Last night, while driving through the ring road, I was caught by a tholu (Traffic Police). He charged me for drunken driving. I stopped, went to him politely and asked - how much? I didn’t resist as I was really drunk. My intentions were to bribe him and get away. I also wanted my vehicle number not to be registered in the police records.
“1000/-” - he murmured.
I argued as the fine would be 2000/- and if I am not asking for the ticket, it would go in the tholu’s pocket. So, why to pay that much? I asked him to manage the scene with 500/-.
I got a very strange reply to which I was dumbstruck.
“Babu, its UPA 2.0, pay 1000/- or come to our Saheb”
I felt pity. Not on myself but on him. A public servant with limited salary, bound to give his children better education, feed them appropriately and look after his family, would find it so difficult without an another source of income. I paid him and escaped but couldn’t escape from his reply.
The thoughts started haunting me. Consequences of inflation has not only let people die of hunger or left children starving and suffering from malnutrition but has also augmented the corruption. There is more, yet to come. With every penny spent, common men with think twice of their needs. Luxurious stuffs are just ruled out as primary needs are the question of an hour. How is the happiness of countrymen justified? When I thought of the people below poverty line, I simply was frightened.
Referring to Planning Commission’s report, I learnt that 10% of food grains get wasted every year that equals to 20 million tonnes. Apart from this 30% of food grains are lost due to lack of proper storage. This is one of the basic reasons for inflation. UPA2.0 is too busy in keeping a watch on what its ministers say or busy in handling scams done under its nose. I think, providing the grains to poor, before it is wasted, would be a last thing that UPA 2.0 would take up.
If this continues, irony of the situation will be that there will be no poor alive in this country and thus country will be free from people below the poverty line. Nice strategy I must say. Hats off to UPA 2.0. Congress Zindabad!
P.S. If u have any function at your home or anywhere else & if food gets wasted, call 1098 child helpline in Delhi & NCR. They will collect the food and provide it to poor children.
it really is tough time surviving while the UPA2.0 is there....and with the stats u mentioned about the wastage, it seems that the govt have actually made the policy of "garibo ko hatao, garibi khud hat jayegi"
ReplyDeleteaur haan shayad 1098 is for all over india(although m not really sure). but if it can be helped then we should take a step for it.