Children fan UP officials, and add to hot air

District officials in Shamli district of western Uttar Pradesh perhaps thought of it as nothing much to bother about -- children stood behind and fanned them during an "open court" meeting in a village, as a video camera caught the action.

The incident occurred Tuesday at Shamli, when Principal Secretary Sunil Kumar of the Social Welfare Department held an "open court" at a gram panchayat office in Hasanpur village.

District Magistrate Praveen Kumar remarked to officials that it was hot, and that he was sweating.

That was when some officials called some young boys from the crowd and asked them to stand behind the seated officials and fan them with hand-held fans. The curious boys had only gathered to watch the proceedings.

The district magistrate, principal secretary, chief development officer (CDO), and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Lokesh Gupta sat interacting with villagers, unperturbed by the children who were standing behind them and fanning them.

After TV channels telecast the footage, District Magistrate Kumar told IANS: "We were busy listening to the villagers, there was a lot of movement behind us, and I could not spot the children fanning us."