Vastu, curse, stench
A long-continued belief seems to have finally died a natural death. It is about the Chief Minister’s Residence located on New Cantonment Road being ‘cursed’. There are reasons for the belief to endure. The house was built at the cost of Rs 16 crore when Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank was the CM. However, he was deposed midway as Gen B C Khanduri replaced him. Khanduri was edged out of the house after staying there just four months as he lost the Assembly election. Vijay Bahuguna stepped in on March 13, 2012. He had to move out too in less than two years in February 2014 as he was replaced by Harish Rawat. Seeing his predecessors falling by the wayside before they completed terms, Harish Rawat shunned the sprawling bungalow and instead made Bijapur Guest House his official residence. He said he would move into the house earmarked for the CMs after winning the by-election. The by-election over, he continued to stay put, saying that his family was too small for the huge bungalow. Harish Rawat clung to his resolve to steer clear of the ‘inauspicious’ bungalow and yet he lost his chair following the promulgation of President’s Rule on March 27. Now, the question is-is there something wrong in the bungalow or the flaws inherent in the CMs are shoving them out of the coveted office before the completion of their termsIJ However, on the other hand, the security personnel keeping guard at Bijapur Guest House are happy with the development. They are hoping that the ‘cursed’ myth having exploded, they would be spared duty amidst the stench-filled ambience at the guest house whose entrance remains bereft of a lavatory.
Primacy of civil secretariat
Uttarakhand Governor having become the cynosure of all eyes of the state since March-27-the day President’s Rule was imposed- has been running the administration principally through two advisors- Prakash Mishra and Ravindra Singh-whom the Centre sent to help him execute the day-to-day administrative work. Besides, he has a secretariat at his command at Rajbahawan. However, the Governor operating from the civil secretariat has curious eyebrows raised. The reason proffered-enabling the people to meet him without the least of difficulty- is, far from plausible. It means that the gaudy Rajbhawan is still prohibitive for them. Observers say that if the people can obtain appointments with the Governor to meet him at the civil secretariat the same can happen at Rajbhawan too. Does it mean that Rajbhawan is intended to retain its exclusive aura reminiscent of the British eraIJ Each state has three secretariats- Rajbhawan secretariat, Vidhan Sabha secretariat and civil secretariat. In Uttarakhand, chief ministers Nityanand, Bhagat Singh Koshyari and ND Tiwari operated from the Vidhan Sabha secretariat. When Maj Gen Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri took the reins he shifted the CMO from Vidhan Sabha secretariat to civil secretariat. Since then, all the CMs -Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Gen Khanduri, Vijay Bahuguna and Harish Rawat- executed their works from the civil secretariat. However, Harish Rawat converted his residence - Bijapur Guest House- into his secretariat as he held meetings till late night there. Now, the Governor sits in the civil secretariat from 10 am to 12 pm on every working day. This is, however, having a salutary impact on the officers, including the principal secretary and secretaries. They are marking their attendance sharp at 9.30 am.