Pandemic too has its own lighter sides. Though most of the reports are focussed on the number of persons tested positive for coronavirus, the casualties and the number of patients who have been cured of the disease, the struggles of the law enforcing agencies to ensure fool proof lockdown ordered by the Central and State Governments brings in humorous instances.
The Salem district police had this to tell on Friday morning. Salem is a VIP district in Tamil Nadu as the assembly constituency of Edappadi falls in this district.
The Police who were on their guards since Thursday following news that Chief Minister was on his way to the district wanted to ensure everything was in place.
A bunch of youth, buoyed by the total lockdown and empty landscape, chose to have a game of cricket in the open space in a Salem suburb on Friday morning. They thought that they could cock a snook at the policemen by hiding into the thick bush adjoining the ‘maidan’. But the youngsters were unaware of the technological advancement incorporated by the law enforcers to monitor that everything was in order. The Salem Police had introduced a drone to scan the entire city in their “radar’.
While the cricket match reached feverish pitch, the cops came with their sirens blaring and the ‘Tendulkars’ and ‘Dhonioes’ ran helter-skelter into the woods. But the cameras installed on the drones beamed live pictures of the Stars and their exact hide outs. Some had covered themselves with bed sheets and lungies to hoodwink the eyes of the drones but without success. The police nabbed all the law-breakers and made them perform sit ins as an act of atonement. The inspector on duty gave them a sermon at the end of the “mild punishment’ and told them not to violate the prohibitory orders.
The game of cricket played in the scorching Sun of Salem, the attempt to escape from police dragnet and the exhaustion resulting from the sit-ins made the cricket stars promise the cops that they would never venture out of their houses so long as the lockdown was in place.
It was the turn of a Tamil Nadu minister on Friday to perform pada pooja for sanitary workers in Madurai district. The sanitary workers, hitherto uncared for and unnoticed by the local population and political masters, have become the most sought after persons in the State for paada pooja and aartis. Minister for revenue R T Udhayakumar chose Friday to perform aarti and pada pooja on the less fortunate ones of the society. Azhaku, who was made to sit on a plastic chair as the minister with his face covered with a mask fell at the feet of the sanitary worker and praised him for the kind of great work their fraternity was performing. “What is this, Sir? Is election round the corner,” asked a perplexed Azhaku.
Even sanitary workers have their day.