Pat on the back
By preferring the modest Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) hospital popularly known as Doon hospital for treatment and admission albeit for only one day, Chief Minister TSR has given a clear message about his endorsement for the facilities and compatibility of the doctors and other staff members of the government hospital. There is no denying the fact that the hospital has remained at the forefront of the war against the pandemic of Covid-19 in the state. Aided by the government, the facilities in the GDMC have witnessed an appreciable increment in the last few months. When he got infected with the Covid-19 the CM decided to get his CT and other tests done at the hospital and later when the fever gripped him he chose the GDMC hospital to get admitted over a much hyped, pompous five star hospital in Dehradun and another super specialty facility in the government sector located near the Ganga in the district. The GDMC hospital was made the dedicated Covid centre at the start of the pandemic and to its credit it has treated and cured maximum number of patients of the disease than any other hospital in the state. The patient profile of the hospital includes every section of the society. It is no wonder that more than 70 percent of the frontline warriors of this hospital have been infected with the disease from April till date.
Political appointments
The political appointments in the government universities have become a norm in the Himalayan state. These appointments are one of the major reasons for dismal academic standards in the varsities of the state. In one such appointment done recently a person who was accused of sexual harassment by one his colleagues during his previous stint was handed over an important assignment in the only central university of the state. A powerful politician of the state who at present holds a key portfolio in the NaMo cabinet is said to be behind this appointment. Apart from bringing mediocrity the political appointments tend to bring rifts in the academic fraternity which often result in open confrontation between functionaries as witnessed between Vice Chancellor and Registrar of a university of the state recently. One can also recall the episode when a VC of a university wrote a letter to CM in which he feared threat to life from his registrar. The sufferers in this blatant game of favouritism and one- upmanship are the academic environment and the students.
Dil mange more
It seems that the government employees of Uttarakhand are in total synergy with the philosophy expressed by the famous quote, ‘I love my job only when I’m on vacation’. The decision of the state government to withdraw the winter vacations this year evoked such a strong protest from the powerful associations of government school teachers that the government had to reverse the decision. The idea to do away with the vacations this year was prompted by the fact that since the schools remained closed for most of the period this year, the students of secondary sections that were opened in the month of November can get some precious time with their teachers before board examinations. However the teachers got infuriated at the prospect of a winter without vacations and forced the government to eat humble pie. It is not only the teachers who show great affinity for leaves, work in all government departments was affected drastically in the month of December as the employees took turns to finish their quota of annual leaves in the year where offices remained closed for a major part of the year due to pandemic enforced lockouts and work from home option.
Friday, 01 January 2021 | Gajendra Singh Negi | Dehradun
