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Diwali

The Oddest News of the Week: Toll-Free Diwali, Soan Papdi Mutiny, and Filmy Chaos

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

India threw up a plethora of bizarre stories during the week gone by, showcasing the country's penchant for the absurd and the humorous. From toll workers in Agra-Lucknow Expressway finding an innovative way to protest and offer "free toll" to all vehicles, to a factory's soan papdi gift turning into a full-blown mutiny among its employees, and an Indian man causing a mini-stampede in Bangkok's Siam Square with a lighter mistaken for a pistol.

Key Takeaways:

  • Toll workers in Agra-Lucknow Expressway offered "free toll" to all vehicles for nearly 10 hours to protest against the meager Diwali bonus of Rs 1,100, causing a significant loss to the toll operator, Shri Sign & Datar Company.
  • A factory's gesture of giving boxes of soan papdi to its employees as a Diwali bonus led to a soan papdi mutiny, with workers dumping the boxes outside the factory gate and participants even creating a viral video.
  • An Indian man caused a commotion in Bangkok's Siam Square by brandishing a lighter mistaken for a pistol, leading to his arrest and charging with threatening behavior and causing a public disturbance.
  • A viral video showed the "blogger cop" in Barasat, Bengal, attempting to create content to fulfill the void left by journalists boycotting the Barasat district police's media passes.
  • A lone pillar in Patna's Ashok Rajpath, positioned under the city's new double-decker flyover, has been found to be structurally useless and has been the subject of online memes and discussions.

Statistics:

  • Rs 1,100: the meager Diwali bonus that toll workers in Agra-Lucknow Expressway protested against.
  • 10 hours: the duration for which the toll workers offered "free toll" to all vehicles.
  • 2025: the year in which the new double-decker flyover in Patna was opened, but developed cracks after rain.

Sources:

  • The Telegraph Online
  • "Toll workers in Agra-Lucknow Expressway found a unique way to protest" by The Telegraph Online
  • "Soan papdi mutiny: Workers dump boxes outside factory gate in UP" by The Telegraph Online
  • "Filmy chaos in Bangkok: Indian man mistaken for pistol causes mini-stampede" by The Telegraph Online
  • "Blogger cop in Bengal attempts to fill media vacuum after press body boycotts police event" by The Telegraph Online
  • "Useless pillar in Patna's flyover sparks memes, discussions" by The Telegraph Online

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