Click to catch a conning cabbie

The taxi is moving at snail’s pace through jam-packed roads but the meter is shooting up. If all this while, you’ve just sat helplessly as the cabbie chuckled all the way to the bank, here’s a chance for you to have the last laugh.

Just switch on your laptop or hop out of the taxi and into a cyber café. Log on to www.trafficpolicemumbai.com and click on the link “complaint against autos and taxis”. Mumbai’s traffic cops promise immediate action.

“We have received complaints from many Mumbaikars about cabbies tampering the taxi meters. However now, one can just lodge a complaint at the click of a button,” a source in the traffic department said.

The system, which Delhi has been following for some time, seems to be working well in Mumbai. The Mumbai traffic site was activated only earlier this month, and about 1,000 auto and taxi drivers have already been booked.

A first-time offender has to pay a fine of Rs 100 and is let off with a warning. Repeat offenders have to cough up higher fines and can have their driver’s licence cancelled.

A whale of a find

A whale caught by a fishing trawler near Karwar in Karnataka recently has made quite a splash among conservationists.

Belonging to a family called Baleen whales, the mammal is one of many to have migrated to this part of the Arabian Sea, marine scientists have found out. A rich coral eco-system just off the shore has become a natural visiting habitat for these whales.

These medium-built sea creatures live on plankton, a kind of seaweed found in abundance here.

After spending the summer in the Antarctic, they migrate to the tropical waters of the Arabian Sea when it gets chilly.

The reason for migrating over such a great distance is that the young ones need time to grow a layer of blubber that protects them from the Polar cold.

A boat ride off the Karwar coast is the best way to spot dozens of these endangered species frolicking in the clear blue.

Actress shows her skills

Is Tara Chowdhary a good actress? The Andhra Pradesh State Women’s Commission must think so.

The starlet, with two movies under her belt, seems to have taken the commission for a ride.

She filed a complaint alleging that producer Chinni Krishna had taken Rs 5 lakh from her and promised her a role that never came.

Tara also created a ruckus when she met Krishna and the women’s panel had to intervene and set up a fact-finding committee.

The actress alleged that Krishna had called her “a cheap C-grade prostitute”. The panel called Krishna, who apologised and wrote a cheque for Tara. Two days later, she returned Krishna’s cheque and tried to commit suicide.

Now, the panel has no case but a load of complaints from the men.

Birthday Amma

On February 24, Jayalalithaa will be turning 59. And for presents, she wants paeans all right. But this time, the ADMK boss has decided to let students let their creative juices flow.

So the usual weeklong public meetings or the Annadanam (free food distribution) campaigns or the blood donation camps will make way for essay competitions and debates.

No points for guessing the subject. School and college students will pen their perception of the birthday girl.

But, lest people criticise Jayalalithaa for being self-centred, a range of athletic events and football and cricket matches will be part of the festivities that go on till March 3.

Winners have been promised handsome cash prizes and blessings from Amma.

Chennai: If you’ve had your fill of Marina Beach and the dosa joints and are in the mood for some music, head to Chennai’s YMCA Bucks Theatre at Anna Salai, Nandanam, to hear The Jazz Trio From France.
The performance begins at 6.30 pm on February 25. Admission is free.