While the teachers have not got their salaries for five to six months many other employees have not got a penny for the last 10 to 12 months.

The example has little bit resemblance with the saying when “Rome was burning Nero was fiddling.” The irony is that these employees have been asked to observe March 22 with full fervour even if they have no money to celebrate Holi with their children.

It needs to be reminded that the Human Resource Development (HRD) department and Art, Culture and Youth Affairs Department of the Nitish government are trying to make the Bihar Diwas function a grand affair. The irony is that when the officials work overtime as the financial year comes to end on March 31 they are being engaged first in the asset declaration work and now in this jamboree. Almost the entire state machinery work has come to a grinding halt for the last couple of months because of these two activities, which many officials have dubbed, as totally uncalled for campaigns.

The Bihar Diwas function will start on March 22 and end on March 24. And in several other departments, for example Police, the pre-Diwas celebrations have started from March 13 itself.

The irony is that most of these employees had to celebrate Dussehra, Diwali and Eid without salaries last year too.

But the HRD has issued directive to all the schools to celebrate Bihar Diwas by decorating the school walls with pictures of prominent personalities from the state who have carved out a niche for themselves. The school-teachers too have been asked to draw the map of Bihar on walls of schools.
Not only the state government has failed to pay the salary to its employees, many of its schemes meant for children and poor have been put off as there is no time to take care of them.

A news report from Gaya said that the salaries of around 25 per cent of the state government employees, and those of Magadh University and several other public sector units for February are yet to be paid. The district authorities have conceded that they might not be able to pay them before Holi as the offices were busy preparing the assets declaration of the state government employees.

Apart from that some offices like the Gaya District Board had not paid salary to its employees for the past 32 months. Even the Gaya Municipal Corporation employees are going through the same plight for the past 10 months.

Comment

comments...

Nothing more rediculous than this. Bihar govt. is spending crores in organising Bihar Divas but the ground reality is something else. For God sake don't waste public money. This would be inhuman criminal act. Let every one to celeberate Holii.

Vikas Singh