Mr. Shirlekar is 82 years old .Born on 3-9-1929.
He spends his time in Akola [Vidarbh] and Pune.
When in Pune He stays with his son.
He feels the day of his promotion as the most happy event in his life and a day of joy for all Shirlekars. This is what he has to say and the account is in his own words.
The day of rejoicing for Shirlekars
Some time in about 1954-55 a truck moved over the streets in Balaghat town, then in Madhya Pradesh [and now in Chhattisgarh] state in India. The banner hung over the truck was “14th Annual session of The M.P .Subordinate Engineering Services Association” and about 30 persons seated in truck shouted the slogan “We will live as overseers and die as overseers”. Having put in about 5 years service in Madhya Pradesh Public Works Department, I was one among those 30 persons.
The slogan being shouted by the occupants in the truck obviously spoke about the bleak Chances of promotion for overseers in the employment of the State Government. I came to know that overseers in class III executive posts were eligible for promotion to the limited non gazetted posts as Sub Divisional officers and only a couple of posts in the entire state available to them for promotion to the gazetted posts of Assistant Engineer in class II and Executive Engineer in class I. It then naturally followed that only a few of the most efficient ones could aspire to go up to these superior ranks and that too at the fag end of their services.
The slogan that I have mentioned had an impact on me and for the first time I was worried about my own promotion that seemed so distant. I was quite happy and contented till then, with my three figure monthly salary which was comparable to the salaries earned by Graduates working on class III executive posts in other departments of the state.
The second reason for my contentment was that I came from a poor family and had to struggle a lot during my student days and in spite of all odds I had obtained the Diploma in Civil Engineering from Nagpur University. There was no Degree course then and Government Engineering School was the only institution having engineering faculty in the state.
He slogan affected me in such a way that I took my job with utmost sincerity and hard work and my eyes were set on the promotion in the service.. Luckily at the time of reorganization of states I was allocated to Ex Bombay state where there was no quota rule for promotion to class II post of Deputy Engineer and class I post of executive Engineer. The only criteria for promotion to class II post were that a Diploma Holder had to put in 10 years of service in class III post of overseer/Junior Engineer while a Graduate was eligible for this promotion with three years of service only .For further promotion to class I Gazetted post the only criterion common for all was 7 years service in class II post of Deputy Engineer.
Accordingly immediately after completion of 10 years service as overseer /Junior Engineer I was promoted to the Gazetted Class II post of Deputy Engineer in 1959.
This promotion was a moment of extreme joy for all Shirlekars and it knew no bounds, more so when we thought of the slogan given in 1954-55 that once an overseer for ever an overseer. The vicious spell was broken and I was no more an overseer.
And then came the moment when All Shirlekars reached the pinnacle of Joy when on 10-9-1978 with 9 years still for retirement ,I received Government Orders promoting me to Class I gazetted post of Executive Engineer in Public Works Department.
The occasion was celebrated on a grand scale and as is customary sweets were distributed to one and all. This to me was my finest day.
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