Calling God

Having exhausted all their options, including various types of agitation, the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy in Idinthakarai near the Kudankulam nuclear plant has directly approached God.

The members of the movement, which is leading the protest against the project, have written an open letter to God saying: “We bow to You in prayer and meditation. This is a frantic, desperate and despondent cry to save us, the people of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, from an impending nuclear disaster at the Kudankulam nuclear power project.”

Will God hear their cry?

Vision 20:20

Year 2020 is the goal for getting there at implementing Green Power ...and we in England are working up to that ... but with a bit of ill luck,” said Richard Hyde , British Deputy High Commissioner, at a CII Green Power Summit in Hyderabad.

Even as those gathered were trying to figure out the ill luck was being referred to, Hyde continued: “Well, you know our ill-luck with 20-20 (referring to the rain-curtailed ICC Champions Trophy final), when we lost the cricket match to India…”

A common thread

Vijay Mallya and C.R. Gopinath may have never willed it but it is becoming quite clear that their lives are intertwined. First, Gopinath moved into Vijay Mallya’s neighbourhood on Vittal Mallya Road in Bangalore, after he launched his airline, Air Deccan. He later moved into a heritage bungalow next only to Mallya’s mansion. Then he sold off his airline to Mallya, which went into a tailspin. It forced the liquor baron to demolish his mansion to build an apartment complex to pay off his debts.

Now it is the turn of Gopinath to do the same. He plans to build an apartment complex at the same place where his house now stands to settle his dues. Who do you think is the cause of such desperate moves of one-time buddies: the bankers to the nation, State Bank of India.

Riviera beckons?

We don’t know whether it is just plain rumour or there is some truth in it. But we are told by those close to Vijay Mallya that he may eventually retire to exotic Monaco on the French Riviera after he bought a mansion there recently. It will give him a ringside view of the F1 racing circuit where he can also keep a close watch on his funnily named F1 team, Sahara Force India.

And, finally he spoke

Speaking at the AGM of the Madras Management Association as one of the chief guests, D. Shivakumar, who headed Nokia in India for several years and was also President of the AIMA, said he was glad to be speaking, finally, to an audience of the association. Landing in Chennai (then Madras) after his MBA from IIM Calcutta, Shivakumar, an engineer from IIT Madras, recalled that he shot off a letter to the MMA, with the arrogance of a freshly minted MBA from IIM. “My letter announced, ‘Look, I’m here, and if you want to call me to speak to MMA members, I’m available’,” recalled Shiv, who in the mid-1980s was brand manager with tea company Lipton. “I didn’t even get a reply; so when I got this invitation from MMA to speak at the AGM, I decided I must be there!” said Shiv to peals of laughter.

Know your onion

A senior government official addressing a meeting on storage of agriculture produce said it is not enough to just increase storage capacity but the staff handling it needs to be trained.

At a new facility, the staff was over-enthusiastic about the cold store and tended to indiscriminately dump all produce into it. While looking for a consignment of onions, the officials realised that someone had put them into cold storage even though onions do not need refrigeration.

Similarly, onion warehouses being constructed by new contractors had no ventilation where needed and good airflow where there should be none, resulting in onion stocks being spoilt.

Union Food Minister K.V. Thomas, who was present, advised officials to get some of their staff trained in Nashik, the main centre for onion production.

From grime to glitter

Ashok Leyland’s Managing Director Vinod Dasari says it is time the bare, grimy nuts-and-bolts truck industry gets a sophisticated makeover. The industry has never thought of fancy electricals and trims all these years, he admits. That was reserved for the car folks. “But now, we have hired people from the car industry. I keep telling my guys our DNA must change from being blacksmiths to goldsmiths,” said Dasari, in a recent interview to Business Line .

Hawk-eyed FM

Defending the Government’s decision to increase gas price, three senior Ministers fielded a volley of questions from the media, trying to explain the rationale behind the move. When a scribe tried to point out that the Government’s move would benefit a particular industrial house, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram retorted quickly, stating, “Do not jump to conclusions. There is always the hawk-eyed Finance Minister. If national oil companies make more money, much of it comes back to Government.”

‘We will be back in 2014’

At the same press conference, when a journalist sought to know the rationale for the Government’s move to hike prices that too in an election year, the Finance Minister gave a quick reply: “We will be back.” The gas price hike will be effective April 1, 2014, and the UPA Government, which faces elections sometime early next year, is hoping for a comeback.

The Chicken Shop

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is concerned about the rising price of chicken in the city. After the success of a “fair price” shop at the State Secretariat, city mayor Sovan Chatterjee is likely to come to her rescue. Word’s going around that the municipal corporation plans to come up with full-fledged shops to sell processed meat. Forget the pot-holed roads of the city or the absence of civic services in places. Chicken is more important.

Tailpiece

A senior diplomat at a recent party said the foreign service was caricatured in earlier times as all hyperbole, protocol and alcohol! To this, another former senior official said, sotto voce , it still is, nothing’s changed!

COMMENT NOW