Imagine a district magistrate offering a bribe to a police constable. Rudraprayag DM Mangesh Ghildiyal did so on Sunday night and the constable refused to accept the cash.
It was a test.
In "disguise", the magistrate was doing the rounds of the area to check if the arrangements for the Char Dham yatra were in place.
Ghildiyal also fined the Sulabh International Rs 5 lakh for poor upkeep of toilets and slapped a shopkeeper with Rs 5,000 fine for using banned plastic bags.
Constable Mohan Singh, however, impressed him. The district has now been given a cash award to recognise his dedication to duty.
On Sunday night, the constable had stopped his private vehicle from proceeding to Gaurikund, when the official, who was disguised as a tourist, was visiting the main yatra halts on way to Kedarnath to take stock of the arrangements.
When the official reached the Sonprayag police barrier in his private vehicle at around 12 am, the constable intercepted him, saying private vehicles were not allowed to go beyond that point.
In order to test the constable's dedication to duty, the DM, who was not recognisable as he was wearing a cap and an anti-pollution mask, requested to let him continue his journey and even offered to pay him Rs 200 as "convenience fee".
But the constable refused to budge. He allowed the DM to move on only after he left behind his private vehicle at Sonprayag.
"The constable's unflinching dedication to duty impressed me beyond measure. There is great pressure on personnel deployed on the main yatra halts due to the huge rush of devotees but here was a constable who stuck to the rules refusing to buckle under pressure. He has set an example for others to follow," Ghildiyal said.
The district magistrate said he will personally meet the constable and honour him."The cash award has already been dispatched to him and the certificate of appreciation will be handed over to him at a function," he said.
During the secret stock-taking mission to Gaurikund, the main halt for pilgrims on way to Kedarnath, the official interacted with the yatris incognito and they talked about their inconveniences with him in an uninhibited way.
As he inspected the toilets he found them very dirty, the water faucets dry and no-functional. The general mismanagement and lackadaisical attitude of the personnel on duty angered the official who transferred the Gaurikund sector magistrate to Kedarnath, besides recommending the suspension of assistant engineer and additional engineer of the Jal Sansthan.
A fine of Rs five lakh was imposed on Sulabh International for poor upkeep of toilets and the Jal Sansthan was asked to fix water supply problems, Ghildiyal said.
He said a shop-owner in Gaurikund was slapped with a fine of Rs 5,000 for using polythene bags despite a ban on them and a contractor in Sitapur with a penalty Rs 15,000 for poor sanitation.
He said he spent the night on a bench at Ghoda Padav but found that horse and mule operators were not overcharging as some of the complainants suggested.
However, there were no police jawans to be seen at Gaurikund at 1 am which is the scheduled time for start of horse and mule operations for the pilgrims.
The district magistrate said he had planned his visit to Gaurikund disguised as a tourist to see for himself the arrangements and whether there was any truth in the complaints about some officials not discharging their duties properly.
The DM said now that he has assessed things first hand and taken action against erring officials and firms, things are bound to improve over the next few days.
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