By the time (this post from January 2011) I figured this one out, our favorite taxi-cab company cab had reached the Hyderabad,India airport and I missed taking a picture. This was one image that should have appeared in this “New Year” post. Anyway let me explain why 20-50 floor glass buildings were covered with a semi-transparent fine mesh net.
There is a movement going on in Andhra Pradesh (where Hyderabad is the capital) about Telengana. This agitation is currently a war of words but local businesses expect people to take to the streets. As can be expected in democracies,emotions will tend to run high and with lots of construction material lying around the agitators will be tempted to throw stones at whatever property they can.
So what does a business do to keep humming as the agitators pass by?
They simply get a contractor to put up nets that would minimize damage.
Think about how various stakeholders work out their priorities:
- The businesses do not go through the disruption of broken glass,insurance claims etc.
- The agitators throw a few stones, probably break a few window panes and make their point
- The police have less of a confrontation to sort out as at least the businesses are complaining less !
One wonders if the local property and casualty insurance companies offer a premium discount for covering glass buildings with fishing nets before planned agitations. Probably they will eventually as democracy and business find balance on the ground in India.