Smile and tears in Babudom
The recent bureaucratic reshuffle has left some Babus happy and others, worried. In the first category come those who have been relieved of some of the departments. This is because they feel they would be spared the Ministers dictating terms to them, the year being the election year. And in the second category fall the hapless Babus who have been given additional charges. They feel gloomy as they know that the Ministers would coax them to do more and more so that the former can milk its benefits electorally. Everybody having the slightest link with the Babudom knows how a Cabinet Minister sought to coerce a Babu into issuing a particular notification. However, the stubborn Babu refused to fall in line, resulting in heated exchange of words between them. Now, what has followed is that the particular Minister has been given additional charge in the recent portfolio allocation/reallocation exercise and the officer who refused to oblige has been relieved of the department concerned. Other officers who have been given more works are under great pressure. They are grumbling, saying that they would have to pay hard for their efficiency to oblige the Ministers.
Unparalleled Jollygrant
Jollygrant airport, expanded on the pattern of national airport, is all set to see another revamp to make it an international airport. Positive things are visible as the airport is drawing more and more number of flights and passengers. The airport being surrounded with dense forest pleases the eyes of the passengers after the planes take-off and when they land. The fliers say that there is hardly any airport across the country like Jollygrant airport because of the verdure. The pilots, however, have to take extra care to avoid a collision with birds and wild life when they land. During an interaction, an official said that it is a challenge to free the area from the birds and the wildlife wandering about on the tracks. Even leopard cubs being sighted are not rare. Pilots are asked to delay landing till the tracks are cleared of the wild life.