Nitish Kumar’s zeal makes a difference

Some chief ministers do have the magic wand in their hands, or the zeal to make a difference. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar seems to be one such person. Bhiku Sharma, the Bihari carpenter of one of our colleagues, gave him this account the other day.

“Sahab, hamri Bihar mein baahoot sudharna huyee hai. Jahaan sadak nahin thi, wahaan sadak aayee hai, jahaan puul nahin tha, wahan puul aayaa hai, aur jahaan iskool naahi na tha, wahaan iskool aayaa hai. (Sir, there has been a sea change in Bihar. Roads, bridges and schools have come up where none existed).”

Bhiku was also happy that a bus went directly from the Patna railway station to his village in Sitamarhi district bordering Nepal. Bhiku said, “Nitishji ne bus ko bhi theek kar diya hai (Nitishji has improved our bus services also)!” No wonder RR Patil, the state home minister, admitted in Pune recently that Maharashtra was lagging behind Bihar not just in agriculture but other spheres too. Wake up Chavan, Pawar and company!

Right answer for bizarre question
The district collector’s office is always flooded with applications. With the introduction of the Right To Information (RTI) Act, 2005, the load has increased. However, some applications can be bizarre. An octogenarian recently applied under the RTI Act, asking for permission to commit suicide.

Apparently, the old man was involved in a long drawn-out land feud, which had seen him reach the end of his tether. The officers simply told the old man that he could be booked for a cognisable offence and put behind bars. The police were also alerted.

Deadly protest
If you thought it was easy for the government to lay a village road, think again. A senior district administration officer narrated an incident that took place near Junnar recently. A road was planned to connect a remote Adivasi village with the main road. However, this necessitated acquisition of a small part of fallow land belonging to upper caste people. Worried that their lands would now be accessed by the tribals, the upper caste people decided to block the work of the district administration on D-day.

The whole upper caste village was up in arms. In fact, two upper caste women tried to commit suicide by consuming poison. The land acquisition process was stalled as the district administration had to rush the women to hospital. Strange are the ways of protest.

Strict discipline
We are aware of the fish-market like situation that often prevails in our legislative assemblies. After a particular stormy session in the House in Mumbai recently, a veteran opposition politician told media persons about the level of discipline and decorum practised in developed nations. According to him, during a particular budget session in a developed country, an opposition member was seen smoking on the premises of the House by the incumbent finance minister. The finance minister told him, “Enjoy your smoke now. From tomorrow, it is going to pinch your pocket.”

The opposition member promptly informed his colleagues about the imminent price hike in cigarettes. The opposition demanded the ouster of the finance minister for having “leaked” information of the budget before it was tabled. The finance minister had to resign. We are light years away from this.

East or west, Pune is the best
One of our colleague’s friends from Mumbai is bent on making Pune his new home. He told our colleague that the squalor, the crowds and the grime of Mumbai had got his goat. The Mumbaikar dramatically stated, “In Mumbai, it feels as if you are breathing the same air that others are breathing out.” He praised Pune’s existing green cover, its hills and pleasant weather. If there was any prodding needed to protect Pune’s fast receding green cover and hills, this is it!

(Contributed by Rahul
Chandawarkar, Bhagyashree Kulthe, Partha Sarathi Biswas, and Rajesh Rao. Compiled by Rahul Chandawarkar)