UP: PWD asks engineers to catch strays before CM’s visit to Mirzapur, order withdrawn

Shahira Naim
Tribune News Service
Lucknow, January 28

Two controversial government orders for engineers and teachers in Uttar Pradesh have ruffled some feathers in the state.

In the first controversial order, the Public Works Department reportedly ordered the deployment of nine junior engineers to clear the streets of Mirzapur of “stray animals” during Chief Minister Adityanath’s proposed trip to Mirzapur on Wednesday.

Nine engineers had to be stationed at different places in Mirzapur to use ropes to keep stray animals from impeding VIP movement.

The order was withdrawn after the Mirzapur Engineer Association wrote to the department objecting to the decision. The letter said that engineers did not have the requisite training for the task, and should they get hurt in the process, the association would not be responsible for them.

“It is better the administration gets this work done by some other agency,” the letter said.

Adityanath is visiting Mirzapur on Wednesday as part of the five-day Ganga Yatra that he had flagged off in Bijnore on Monday.

Equally bizarre was the duty assigned to Siddhartha Nagar school teachers, who were expected to turn into beauticians to dress up brides for a mass marriage programme.

An order issued by a block education officer (BEO) in Siddharthanagar district assigned a beautician’s duty to 20 female teachers but the same was later withdrawn when the news went viral on the social media on late last night.

Siddharthanagar Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) Surya Kant Tripathi issued a second order cancelling the previous one, and another one ordering an inquiry into the incident.