With no ‘Howdy Modi’ tamasha this time in the US - it is likely that he observed some motifs or designs at the White House and wanted to share his observations (cloud ka benefit mil sakta hai) with the construction engineers at the site of the new Parliament building.

Why else this hurried visit soon after landing from the US, the same evening? Maybe it was to establish that he has no jet lag issues unlike other ordinary mortals. Another reason could be that lecture delivered by one Ms Kamala Harris on how the foundation of democracy needs to be strengthened. May the PM took it too literally.

While on the Central Vista – one wonders how our man AK (in Delhi there is only one AK) would implement those new guidelines to control dust pollution at this site.

The guidelines push for installation of real-time monitors and CCTV cameras at every construction site that is larger than 20,000 square metres – which the Central Vista most certainly is. The data will be accessed by Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and a penalty will be imposed if the pollutant concentration crosses the defined threshold and the project proponent doesn't take remedial measures.

There is also a provision that the DPCC can issue an order to stop work at the site if no remedial action is taken and if the proponent is unresponsive. So Dilliwallahs, we have something exciting brewing here and soon. And no, we aren’t talking about Ramlila here.

The rules also require the project proponents to submit a bank guarantee to the DPCC, which will be equal to one percent of their project cost – and that’s Rs. 200 crores for the Central Vista project. Will the central government duck the DPCC or has already taken caveats is not known though.

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A scrapped Air India plane, without its wings, got stuck underneath a foot over-bridge on the Delhi-Gurgaon highway. While folks were divided on whether it was symbolism of the Bollywood kind or simply karma – Dilliwallahs couldn’t get enough of that video that showed the nose of the aircraft and half of its body on one side of the bridge and the rest on the other. If only one could go and paint ‘OK, TATA!’ on its rear.

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‘It’s stuck’ is not just the state of Air India but even students who have completed their class twelfth exam feel about life. This is admission time at Delhi University (DU) and most Delhi based admission-seekers are stuck. There was a time when the campus, and even colleges outside the campus, would be engulfed in a spirit of optimism, bonhomie, camaraderie and cheer.

Students seeking admissions would hop from one college to another with a glitter in their eyes and enthusiasm of spending the next few years of their lives in these coveted spaces. The pandemic, for sure, has taken its toll on dousing that spirit but then it is not just that. The high cut-offs have been a big spoil-sport too. Imagine some colleges declaring a cut-off of 100% for some courses!

One’s heart bleeds for those Dilliwallahs whose kids will not get the courses or colleges of their choice despite scoring as high as 95% or even more. What will such parents tell their kids? How will they cajole them? Not everyone can make a career by selling samosas or by being a story-teller on Radio.

(Giraj Sharma writes a blog, stateofdelhi.in)