Worried NDMC rehearsed 13-sec drill to paste riot memorial notice

Pasting a notice on a structure considered illegal by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) proved to be a daunting task for the civic body.

The notice had to be pasted at the site where the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) proposed to build a memorial to the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. But NDMC officials were scared of stirring a row with the guards at the site inside Gurdwara Rakabganj. At the same time, they felt it would be unwise to take police cover before entering the gurdwara to paste a warning, asking the DSGMC not to build without permission.

After long and detailed deliberations, senior officials of the NDMC came up with an ingenious plan. A team of four members were selected to paste the notice. These men were then made to practice how the job could be done in the least possible time and without any friction with the guards.

An NDMC official said he, along with a driver and two staff members, rehearsed the whole procedure - of running to the structure, quickly pasting the notice, clicking a photograph for proof and then sprinting back to an already moving car to avoid any clash - for hours at a stretch.

with thanks : INDIAN EXPRESS : LINK : for detailed news.