Lucknownama

The terror attacks in Mumbai have suddenly made many officials 8220;security conscious8221;.

UP now becomes 8216;security conscious8217;
The terror attacks in Mumbai have suddenly made many officials 8220;security conscious8221;. District Magistrate of Jhansi M Devraj has drawn up a plan to install 200 close-circuit television CCTVs cameras, with control rooms in four different parts of the city. The CCTVs will keep a constant watch on important crossings, markets, bus stops and railway station. He is also persuading hotels to set up their own CCTVs. In Aligarh, SSP Asim Arun is raising a 20-man Special Weapons and Tactics team of commandos. The officer, who had done a stint in NSG, is looking after their training along with a sub-inspector 8212; also trained at NSG. He has sent a proposal to the police headquarters and the Home department, seeking a sanction of Rs 6.25 lakh to purchase special equipment for the team. 8220;The proposal has been accepted and the amount will be released soon,8221; said Arun.

Perils of police recruitment
Several ruling party MLAs see a danger in the state government announcing the recruitment of 1.58 lakh policemen. It has raised expectations of unemployed youths who have started lobbying with the MLAs. 8220;The number of people visiting us has suddenly increased,8221; said an MLA. The figure of 1.58 lakh is, no doubt, big. But the number of unemployed youths in the state is much bigger. Therefore, more youths are going to remain unemployed than those who get recruited. With the Lok Sabha elections approaching, the MLAs fear a backlash of unfulfilled expectations.

Govt planning one-buck schemes
The talk in the political circles is that the promised police recruitment is the first in a series of populist announcements Mayawati has planned. Most of these announcements are going to be made in the budget of 2009-10. Since the government is facing a resource crunch, its options are limited. But officials preparing the budget have hit upon a time-tested method 8212; all sops will be included in the schedule of new demands, with a token provision of Re 1 for each, only to be implemented 8220;as per the availability of resources8221;. So let Behanji make as many announcements she wants.

To impress Maya, cut down trees
Here is the story behind the recent rehabilitation of a senior official who had fallen out of favour with the ruling party a few months ago. The officer was attending a wedding when he came to know that some trees needed to be felled urgently to clear the way for a project close to the chief minister8217;s heart. Smelling an opportunity, he promptly left the wedding, went to the spot, ensured that legal formalities were completed and the trees felled in no time. His efficiency impressed the bosses, ending his days of wilderness.

Polls coming: recall removed officials
Also rehabilitated recently was Gangadeen Yadav as cane commissioner. He was removed in June 2007 when, on being ordered to vacate his office on Mall Avenue 8212; adjacent to Mayawati8217;s bungalow 8212; he asked for a suitable alternative accommodation on the Secretariat8217;s fifth floor. Originally from the state service, Yadav was inducted in IAS in 1988 and allotted the 1983 batch. After the decline of the Congress in 1989, he has enjoyed the best of both worlds 8212; the SP and the BSP. In the previous BSP-led regime in 2002-03, he had forged good relations with the people who mattered. This made him a suspect for the SP, which succeeded the BSP regime in August 2003. But he soon managed to mend his fences with the SP. Now, Yadav has replaced soft-spoken Har Saran Das, a stickler of rules and grand traditions of the bureaucracy, who was proving a thorn for the regime in the election year.

No food, no lecture
Who doesn8217;t like a free lunch? And if there are lots of hungry people, expect a stampede. But at a workshop on the Prime Minister8217;s Employment Generation Programme, organised by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission and the Department of Industries last week, the gathering refused to leave their seats when lunch break was announced. It turned out that in the morning, many had not been served breakfast because there wasn8217;t enough for everyone. 8220;We will eat only if there is food for all,8221; shouted one. 8220;We have come to enjoy good food, not just to hear lectures,8221; said another.
They left for lunch only when assured that there was food for all.

This wedding is the talk of the state
The wedding of energy minister Ramveer Upadhyaya8217;s daughter, scheduled for December 9, is the talk of the 8220;state8221; and not just the town. The marriage is to be solemnised in Agra and invitation cards have been sent out. Among those to whom cards have been sent are officials, engineers and contractors across the state.