ICSrivastava

Sanjay Gandhi ,PM Indira Gandhi's younger  son and prime mover of Emergency measures was to visit Rajasthan specially Bikaner.DG Police  Ganesh Singh  sent a day before , request to GAD to treat him as VVIP at par with the PM so as to allot two State escort Cars for his  security purposes also enclosing a newspaper cutting showing two Haryana State escort cars for  this purpose. Besides , a temporary State  telephone was to be provided below the rostrum  of Public meeting.  As GAD rules  did not provide for such s contingency I wanted to seek guidance of CS and sought appointment with CS's office which informed me to come at 6PM same day.CS saw the DG's request note and solved my problem in seconds by asking me to allot two cars to Police Department for its duties without  specifying the special task.Similarly,a temporary telephone was to be sanctioned to be paid for by Police Department .I happily returned to my Chamber and issued order...

After Kadana Mahi Project Agreement was signed between Rajasthan HD Joshi and Gujarat Governor 's Adviser Sareen in the Chamber and presence of Jagjivan R am,then Irrigation Minister GOI I had called  on then Secretary DOP TVRamnan en route to Banswara.He asked me if services of an IAS Officer were  still required to work as Director, Kadana Resettlement, I said boldly and frankly 'No' because executing rehabilitation  work could be completed by Engineers and Revenue officers  posted there. On arrival  at Banswara I received   posting orders for Deputy Secretary GAD and Cabinet  by wireless  enjoining me to take charge immediately. I rushed to Jaipur  next day leaving family behind   After signing charge report on 30th July 1975, I was escortsed sraight to Cabiet Room I found Hon. Shri PR Maderna Revenue Minister who had been a great  support at Barmer during Indo-Pak War 1971.He looked at my nervous looking face and ...

It was February 20 /1976 .PM Indira Gandhi was scheduled to inaugurate Khandu Colony built by Rajasthan Housing Board for the displaced persons of Khandu village submerged in the Mahi Bajsj Sagar Irrigation Dam being  built for the Irrigated  areas of Banswara District. PM had arrived in the evening day  before. VIP Room was done up with fresh paint and new toilet facilities. Traffic on the road below  VIP. room  was diverted  .However, she had dinner all by  herself though CM waited below on  the  lawn of Mahi Rest House, a picturesque place. In the morning  after breakfast and before  leaving  for inaugural function ,she was (overheard by attendants) ,complaing to CM ' "Aap ke machharon ne mujhe Sone nahin diya" Chief Engineer Shri BK Mehra with his team  had made arrangements for the inaugural function  and it passed off very well. On payback to Rest House PM slowed her vehicle and stopped  for a while to acce...

I was posted as Director , Resettlement,Mahi and Kadana Projects since November 1973..On 26th June evening , as usual,  after tennis game at the Club ,we were having tea and snacks at Mahi Rest House located atop a hillock negotiated by a winding road..Rest house overlooked the only road leading to town and a bye lane   which also enclosed the old house of then Chief Minister Shri Hari Deo Joshi. It so happened that CM Joshi,s daughter was  getting married as per Muhurrat  at dusk time .Sat phere or taking marriage  vows around Agni was under way. Suddenly , a roaring sound announced the arrival  of  a small plane.Chief Engineer Shri BK Mehra found out  on phone that Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi had convened an emergent meeting  of all CMs and sent for Shri Joshi for which Madhya Prajesh  CM JP Sthi  was aske to accompany  Shri Joshi in his State Plane. Shri Joshi left home post haste in the midst or on completion of ...

Today Jaipur citizens celebrate Jaipur 's Founation Day .The staue of  Sawai Jai Singh at Statue Circle reminds of his  multi-faceted  personality reflected in planning  this world famous city. Way back in 1976,when I was working as Deputy  Secretary  GAD and Cabinet a suggestion was received   by then  Chief Secretary  Shri Mohan Mukherjee that. State Government should celebrate  250th year of Jaipur's foundation. I as his Deputy   Secretary had to  process the same on file which I did.Among other things, it was pointed out that in order  to plan large scale celebration activities we should have consultations.  Chief Secretary directed me on the file to consult Shri AK Roy State Industrial Adviser and his batchmate who, as research study, had  recently published  book named ,A History of Jaipur.I called on him with file. Without  much thought  he wrote on the file " Why not celebrate 250...

In the wake of crash  of Mig 29  on 2nd September 2024  I am reminded of the first   Mig 21  which landed at Uttarlai on 9th.  December 1971.. As Collector and DM Barmer during Indo- Pak War 1971 and  ex officio  Civil Defence Controller I could address citizens of Barmer town on Simultaneous Broadcasting System (SBS? which proved a boon for the district administration. On the night of 8th- 9th December  night Pakistan  fighter planes had  bombed Railway Station Barmer  to cut off incoming army   supplies.loaded in goods train  Out of the entire  goods train 4 --5  wagons were totally  destroyed and a few  others kept burning at night in the flames generated by napalm bombs Then .District SP Shri Shantanu Kumar and I iviewed the  burning wagons from the front  of the Railway Station also  lying down for a few minutes as alarm siannounced likely sortie of Pak fighters F 104...