The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Madurai News : Reporter's Diary

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 13, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Reporter's Diary

Whenever cricket season starts, people talk about the `cricket fever'.

Originally the fever used to grip the fans only during the World Cup, but gradually it broke out during the triangular series, and now it has caught up with almost every series. But this time, more than the `cricket fever', what has caught the attention of viewers is `Mandira fever'. This unique `syndrome', which originated during the World Cup played in South Africa, has spread its tentacles to the Champions Trophy matches, which are under way in England.

Such is the craze for Mandira Bedi, who co-hosts the special programme `extraa innings' in the Sony Entertainment Television. Though she is not known for her knowledge of the game (she herself admits), her charm and attractive smile keep the audience glued to the television sets.

It is learnt that there is a huge fan club for the star. Probably the numbers may go up after the Champions Trophy.

* * *

Any facility, which is created for the welfare of people, should be maintained properly. If proper care is not taken, all the efforts put in to the service will go waste.

A case in point is one of the decorative lamps installed around the Teppakulam, with the money sanctioned from the MLA's Local Area Development Fund, to beautify its ambience. It stands damaged. Since maintenance is not proper, many bulbs are in a poor condition.

It is high time the authorities concerned ensured good maintenance of the public welfare schemes.

* * *

When it comes to execution of development works, certain inconveniences are inevitable. But when they continue to hinder normal life for long, they will only upset the people.

For instance, the work on laying medians on the Lake View Road, up to P.T. Rajan Bridge, has been going on for the past few months. The work is progressing at a snail's pace, causing inconvenience to road-users.

Similarly, the work on laying pipes for the underground drainage has affected vehicular movement in some northern pockets of the city, particularly on Pudur Vandi Pathai Road and at DRO Colony.

While deep trenches have been dug on one side of the road, giant pipes have been placed on the other side. The workers have not taken any precautionary measures to prevent accidents, and many have fallen into the trenches at night. In the areas where the work has been completed, the roads have not been restored, claim locals.

* * *

(Contributions from

T. Saravanan,

M.R. Aravindan

and S. Vijay Kumar.)

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