Karnataka - Bangalore   

Minister’s food was not cold: railway officials

BANGALORE: Having done their best to keep Railway Minister Lalu Prasad in good humour during his one-day visit to Karnataka on Monday, senior Railway officials are sulking after three senior officials were unceremoniously issued transfer orders by the unhappy Minister.

Bangalore Divisional Railway Manager Mahesh Mangal, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Anwar Hussain and Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Area Manager Suresh Chandra were transferred to Bhubaneswar, Mysore and Lucknow respectively on Monday.

Senior Divisional Security Commissioner B.B. Mishra is said to be waiting for his transfer orders. The reason being the officials’ “failure” to look after the Minister during his visit to Yeshwanthpur, Tumkur, Chitradurga and back in Bangalore.

During his hectic one-day visit, Mr. Lalu Prasad inaugurated the renovated Yeshwanthpur Railway Station, flagged off the extended Bangalore–Ajmer Express (to Mysore), attended a function at Tumkur and then the Yadava convention at Chitradurga. The Minister did not have time to have lunch and when the food was served in his special train on his way back to Bangalore, he found it served cold. He was also reportedly unhappy over protests by Kannada activists in Tumkur and the reported failure of the security personnel to take action. While Mr. Mangal had completed his two-year term in Bangalore, the transfer orders of Mr. Hussain and his counterpart in Mysore Satyanarayana Rao (to Bangalore), issued a few months ago, were kept in abeyance for technical reasons. Monday’s incident came in handy for effecting the transfers. However, the manner in which the transfers were made has demoralised the officials.

Denying that the food served was cold, a senior railway official said it was prepared at the General Manager’s carriage attached to the special train.

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