Fragrance for officer, foul smell for others

The train displaying the photographs of Mother Teresa was placed on platform number 9 of Patna Junction amid nauseating stench because a large number of people living along the railway tracks treat it as a loo. When a top railway officer visited the exhibition on wheels, a railway employee continuously sprayed room freshener to ensure the pungent smell of human excreta did not reach his nostrils.Perhaps we should force the officer to stay here for the whole day to ensure the railway sprayed air fresheners throughout the entire platform,” said a passenger waiting for his train. Regular commuters recalled the platform remained spick and span during the regimes of Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar and Ram Vilas Paswan as railway minister. The railway authorities ensured its cleanliness fearing surprise visits. “Ever since the railway has gone out of the hands of Biharis, the entire station remains unclean and platform 9 is the worst of them all,” said a passenger.

Natural cure

Health minister Ashwini Choubey has found a friend going gaga over natural cure and indigenous medicine. A BJP minister recently claimed at the party office to have found an indigenous way of getting rid of dandruff. The composition of his secret drug included urine of cow. “I have heard of urine therapy and the names of politicians who believed in it are known. But you must be the only one using it that way,” said a disgusted BJP leader.

Extra burden

A senior IAS officer has been given temporary charge of an important department as its permanent in-charge has gone abroad on an official trip. The IAS official comes to the department and insists that he should be given only routine files. “Let the asli saheb come back. He will take the policy decisions,” insisted the temporary boss. With pressure building up in every department, additional charge is not welcome nowadays.

Praise if can’t fight

Chief minister Nitish Kumar may have been flooded with awards but he tries to sound modest. At a function at the Patna Golf Club when speaker after speaker lauded Nitish Kumar for the changes he has brought about in Bihar, Nitish declared that he had done nothing and that it was the people of Bihar who deserved all the praise. “All I can say is that you (the people of Bihar) will not have to be ashamed because of any of my acts,” he said. However, his modesty did not stop his admirers from praising him. One of them was BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha. He declared that the Bihar chief minister had adbhoot (amazing) qualities. Given the flip-flop in relationship between Sinha and Nitish, people appeared amused. “There is an adage that if you can’t beat them, you join them,” said a face in the crowd.