The wait for dignitaries at events can be a harrowing experience for organisers. Such delays lead to speculation on reasons for the person getting delayed or not turning up.
So, when leading trade and industry body FTAPCCI decided to get on with a conclave on bank credit, after the customary allowance for delay, it came as a pleasant surprise. Finance Minister and chief guest Etala Rajender had presumably sent word that he was caught up and would join in a little later. By the time he came, all those listed for the inaugural session, had finished speaking. This led to the Minister being called to speak moments after he took his seat. He possibly did not anticipate this and turned to Special Chief Secretary Pradeep Chandra to check whether he too had spoken. The senior IAS officer nodded his head.
Someone’s loss can be another’s gain. With the organisers allowing questions from the floor while waiting for the Minister, a few entrepreneurs made most of the opportunity to voice their grievance against banks.
The ‘use and throw’ policy
Use and throw. That seems to be the order of the day. More so when it comes to politicians. For any movement to sustain, it is the youth and students who are the mainstay. The same applies to the Telangana movement. Osmania University became the hub of the separate Telangana agitation while its students provided the muscle.
Much to the surprise and dismay of students, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is bent on rubbing them on the wrong side. First, he decided to regularise contract workers, a move that caused a lot of heartburn and anguish among students, eagerly looking forward to landing jobs once the new State was formed. And now, KCR is toying with the idea of taking up housing for the poor in Osmania University land. This again is strongly opposed by students who feel university land ought to be used for academic purpose alone. The students recently prayed at a temple of Saraswati for bestowing wisdom on Mr. Rao so that he refrains from acting as per his whims. Torching of his effigies on the campus has become routine when not long ago, he was hailed for achieving statehood.
Cracking the whip!
In its attempt to execute developmental works in time, the Government of Telangana appears to have resolved to drive away lethargy and make employees work in tune with its plans. Recently, the minor irrigation department has show-cause notices to an executive engineer and nine other field staff at Kollapur in Mahabubnagar district on charges of negligence of duties in executing Mission Kakatiya works. An inquiry has been instituted against them by a chief engineer of Sriramsagar Project, B. Shankar, to initiate disciplinary action.
Similarly, Minister for Irrigation and Marketing T. Harish Rao also warned officials for not finalising a site for constructing at least one new godown proposed in Mahabubnagar district. Sources stated that the Minister had fixed some time-limit for the officials concerned for finalising sites for new godowns.
Time to say goodbye
After all the bitterness, it is now time to say goodbye to their peers from Andhra Pradesh. The officers of Telangana in ten establishments of heads of departments have decided to organise a farewell for their colleagues who have been allotted to Andhra Pradesh as part of an elaborate exercise taken up by the Kamalanathan committee to bifurcate State-level posts.
The committee will complete the bifurcation in another 20 HoDs on temporary basis on Tuesday and Wednesday. Barring officers who filed objections to the allocation, all the others will move to Andhra Pradesh well before the commencement of academic work.
The bifurcation has picked up speed even in core departments like police, where the list of officers of computer services and transport wings is getting ready.
Reporting by N. Ravi Kumar, J.S. Ifthekhar, B. Chandrashekhar and
N. Rahul
