An uncommon man's "common" choice

Desaraju Surya
Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy is by no means a “common” man.
But then, he started eating “common rice” since Sunday only to drive home the point that the rice that comes at a cheaper price need not be cheap or sub-standard.
“Since Sunday, I have been eating rice cooked out of the common variety of rice. I found it quite OK. I have instructed my family people that from now onwards we shall use this common variety of rice. I was told it costs only Rs 15.50 a kg. However, there is another variety of the same rice which costs only Rs 14.50 per kilo. I want to try that now. I don’t think there is any much difference between the two varieties of rice,” the Chief Minister remarked at a high-level review meeting on prices of essential commodities.
“Superfine rice,” as it is called, is a most-preferred variety in Andhra Pradesh and obviously it’s commanding a price of over Rs 35 a kg, what with the spurt in demand. Though the Rajasekhara Reddy government repeatedly promised over the last one-and-a-half years to ensure that superfine rice is sold at Rs 20 a kg, it never really happened as the price rose sharply every month from Rs 24 to Rs 35 a kg, causing uproar from the public. The Sortex variety, which is more polished, is being sold at Rs 39 to Rs 42 per kilo in most super markets.
As the superfine rice is being smuggled out of Andhra Pradesh into neighbouring Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, there is an obvious scarcity of the commodity in the local market, causing the price to spiral. The Chief Minister himself told the state Assembly that superfine rice and other essential commodities were being smuggled out of the state since “the prices here are comparatively less.”
With the efforts to check price rise failing to yield desired results, the Chief Minister probably thought of propagating the use of the so-called cheaper varieties so that demand for superfine rice could be brought down.
“The Chief Minister himself is trying to set an example by eating the common variety of rice which is widely available in the market for a very less price,” one of his aides pointed out.
Now, Rajasekhara Reddy would like his Cabinet colleagues as well to eat common rice.
Besides rice, the Chief Minister has included Raagi Sankati, a staple diet of people of Rayalaseema region, in his food menu to highlight its nutritional value.
A doctor himself, Rajasekhara Reddy also has other alternatives like Gutti Vankaaya (stuffed brinjal) and Bengal gram that cost much less than other vegetables and tur dal respectively. “People should use different pulses instead of tur dal, a staple diet of the Telugus, for a balanced diet. That’s good for health,” the Chief Minister pointed out.

Rain and the "Greater" ordeals in Hyderabad

Desaraju Surya
Hyderabad: It rained heavily in Hyderabad today, the heaviest downpour (11.2 cm) so far this season, after a prolonged dry spell. The rain, however, hasn’t brought cheers to the lakhs of citizens as they are caught in yet another day of ordeal. Such ordeals have become a common feature in the state capital whenever the skies open up. And, there is no escape to the citizens from the agonies.
Luckily, I was home well before the rain started. I got a call from one of my dear friends who was stuck in his office as it began raining quite heavily. “How lucky you are to be home! I will be spending some more hours in the office as there is no way I could move out. Traffic has come to a standstill right here and it will be the same scene along my route home,” the friend told me.
I switched on the television news only to find news scrolls announcing traffic jams across the city. All the main routes, busy with rush hour traffic, have come to a grinding halt. Sometime later, another scroll informed me about the inundation of a low-lying area somewhere in the city – which is now called “Greater Hyderabad.” Another ‘breaking news’ said a man got washed away in a storm water drain (nala in local parlance).
By late night, the city had virtually been paralysed. Traffic was not moving an inch on the main roads. Even ministers and bureaucrats had a (bitter) taste of the sorry-state-of-affairs in this historic city – many of them were stranded on the roads as their cars wouldn’t move ahead.
Back home, there was a power blackout for nearly two hours. My son wanted to call the power supply office to find out why the transmission was cut. I tried to reason it could be because of a technical problem due to the heavy rain but he wasn’t willing to believe that version. “These people made it a habit to cut down power without any reason,” he argued. I couldn’t convince him further.
That’s life in Hyderabad, sorry Greater Hyderabad! I started calling it hell for sometime now, but there is no escape.
Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy boasts of spending over Rs 2700 crore on “development” of Greater Hyderabad ever since he started ruling the state five years ago. In all development works worth Rs 5500 crore were underway, he says.
As a citizen, I am fully convinced that Rajasekhara Reddy is telling blatant lies. Rather shamelessly. For, there is no “development” whatsoever in the city. Things have been deteriorating day by day, as I see them over the past few years. But still, the Chief Minister continues to promise heaven – of making a Singapore or a Shanghai of Greater Hyderabad in the next five years by spending Rs 20,000 crore.
Tall claims, with a clear on the impending elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.
As things stand, there is nothing to feel proud of the “greater” status that Hyderabad has acquired. Roads, including the arterial ones, are worn out; there is no real drainage system; street lighting is awful and the less said the better about the traffic.
The city police have long forgotten the essential thing called regulation and left people to suffer. Of course, civic sense is clearly lacking and traffic violators are growing by the day, thanks also to the lackadaisical policing.
When I first stayed in Hyderabad for more than 10 months in 1997, things were better. During my second stay for over a year in 2000-01, I didn’t find any deterioration but on my return to the city in 2006 I couldn’t really comprehend what’s happening on the city roads. ‘Chaos’ could be a smaller term to describe the situation in 2006 but now I need to search for superlatives to tell the tale!

Explanation, not an excuse.

Desaraju Surya
It has been exactly a month since I updated my blog. One of my dear friends called me last week to ask why I did not update my blog over the last few days.
Somehow, I was unable to post anything new in the last 30 days because of a variety of reasons. My profession demands that I spend quite a good number of hours in front of the computer besides attending to other regular work. Frankly, the quite hectic schedule seems to be leaving its impact on me, what with the growth in my age.
If I have to blame one specific thing for my lack of energy – as earlier – it is the traffic in Hyderabad. It is the worst, to put it mildly. And, it’s clearly taking a toll on me since I am forced to spend quite a good number of hours on the roads as well, travelling from place as part of my job.
And, sitting in front of computer for long durations has left my eyes strained. It has become a genuine problem for me these days. Hence, I couldn’t really sit down to write down something though many thoughts have been racing in my mind.
Here, I would like to add that I have recently become a member of Facebook community on the Internet and I am quite enjoying it. In a way I am getting addicted to it since I love friends and staying in touch with them regularly. So, one of the reasons for my irregular blog posts is my new fixation with Facebook.
Nevertheless, I would try to write something regularly, if not daily, on the issues of public concern and keep my readers posted.