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Acts of vanity cast in stone

Elections invariably set in motion the foundation/inaugural stone-laying spree, before the imposition of the code of conduct.

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Surinderjit Singh Sandhu 

Elections invariably set in motion  the foundation/inaugural stone-laying spree, before the imposition of the code of conduct. Many stones laid before the previous elections remain stuck at the stage where these were laid; not a brick is added thereafter. The public unsuccessfully hopes for a miracle to see the completion of the promised projects.  

It is said in most Indian cities, there are more autorickshaws than humans and more foundation stones than roads and buildings! 

Some months ago, I saw a foundation stone in a popular and historical  park, which was 12 ft wide and 6 ft high, mentioning about 300 characters associated with the ceremony! The inscription was, thankfully, not legible because of bird droppings. Some civic body officials have demolished it since, giving the area a better look.

The stone-laying urge is the off-shoot of self-importance of VIPs who succumb to the sycophancy of subordinates. It is a compulsion for politicians to show their importance to supporters and an occasion for subordinates to keep political bosses busy and happy. However, the interest of the dignitary often wanes after the ceremony is over. 

There are thousands of foundation stones in cities, where work was never carried out. There are thousands more which cover open spaces and have become an eyesore. There are some very small parks where exist double-digit stones. In one park, there were 14, outnumbering even the trees. In Nawanshahr, a DC never laid the stone, choosing instead a small religious ceremony at the time of inauguration.

In another city, a Commissioner was stopped from laying foundation stones by his seniors. His ‘development’ vision prominently displayed his hunger for stones with his name boldly engraved therein. Unable to suppress his urge, he laid the stone of a room for his buffaloes at his residence, where, incidentally, I was present!

A Divisional Commissioner once asked the DC, a night before the ceremony, that the name of his wife should also be inscribed since she would be accompanying him. He could not comply with the order and got a lukewarm ACR. 

A colleague once asked me how many foundation stones I had laid in my career. None, I told him. He gave me a contemptuous frown, boasting he had 124 to his credit. 

Once, the Principal Secretary PWD fixed the inauguration ceremony date of an upgraded state highway with the CM. I told him that such a ceremony had already been performed by a former CM. The most ludicrous solution to the problem was provided by the MLA: the ceremony was performed at the other end of the road! 

Thousands of houses can be constructed for the poor with the debris of these stony platforms.

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