Closed in lockdown, two clubs and a centre trying to solve internal issues

The Delhi Golf Club, Delhi Gymkhana Club and the India International Centre (IIC) — the top three haunts of retired government servants, including bureaucrats and defence personnel, in the national capital — are closed because of the lockdown. All three watering holes are, however, trying to put internal matters in order.

The golf club, spread over 220 acres, has an 18-hole golf course, which is part of the Asian PGA tour. Aspiring members are on a waiting list of at least 25 years. A year ago, it was embroiled in an ugly controversy when a caddy — who claimed he was a qualified player and aspired to participate in Olympics — wanted membership and was denied. Other caddies supported him. The matter even reached police as assault and counter-assault were alleged. A settlement was reached, but that is now being contested.

The gymkhana club’s story is even more bizarre. Here the waiting list for membership runs into four decades. Who has got membership and how (also its accounts) has been a matter of an eternal conflict, so much so that a past president has taken the matter to the National Company Law Tribunal and is asking the government to take it over. If that happens, the gymkhana club could become a sub-section of one of the ministries.

The IIC, on the other hand, has decided to utilise the rest period to draw up a code of conduct for members. A draft of the document says among other things, people, using the library should not “leave behind any book, paper or other item overnight with the intention of blocking/reserving space for the next day”. It also says: “Eating pan and gutkha on the premises is prohibited” and that “members shall not continue to sit in lounges for long periods after having food/beverages”.