LUCKNOW: By now, it is clear that the Aditya Nath Yogi government’s over-emphasis on ‘cleanliness with discipline’ was not just the rhetoric of a newly anointed government. The realisation has a far-reaching impact.
Government offices have become cleaner, attendance in offices has gone up and with babus in a hurry to reach office on time, the peak hour on city arteries has advanced at least by 60 minutes – from 10.00 am to 9.00 am or even before.
Even a peon can’t escape the prying eyes of his officer. As soon as Sevak Ram took out a pouch of paan masala from his pocket, he got a dressing down by his officer who reminded him of the ban and dared him not to falter again.
The man could have thrown it on secretariat premises as has been the practice but he forced it back into his pocket.
Moreover, those who have switched over to chewing gums and toffies cautiously keep the wrappers in their pockets to be thrown later. Thanks to the ‘swachhta shapath’ (pledge of cleaniliness).
‘Time’ culture was next on the agenda. With ministers, as per the CM’s directives, reaching office at sharp 9:30 in the morning, leave no excuse for bureaucrats. They too have no choice but to follow suit.
The secretariat parking slot was already full. “Saab log aa chuke hain. Bade sahab aur chhote babu log sabhi ab time par aa jaate hain, (everyone has come. All officers come on time now),” the guard at the main gate says.
“I reach office before 9:30 since I have to ensure the cleanliness in and around my office premises,” says Minister of State Upendra Tiwari. Ministers both senior and junior are following the oath of ‘swachhata’ and reaching offices on time.
The new found alacrity among officials has percolated to the traffic department as well. Encroachments and snarls on roads suddenly appear less messy.
On Friday, traffic cops collected Rs 1.5 lakh as penalty for wrongly parked vehicles on a single stretch in Hazratganj. In all 270 vehicles were booked within a few hours. “It was historic,” admits a senior cop.
Much on the lines of the Central government, Yogi’s government is making ‘biometric attendance’ an order in office. The pretext of remaining elusive in the name of lunch or spending time at tea stalls no longer comes in handy.
“Now the out time and in time has to be entered on a register,” says a lower division clerk in secretariat. Attendance has gone up after the CM’s call to bureaucrats to slog for 18-20 hours a day. No official file can now be carried home.
On the law and order front, the change is palpable. Anti-Romeo squads are quite a success and the sense of fear among girls is dissipating gradually. “I am now confident about my safety. Even the stalkers and eve-teasers have become cautious,” says Aruna, a second year grad student of a famed Lucknow university.
“If the administration is able to sustain this alacrity, law and order is bound to improve,” says Manish Shukla of Lucknow University.
Even the Allahabad High Court (Lucknow Bench) has come out in support of the drive. A Bench of Justice AP Sahi and Sanjai Harkauli upheld the State government’s action of activating police circles against romeos. “The constitution of anti-romeo squads are totally lawful and constitutional,” the judges said in an order passed on a PIL filed against anti-romeo squads.
However, there are ‘collateral damages’. City’s love bird nests like Janeshwar Mishra Park, Lohia Park, Residency and several other spots in the old city now wear a deserted look.
Meanwhile, the crackdown on meat traders threatened the famed Awadhi-Mughlai food culture of Lucknow. Initially it seemed like the sophistication associated with Awadhi cuisine culture was going to be the biggest victim of the new governance.
A city which still emits the secular flavour of its rich Awadhi culture intricately woven around a strong socio-political fabric, was apparently heading for a humongous change which was bound to affect all aspects of life.
The city known for its non-vegetarian delicacies the world over went virtually meatless for a fortnight when meat sellers called a strike in support of a crackdown on slaughterhouses.
Iconic joints like Tunday’s, Kareem’s and Mubeen’s remained shut for days together probably for the first time in the history of their existence. Not only this, foodies had a changed taste of chicken kababs instead of buffalo meat offered by them.
With government teachers being threatened with FIRs for taking private tuitions and being advised to follow a dress code, government schools uniform may also be in for a change.
For a city so accustomed to its own pace, the changes are so sudden and fast that the Nawab that resides in every Lucknow resident could be heard crooning: “Yogi ji dheere dheere...”