# Notebook

Scanned food

Given the current threat perception, security personnel at the Metro stations have to keep an eagle’s eye on passengers and…

Statesman News Service | May 28, 2018 12:11 am

Given the current threat perception, security personnel at the Metro stations have to keep an eagle’s eye on passengers and their belongings. They can be frequently seen hauling up commuters carrying any item from the list of banned articles. Knives are most common, though pen-knives are often ignored. Then people carrying liquor are denied entry as also those carrying paints and solvents.

The other day, a young girl was asked to remove a suspicious-looking article from her bag. It turned out to be a power-bank. The security personnel claimed to be unaware about it and questioned the girl on why and how it was used. The girl patiently answered the guard before being allowed in.

In this context, a colleague had a hilarious incident to narrate. Since she feeds street dogs in the vicinity of the office, she carries a separate bag loaded with food for them. As she began loading her bags in the scanner at the Metro gates, the security personnel manning it asked what the “big bag” contained. “Food,” replied our colleague as she headed for the frisking bay. As she went to collect her bags, the guard stopped her. He was gaping wide-eyed at the “food”, which was not just in a huge quantity but contained bones and chicken claws. The picture on the scanner was naturally “not too pretty”! As he questioned our colleague once more, she had to explain that all that food was not for her own consumption but that it was dog food meant for a fair number of her four-legged friends located around her office. Still unconvinced, the guard asked if he could see the “food”. Our colleague offered to do so, but warned him that since there was non-vegetarian stuff in the package, he should be prepared. However, the man relented and told our colleague to carry on, saying in parting that since it was for a noble cause, he would not stop her.