Reporter's Diary: Easy to get PCB officials, hard to get official data

In an attempt to get in touch with the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to find out about the number of monitoring stations across Tamil Nadu during the festive season, this scribe had called the landline telephone listed in the board’s website and got the phone number of the Public Relations Officer (PRO). But when the PRO was called, he claimed that he was not the person to talk to and directed this scribe to the environmental engineer, whose phone number was also provided. When the environmental engineer was called, he said, “I am not the one in charge of disposing this information and you please call my higher official.” He also readily shared the phone number of the superior officer. Two more phone calls later, the reporter finally managed to get the contact number of the highest official in the organisation. 

When the boss was called, he suggested the reporter to go through website for details. When asked for more information, he suggested the name of another person, much junior to him, who was the same person whom this reporter had called in the first place. At the end of the marathon phone call session, the only information obtained was a long list of names and phone numbers of TNPCB officials.  — Vipasha Sinha, Chennai