Point made
At the Dindigul Corporation council meeting on Thursday, DMK councillor and public health committee Chairman Indirani said that for the past 13 months she has been coming to the meeting like a rubber stamp, as no developmental work has been carried in the corporation. She added that she had visited all the 48 wards in the corporation and found most of the public toilets in unhygienic conditions. She also submitted the report with evidence. However, both mayor J Elamathi and deputy mayor S Rajappa did not pay attention to her grievance, and rather shouted at her to sit down.
Things politicos say
All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi founder and actor Sarathkumar said he knew the secret of living up to 150 years, while addressing a public meeting in Madurai recently. He said he would reveal it only if he was voted to become chief minister in the 2026 assembly election. Needless to say, he was trolled on social media and within a day he took back his statement saying it was a joke. “It’s not even humanly possible to live up to 150 years,” he added.
Justifying exceptions
Two wrongs do not make a right and neither does sugarcoating it. Bribes are an open secret, but the justification for graft varies from person to person. A few days back, a YouTuber’s car was involved in an accident in which an elderly woman was killed. When this reporter contacted the police officer on the case update, the officer had a hearty laugh and said, “About 10 people die in different accidents every day, why is it the media focuses just because it involves a YouTuber.” When the reporter questioned the cop over his insensitivity towards the victim, he started explaining how he extends his charity to people who reach his police station with the money he takes under the table, indirectly hinting that money had changed hands to settle the matter.
Credit goes to ...
As always, politicos and government officials jump to take credit for any positive impact in society and, not to mention, shy away from taking responsibility for shortcomings. On World No Tobacco Day last week, Health Minister Ma Subramanian felicitated two farmers who shifted to alternative crops from tobacco. Health department officials claimed the farmers stopped tobacco cultivation following awareness by the department about its harmful effects. However, the farmers had a different version. They said they stopped tobacco cultivation as they were finding it difficult to handle it during rainy days as carrying tobacco bundles on their head in the rain caused them to faint. Besides, they earned more money by cultivating onions, tomatoes, chilies and other crops as they can be harvested every three months, unlike tobacco which can only be harvested once in six months. “No one from the government gave us awareness on the harmful effects of handling tobacco,” they said.
The faithful
Recently, six employees working at the Southern Railway’s Multi-Disciplinary Zonal Training Institute in Tiruchy developed some skin disease. Suspecting it to be chicken pox, the railway team immediately conducted health check up of all the employees at the centre. A health team from the Tiruchy City Corporation also visited the centre. Both the teams confirmed that it was probably some heat rash and not chicken pox. However, railway unions who had already planned to conduct a protest refused to listen to experts, and conducted an agitation. Even those who joined the protest failed to understand its relevance as the railway had clarified there was no communicable disease. But nobody had the guts to say it to the union leader. Sources said the union leader used it as a publicity stunt to ensure his hold among employees. When asked about the need for such a protest, an employee who attended the agitation said their leaders never go wrong. A senior railway official who heard his response said, “May your faith save you”.
(Contributed by Jeyalakshmi Ramanujam, Vignesh V, Sahaya Novinston Lobo, Sinduja Jane, Jose K Joseph; Compiled by Affan Abdul Kadar)