At a time when the entire police force was on the battling front, it is amusing to note that only one police officer valiantly poses as waging a war - euphemistically called a ‘Corona fight’.
This trailer of the documentary, which focuses on the police work during the lockdown, bravely showcases only one officer in opposition to a battery of senior officials.
The trailer has become a hot topic among the corridors of power as it was launched by a Minister but misses the videos or images of the Minister or other officers in the Commissionerate.
“It’s a novel way of promoting oneself during the crisis situation,” quipped one officer. The documentary is to be released very soon.’
Policemen a worried lot
Coronavirus has become the most dreaded word among the rank and file of the police force in Telangana as the number of positive cases in the department are alarmingly rising by every passing day.
Even the top brass are keeping their immediate subordinates at arm's length and were confined to protect their health first.
Though four police personnel in the State capital have succumbed to the deadly virus, the palpable fear among the police is such that they stopped sharing the new ‘hotspots’ within the department.
Of over 200 positive cases across the State, including 3 IPS officers, Hyderabad police commissionerate emerged as the scariest hotspot.
The opaqueness in not sharing information about the pandemic situation within the department has become a cause of worry among the lower rank officers. Comparisons are drawn with other States where police COVID-19 warriors were cheered-up and given all the support to fight it, the manifest taciturnity of Telangana police has come in for sharp criticism among the affected. Disclosure is the best policy in times of pandemic situation, averred another policeman.
Advanced Inter supplementary exams
The State government is said to be exploring the idea of cancelling the advanced supplementary Intermediate exams which are due to commence on July 12 and pass all the 3.30 lakh students who failed the main exams this month. It is said legal opinion is fully loaded in favour of cancellation due to spread of coronavirus and passing the failed candidates as it will not give rise to litigation. If the government passed a section of students and failed others, it can result in litigation that could be avoided. If all the students pass, what about the 25 weightage marks in EAMCET for performance in Intermediate?.
Corona and political slanging
In response to BJP president J.P. Nadda’s comments at a virtual rally of the party cadre in the State on Saturday that the State government failed to contain the spread of COVID-19 and that Chief Minster K. Chandrasekhar Rao is responsible for it, Health Minister Eatala Rajender’s reaction was “how many ventilators, PPE kits and N-95 masks has the Centre sent to the State after repeated requests?” He claimed that it’s Telangana that has introduced the concept of containment in the country.
Seeking to know whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi would take the responsibility for the spread of coronavirus in Gujarat and Delhi, Mr. Eatala Rajender also reminded Mr. Nadda that it was Telangana State governmentthat had first informed the Centre and Delhi governments about the spread of COVID-19 from the markaz meeting held in Delhi.
Restrictions back in govt. offices
Employees heave sigh of relief as restrictions are back in government offices.
Lifting of restrictions in movement of people in the government offices last month has become a cause of concern for the government employees.
The restrictions which were put in place after the state reported steep hike in the number of positive cases helped in containing the spread of the pandemic in government offices to a large extent. But cases of employees being affected by Covid-19 showed a spike ever since these curbs were lifted. The government offices, the Boorgula Ramakrishna Rao Bhavan and the adjacent GHMC headquarters in particular, reported several cases of Covid-19 positive patients even as signing attendance in time was made mandatory.
Representations made by the staff went in vain for some days. The employees, however, heaved a sigh of relief as the government finally reimposed the restrictions in the government offices the other day.
(Abhinay Deshpande,
N. Rahul & B. Chandrashekhar & M. Rajeev)