Airport cops in a pickle

Scanning fliers for hours, their life lacked spice. Now, suddenly, they find themselves choking on too much of it.

Two CISF personnel on duty at Mumbai airport risk losing their jobs over allegations they asked a Dubai-bound traveller carrying a bottle of pickles to pay bribes.

Sandeep Vemora’s mother had given him the pickles so that he could make the bland Dubai food more appetising.

Apparently, pickles are among the food items not allowed in cabin baggage. The 23-year-old might have known that liquids, gels and toothpaste are on the banned list, but probably failed to see the danger from pickles.

Bijendra Singh and Anand Narayan, the CISF officers, escorted him to the men’s toilet where they asked him for 150 dirhams (Rs 1,682) to settle the “transaction”.

Vemora refused and boarded his flight. A co-passenger who’d seen him being harassed urged him to complain. He did. “The two have been suspended. If they are found guilty, we will give them the harshest punishment,” senior CISF commandant Sanjay Prakash said.

Cash offer for old sarees

New silk sarees are expensive. But even old ones can fetch a high price.

Families in Kancheepuram, famous for its exquisite sarees, have been urged to hand in their old collections — even torn ones will do — to a state handloom agency working for heritage preservation and protection of old designs.

The appeal from Cooptex, the state body that will pay for the old sarees, has evoked a good response. Apparently, some private collectors are buying the stuff and paying a “good sum” for sarees with gold-laced (zari) borders.

The advertisements put out are as offbeat as the offer itself. “We purchase old and torn Kancheepuram sarees with jarigai (gold borders) for the best price. Take cash immediately.”

Handbills with these ads are floating around the ancient town, 75km south of Chennai.

‘Green’ lights on Delhi roads

Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), considered the future of cheap energy by many experts, may soon replace light bulbs in the capital’s street lamps. The Delhi government is planning to phase out the conventional street bulbs over a period of two years, as a part of the capital’s bid to appear “eco-friendly” when the world comes visiting in the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

“Delhi’s energy consumption has been rising at the rate of around 9 per cent each year since the turn of the millennium. We just cannot afford such an increase. And the government needs to launch the effort by looking at itself,” an official of the power department said.

The government is also considering models of “green houses” as a replacement for the conventional one-room flats handed out to the homeless under the housing scheme.

“The scheme doesn’t change. We just want to include in-built facilities which will make the task of keeping the house and surroundings clean,” an official said.

Squatter check

One of the capital’s ritziest neighbourhoods finally has hope that an ever-expanding cluster of illegal shops will be razed.

Delhi High Court has asked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to file a report on the status of commercial outlets in a part of the upscale Greater Kailash. Their affidavits have to be filed by September 28.

The owners of the shops have been claiming that they have taken “sanction” from civic agencies. The court directive is part of the larger sealing drive in Delhi.

Delhi: Admire paintings, ceramics, and sculptures — all at once — this Tuesday at Anant Art Centre, A21, 22, Sector 5, Noida. Alok Dal presents his black and white paintings, Vinod Daraz his colourful ceramics and Vinod A Patel his sculptures. Time: 11am to 7pm. Call 0120-4336976 or 9818034940.