The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Notice of a different kind

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Tuesday, Sep 02, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Notice of a different kind

You might have come across power shut down notices issued to hospitals, schools, government offices and other establishments by the Central Power Distribution Company Limited. Unfailingly, every day the firm sends its notices from various offices, at times taking the pain to even mention some buildings where the power will go off.

But, the other day, some power officials went a step ahead. A press release mentioned that there will be no power supply in the toilets of Shilparamam in Madhapur!

The Cabinet Ministers seem to leave no stone unturned in showering encomiums on Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.

The good orator that he is, Minister for Marketing and Warehousing M. Mareppa, at a function to celebrate the birth anniversary of Mother Teresa, drew a peculiar comparison between the initials of the Chief Minister and the type of rule the A.P. had g one through during the TDP and Congress governments.

“While the ex-Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu asked ‘why’ (meaning ‘Y’ in YSR) for every welfare scheme, our Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy always says ‘yes’ (meaning ‘S’ in YSR) to any scheme beneficial to the people!

The awareness created by city police about abandoned objects in public places through short films in theatres and public addressing systems seems to be working, as the people seem to be more vigilant of their surroundings.

On Monday, a bag that was found ‘abandoned’ in a restaurant at Kacheguda sent others into a tizzy. It all happened when a visitor left his bag on a table and went to purchase meals token at the counter. Noticing the visitor leaving his bag on the table, another person having a meal beside, shouted at him and demanded the bag be carried along with him.

“Don’t you follow police instructions over abandoned bags left at public places? If the bag belongs to you, better carry it with you and do not leave it at your will, leaving others in a state of panic,” he fumed.

These days it is pretty difficult to fathom if it is the presence of the media, especially video cameras, which make the political leaders vociferous.

Or if elected representatives concern about issues is so much that they have to give lengthy speeches irrespective of the occasion.

The other day, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member M. Sashidhar Reddy organised a briefing by Prof. Kapil Gupta of IIT (Mumbai) on the measures taken there to tackle urban flooding. The civil engineering expert also mentioned about steps that should be taken for the twin cities.

Yet, when the turn came for the politicians to offer their suggestions, some started giving lengthy speeches, some questioned the relevance of the presentation and some thought it fit to raise their particular area’s civic problems!

It was left to the Energy Minister Shabbir Ali to bring some order. “Let us not confine ourselves to your ‘nala’ or my ‘nala’ but please give concrete suggestions on how we can go about having a disaster management plan.”

ABHIJIT DEV KUMAR, YOGENDRA KALAVALAPALLI,

S. SANDEEP KUMAR,

V. GEETANATH

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