Off track

Ever since her exit from the Railway Ministry,several of Mamata Banerjees initiatives have been reversed

Off track

Ever since her exit from the Railway Ministry,several of Mamata Banerjees initiatives have been reversed,the latest being that the Duronto Express trains may soon cease to have doctors on board. It is because there are apparently no takers for this facility,which had been kept as a passenger amenity. It has been decided to pull out doctors from Durontos whose journey durations are up to six hours. For a longer duration journey,a paramedic staff has been kept for the time being. Even they may be pulled out if the response from passengers remains the same.

LIMITED CHOICE

It is going to be a tough choice for Ajit Jogi. As the Congress begins the exercise of finalising its candidates for Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh,the high command appears to be in no mood to entertain his demand for ticket for his son Amit. His wife Renu is a sitting MLA and she might get a re-nomination. But Jogi,sources said,cannot hope to land a ticket for himself and his son. The message is that either he or his son can be fielded. While informal discussions are on to decide the candidates,the screening committee is expected to meet after the September 26 rally of Rahul Gandhi in Maoist-affected Jagdalpur district.

HEADLESS AT TOP

The post of Commissioner of Security Civil Aviation who heads the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security BCAS has been lying vacant for almost a year now. Nobody has been appointed to the post after the last CoSCA G S Malhi retired last October. There have been no nominations from the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The Ministry of Home Affairs MHA would clear the name finalised by the MCA. Incidentally,before Malhi was appointed,the post of CoSCA had been kept vacant for almost eight months.

MISSING WATCHDOG

The Programme Advisory Group comprising experts like Aruna Roy and Jean Dreze,set up last year to ensure efficient implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act guidelines,has decided to set up six National Resource Groups divided into broad thematic areas. While these groups are being constituted by the Rural Development Ministry,the ministry is yet to reconstitute the initial MGNREGA watchdog the Central Employment Guarantee Council more than a year after the term of its non-official members expired in July last year.

OILS NOT WELL

It seems that the proposal floated by the Petroleum Ministry to shut down petrol pumps after 8 pm to conserve fuel was even more elaborately thought out than imagined. It is believed that among the measures that were talked about was the setting up of a special provision for travellers on highways as well as rural areas. One of the proposals was that in case fuel is required on an emergency basis at night,special permission could be taken from the district magistrate for tanking up. So elaborate were the discussions on the proposal,it is learnt that even the size of the authorised jerry can for the emergency fuel purchase was considered.