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Confused employee wading through Nerd Nirvana

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Location: Hyderabad, AP, India

Program Manager Microsoft IT India

Sunday, May 28, 2006

I've been working on the railroad...

Making long trips to Bombay every summer of my schooling, I have always been found of Indian Railways, which I have always believed was an extremely well oiled machine, for the sheer volume of the people and goods it has to handle on an hourly basis. Albeit one of British legacies to India, it is one of the best maintained, and we Indians have every reason to be proud of the world's second largest railway system.

Therefore I was quite heartened to year that the turnover of Indian Railways for the year 2005-2006 was close to 9800 crores, and that the railways has been consistently making a profit, having generated Rs 13,000 crore worth internal resources as also surplus revenue of Rs 11,000 crore over the past three years.

And the man responsible for this sterling performance is ironically a politician reviled in the popular media for his "dacoit" image and total lack of "savoir faire". Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.

On May 4, 2006, the PTI reported that Lalu Prasad Yadav had declined ideas from a delegation of IIM professors on how to run his ministry. IIM-A don Professor G Raghuram was the head of a committee that had predicted the railways would incur Rs 60,000 crore debt in the next 10 years and slip into bankruptcy,and had suggested that Prasad appoint an advisory board for efficient functioning of the organisation.

To which the erstwhile Lalu replied "No thanks, I think I can run the ministry myself"

And by God, he can!

Being naturally curious, I researched up on Lalu's three year stint as Railway Minister, and it seems high turnover and reserves is not all this spunky demagogue can be proud of. Lalu, as Railway Minister has a tradition of soundly punishing imcompetent bureaucrats in the Railways. Sample the following:

Laloo suspends railway official for ‘harassment’ - May 4, 2005 Deccan Herald

Laloo turns back late employees, Laloo Prasad Yadav raids goods train - July, August 2004

I plan to continue this post...so just save it here for a while...

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Impressive...Very impressive work u've got here lad!

1:38 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Do not write like P.G Wodehouse. Just because you like him. Or I might just have to nickname you something ludicrous on the likes of the Empress.

10:03 PM  

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