Beyond the call of duty

Politicians and government officials are usually generous in giving members of the public their phone numbers and also telling them to contact them directly in case of need, whatever be the hour of the day. But generally, the dignitaries remain elusive. They seldom personally pick up the phone and their personal attendants come up with the age-old excuses of them being busy in meetings or some other work.

There was a Principal Secretary whose phone would always respond with a recorded message. He would never respond unless and until it was conveyed that his minister needed him for some work.

There is another category of people who do not pick up the phone at all. About four decades back, a Prime Minister was to visit Himachal Pradesh. Adampur was the nearest airport then. So, as per the protocol, all necessary arrangements were made at Jalandhar. A hotline was to be provided from the Circuit House to the place where he would be staying. The telephone authorities fixed up the apparatus and rang up to check if the line was operational. But no one responded. A senior officer from Delhi was sent to the place. Only then everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

A chief minister wanted to speak to his Chief Secretary urgently. His staff tried their best, but only a recorded message was heard. A special car had to be sent to his residence to tell him to speak to the CM.

However, I have witnessed an exceptional example of easy and effective accessibility of a DC when I had to travel with him late at night. Every few minutes, he would get a call on his mobile phone. Most of the calls pertained to the unlawful use of loudspeakers, received from worried students. He would immediately get in contact with police officials directly.

We were near Birowal when he received a call from a woman crying bitterly. She lived at a village near Banga. Her in-laws had turned her out along with her two small children. It was 10.30 pm. He immediately spoke to the police and civil administration officials, and rang her back twice to reassure her. He seemed to be a man possessed. At Banga, he told her he would be coming to the place of her in-laws. I got down from his car as I had to go to Amritsar.

On the way, I rang him up, just out of curiosity, to know how he was handling such a ticklish and emotional issue. He seemed fresh even at 3.30 am and told me that he had gathered the panchayat and entrusted the responsibility of her safety and that of her children to them, and for her comfortable and honourable stay at her in-laws’ house. Such promptness and alacrity go a long way in redeeming people’s faith in the responsiveness of the governance system.