With commencement of night operations at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has intensified patrolling of major roads leading to the airport. On one such patrol recently, a CISF officer noticed an elderly man taking alcohol seated next to the statue of former chief minister Biju Patnaik.
When the officer advised the man against drinking there, the tippler gestured at the raised arm of the statue pointing towards the horizon and said: “Can’t you see Biju babu wants you to go away and let me be?”
The officer retorted: “Sir, you got it wrong. The CM wants us to remove you from this place.” The tippler had something to say before they parted, though: “Biju babu is a dutiful CM and will never retire.”
Dearth of tweeps
Transport department officials in the state appear to still be unacquainted with new technology. A few months ago, the state transport authority had asked officials of all the 35 Regional Transport Offices in the state to join Twitter and follow its account ‘@STA_Odisha’ for better delivery of public services.
However, till date only 15 RTOs have joined the microblogging site and are following it. “Perhaps they thought the State Transport Authority’s aim was to only increase the number of followers on the site,” a city resident quipped.
‘Do a Salman’
A young man from West Bengal recently approached Mancheswar police complaining that his in-laws were keeping his wife from him from the time she went visiting her ailing father. The police investigated the complaint and found that the girl was only 17, that is, underage for marriage.
“We can’t do anything in this case, but we do have a piece of advice. Like Salman Khan in ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’, work hard to impress your beloved’s father. Show her parents that you can work hard to keep their daughter happy. But shave your beard, otherwise they might fail to even recognise you,” they said.
Contributors: Jose K Joseph, Sudarsan Maharana, Asish Mehta
