Mutli-tasking is a burdensome affair

‘Not easy to be a responsible member of two policy-making bodies’

November 10, 2019 11:22 pm | Updated 11:22 pm IST

A wife with two husbands!

Handling multiple key portfolios may be a bayen haath ka khel (child’s play) for many bureaucrats in Telangana as there are many who were thrust with multiple responsibilities either due to faith in their capabilities or work exigencies.

Such multi-tasking — holding two high-profile policy making portfolios — is likened in a lighter vein to a wife having two husbands. During a recent visit to the City, Ramesh Chand, a well-known agricultural economist, who holds two high-profile designations as a Member of NITI Aayog and as a Member of the Fifteenth Finance Commission, compared his own position to a wife with two husbands. While explaining his inability to prepare notes fully for his Foundation Day lecture of the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS) he said: “Generally, we come across a husband with two wives in our society, but in my case it’s a reverse condition as I have to handle two very important tasks to make recommendations to the government for formulating some policies.” Taking professor Ramesh Chand’s comparison in the right spirit, the gathering had no way but to go into splits.

Missing at scene of action

The absence of Congress leaders and the cadre at the Tank Bund on Saturday in support of the RTC employees strike has been a point of intense debate in the party circles and led to the general assumption that the party was just confining itself to public rhetoric.

Though placed under house arrest since morning of the event day, Congress cadre feel the leaders did not make much effort and the message they sent out was that they were comfortable in getting arrested at their residences than going to Tank Bund where the action was on.

Apart from the Left parties, the BJP cadre breached the security at several places and made it a point reaching the Tank Bund despite the police using the baton to keep them away. Not a single Congress leader or the cadre was seen in the place.

“We are ending up just issuing media statements and not dealing with the issues with the seriousness with which they had to be dealt with. We will lose credibility if this continues,” a young leader, wishing anonymity felt.

OGH ward to operate from Petlaburj?

The century old Osmania General Hospital may find itself located in two premises if the government goes ahead with its plans to shift non-emergency wards and out-patient services to the Government Maternity Hospital at Petlaburj.

The government has proposed to shift the two wards to the maternity hospital which is nowhere near OGH to rearrange the 589 beds in the old building of the latter hospital to buildings elsewhere in the same hospital. But, the hospital authorities expressed inability on the ground of space constraints in other hospitals. So, the Principal Secretary of Medical and Health asked the hospital administration at a meeting the other day to create space for beds in other buildings by vacating non-emergency and out-patient services.

The move will inevitably cause inconvenience to patients.

(B. Chandrashekhar, R. Ravikanth Reddy and N. Rahul)

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