The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Vijayawada News : An honest confession

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 28, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada

An honest confession

OFFICIALS AND politicians brand the Vijayawada Municipal Commissioner, V. Usha Rani, a serious officer, as she does not give scope for lighter vein talk anywhere. And, rarely does one see her in a jovial mood.

But, the Municipal Commissioner was seen in an altogether different mood at the valedictory function of the seminar-cum-workshop organised by the Siddhartha Mahila Kalasala a few days ago.

Aware of the fact that she was to address students graduating in physics, Ms. Usha Rani appeared to have done her homework well before coming to the event and spoke elaborately about the important role played by physics in various scientific inventions.

In the process, she also stressed the need to invite academicians and professors to such events rather than administrators or politicians. Being an administrator herself, she candidly admitted that she was invited because she happened to be the Municipal Commissioner. In these days of clamour for publicity, how many will dare admit this, even in private, leave alone in public, is anybody's guess!

THE KRISHNA District Collector, K. Prabhakara Reddy, made a joke out of the recorded message `Your are in queue please wait' and praised the BSNL staff for being able to bring about a sea change in the quality of service they were extending to subscribers, at an award presentation function.

As a member of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) he supported a system of `incentives and disincentives' to make employees work.

On Government servants, Mr. Reddy said, Government servants expect to be paid half their salary for coming to office. They want to be paid the rest for going home. Since nothing was paid for being in office they were not so enthusiastic about work, he said jocularly.

The tacit admission of the General Manager, BSNL, C. K. Radhakrishnan, that the increase in number of towers for CellOne connections would enable people to speak and listen with clarity indoors evoked guffaws from the audience, as they easily understood that the CellOne works sans any clarity in speech.

* * *

The ordering of a probe into the tardy progress of relief works in the wake of the devastating tidal wave under the aegis of the Joint Collector, P. Sampath Kumar, by the district in charge Minister, J.C. Diwakar Reddy, surprised one and all. It is not known against whom, the Joint Collector would conduct an inquiry for it is the district administration, which is supervising the relief works.

However, the Minister, as if it is better late than never, said that the inquiry would cover the aspect of delayed treatment to patients in Government hospitals. Interestingly, barring a few it was only the bodies of the victims of tsunami attack that were brought to the hospital. It is for the people to understand as to who should get the immediate treatment from doctors and against whom Mr. Sampath Kumar, should conduct the probe.

G.V. Ramana Rao

and A. Saye Sekhar

By M. Rajeev, G.V. Ramana Rao and A. Saye Sekhar

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An honest confession