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Our locals very often refer to proverbial schemers capable of carrying fire through water. 

And here is a story about certain schemers in real life capable of spinning money out of water!

They say that the present government is saddled with the job of making payments to contractors who handled work on a series of water supply projects undertaken by the previous regime. 

Payments due to these contractors for the work completed add up to a massive Rs.21 Billion, they say. 

A certain Ministerial authority responsible for releasing these payments to contractors had realized there is more than enough gravy for him just for the taking. And he had planned a modus operandi for collecting the gravy.

The authority these days, they say, is summoning the contractors one by one to his office. When they turn up he would have a cordial chat with each of them and would finally tell them: “I know that you need the money due to you urgently. I will see to that you get your money without further delay. But I want you also do me a favour. We are operating a social welfare fund. Can you please credit at least 6 per cent of your payment to this fund?”

Some contractors who are pressed for money readily make this payoff. But a group of contractors highly concerned about this racket are planning to lodge a complaint against the chief ministerial authority concerned, they say.