Vijay Kumar, during his tenure as IAS officer, had done everything within his means to show his brand of loyalty towards AP Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. He had unabashedly praised the Chief Minister on official platforms. Quite naturally, after his retirement, he was given a plum post. But he seems to have set his sight on contesting during the upcoming Assembly elections. No wonder, the politically inclined official was seen meeting with assembled groups of SC and ST communities in the districts amid reports of intense opposition to the Jagan government in those circles. Having felt the tide of opposition from close quarters, he reportedly requested Jagan Reddy to permit him to go on a padayatra. Whether he will get the green light for the padayatrais a matter of intense discussion in YSRCP circles. He is reportedly looking for MP ticket from Tirupati or Bapatla. Already several officials are jockeying for YSRCP tickets. Is he one among those in the race or a smart front-runner? Only time will tell.
When politics creeps into memorial lecture
The annual lecture series instituted in memory of Abhay Tripathi, 1986 batch AP cadre officer, may be a solemn occasion for the assemblage. But of late one sees only digs at the current crop of bureaucrats. Richa Mishra Tripathi, wife of the officer, said that the 1986 batch of Andhra cadre was the finest example of what brotherhood was like and how those families continued to bond, including the likes of Rajeshwar Tiwari, Hari Kumar, D Sambasiva Rao, Narasing Rao, Satish Chandra, Abhay Tripathi and BR Meena. She mentioned that these officers did not like to be named and did not want to be seen on Twitter,”but did real work”. This view was shared on the dais where the chief guest was Minister KTR who relies on social media and believes that it is more democratic than traditional media. KTR was supposed to speak on ‘Challenges of being a young State’. The pith of his speech went somewhat political. Bureaucrats and retired bureaucrats who had expected solemnity to mark the occasion were disappointed that a memorial lecture ultimately became a platform for taking political potshots.
Making the fourth pillar a punching bag
Some officials are selective about the ‘reality’ they want to talk about. In Telangana, there are hundreds of issues related to sexual harassment, crime against woman, mediaet al, but one officer follows one rule fervently and quite demonstratively: “I won’t stand by the women and media of my state”. The official, while raising voice on the Manipur incident, conveniently questioned: “What is the fourth pillar doing?” The entire world has condemned what happened in Manipur. But media circles were abuzz discussing how the official didnot raise voice when media persons were thrown out of the Secretariat and virtually ostracised. When a Mission Bhagiratha official allegedly committed suicide over delay in salary payments, there was no response from the official. When someone from the opposition party questioned the administration’s failure to supply water to Mission Bhagiratha in Adilabad, instead of responding, the lady was blocked on Twitter. Irony died a thousand deaths when the official questioned the fourth pillar’s credentials on the Manipur incident.
Growing vegetables at home, instead of dissing market rates
At a time when the prices of some of the vegetables are going through the roof, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests R M Dobriyal manages to get enough vegetables for daily use right from his terrace. The IFS officer leads by example and has shared the vegetables grown on his rooftop garden. Interestingly, all of them are organic vegetables, that is, grown without using any pesticides. Be it bottle gourd, bitter gourd, brinjal, okra, snake gourd, cauliflower, beans, leafy vegetables, curry leaves, beans, lemon, or star fruit — almost everything staple is being cultivated on his terrace. When he shared these pictures on internet, netizens were appreciative of the officer’s choices and some even made tongue-in-cheek remarks like “High vegetable prices will not impact him”. Of course, tomato prices were the trigger.
Rains bare workers and shirkers
Come rain or shine, it is only the conscientious workers, regardless of their position and department, who do their job. They actively participate in high quality work in a professional and ethical manner. They take initiative and require little or no supervision. By prioritizing, planning, and managing time and work, they achieve results in normal times and more so during an emergency. The recent spells of rains showered untold miseries on people, who look up to the administration for effective solutions by default. Alas! There are babus in the administration who make virtue of a necessity and magnify the hurdles in the performance of their duties. These officials do not want to shoulder additional responsibilities. They feel bad if some task is thrust on them. Normal life goes for a toss whenever there is intense rain in Hyderabad City. The denizens face a plethora of problems, leave alone traffic woes while trying to reach office or educational institutions. Much to the relief of such fair-weather officials, the state government declared holidays to all government offices. In a way, the rains brought cheers to them, while daily wage earners went to bed on empty stomach. Of course, conscientious officials engaged in emergency services did their part, looking neither for holidays nor a comfortable work area. They were there at places where their presence was required 24/7. Kudos to them.
