New Delhi, March 20
It seems to be the season of advertisement gaffes in ministries. After the Ministry of Women and Child Development goofed up by showing a picture of a former top military officer of Pakistan in one of its advertisements, it’s now the turn of the Rail Ministry to commit a blunder.

NOTHING NEW: Just two months ago, the Ministry of Women and Child Development had released an advertisement featuring the picture of former Pakistan Air Force chief Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed alongside Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

The Railways today came out with an advertisement in all the leading newspapers to announce the inauguration of Maharajas’ Express from Kolkata to Nalanda. Curiously, the advertisement shows Delhi in Pakistan territory.

The advertisement, which carries a photograph of Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, also features a map that shows Kolkata, Gaya in Bay of Bengal, Varanasi in Orissa, Gwalior in Maharashtra and Delhi in Pakistan. The gaffe has resulted in many red faces in the Rail Bhawan. The Eastern Railways published the advertisement.

The rail authorities have apologised but they are trying to absolve themselves of the responsibility by pinning the blame on the advertising agency concerned. It is learnt that the advertisement was directly released by the agency concerned and not through the DAVP, the usual channel.

“Had it been released through the DAVP, there would have been checks and balances, an official at the DAVP said. Just two months ago, the Ministry of Women and Child Development had released an advertisement featuring the picture of former Pakistan Air Force chief Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed alongside Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Minister of State for Women and Child Development Krishna Tirath, and cricketers Kapil Dev and Virender Sehwag.

Meanwhile, Eastern Railways’ Chief Public Relations Officer Samir Goswami told a news agency in Kolkata: “It is a great mistake. We apologise for this. The advertising agency has been blacklisted”. Reports said an internal inquiry is being carried out to check whether the advertisement was scrutinised before it was released. Officials said the Railways had provided the agency with the route details only and not the map shown in the advertisement. The Kolkata-based agency is claiming that the route alignment had been given for the benefit of passengers. The map and the alignment are the artist’s impression and not to scale. It was never our intention to create a controversy, it said.