New state guests: trapped simians

Simians in the Hampi ruins became state guests, thanks to Pratibha Patil’s visit last weekend.

Overzealous district authorities first ordered that the animals in the temple complex be caught and banished to forests. They saw the simians, which often size up tourists from up close, as a security threat.

But the backlash was immediate and unexpected. Locals at Hampi, a World Heritage Site, who worship monkeys as Hanuman, Bali and Sugriv, protested. In the Ramayan, lore has it that the trio were from Kishkindha, just across the Tungabhadra river, a stone’s throw from Hampi.

Kannada writer Chidananda Murthy lodged a protest with deputy commissioner A. Srivastava, wondering how the monkeys, in Hampi for years, could be a security threat to the President.

By the time he intervened, the district administration had already caught around 50 simians. But orders were immediately issued that the monkeys be fed and taken care of. Veterinarians were brought in to check their health. The monkeys were released an hour after the President’s cavalcade left.

Walkathon against cancer

Thousands of footsteps pattered across a 5km stretch on Sunday to help raise awareness about breast cancer and funds for cancer patients.

Delhi’s young and old — ordinary citizens and celebrities — braved the early morning cold to turn up for India’s first Walk For Life organised by CanSupport, a non-profit organisation.

The NGO provides home and day-care to cancer patients. Participants had to pay Rs 300 per head or Rs 500 per family. The funds will be used to raise awareness about cancer and improve care and treatment of patients and their families.

Across India’s metropolitan cities, breast cancer has replaced, or is replacing, cervical cancer as the most common cancer in women.

Hope dawns for underbelly

Large parts of the capital’s underbelly have been offered hope of a better life .

The Delhi government recently set up a panel to look into cases of unauthorised colonies regularised in the ’70s but whose residents had failed to submit plans for development.

“These are the colonies which were regularised in 1976-77 but had not submitted their plans. The panel has been formed to ensure they get the benefits of our development plans,” an official in the state urban development department said.

The committee will receive plans from the residents and put them before the cabinet for approval.

The plans of 750 colonies have been examined and civic agencies, such as the DDA, MCD and the Delhi Jal Board, asked to offer basic amenities. The facilities include sewage, water and health facilities. “The plans of another 778 colonies will be processed soon,” the official said.

A sum of Rs 2,800 crore has been set aside for construction in these colonies over the next five years.

Ready to roll

The Metro’s planned airport link moved a step closer to fruition recently with contracts for its construction being handed out to a group of private companies.

The consortium led by Reliance Energy, an Anil Ambani group firm, will build the Rs 3,800-crore high-speed line linking the airport to New Delhi railway station.

Spain’s CAF is part of the combine that won the bid. The Metro will carry out the civil work. The private firms will build, run and operate 22.7km tube corridor.

Delhi: This Monday, Marcellus Steiner, a Swiss artist based in Uttarakhand’s Hardwar, presents a solo exhibition of his oil paintings at the Experimental Art Gallery, India Habitat Centre. The venue is on Lodhi Road, near Mausam Bhavan (Met office).
Time: 10am to 8pm.