Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

Reporter's Diary

Though the southern districts are prone to caste and communal riots, there has not been any major outbreak of violence in the recent years, thanks to timely intervention by the police in averting clashes.

However, the instigation to riots often comes from issues such as provocative slogans, posters and speeches resorted to by one group attacking the other.

Though the intelligence agencies keep their eyes wide open to such violations and register cases against those responsible, some trivial deviations, which have the potential to widen the gap between religious organisations or caste groups, go unnoticed.

For instance, two notice boards erected by different organisations in the city had some provocative lines written on them to mark the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

People usually have a craze for anything "foreign".

This phenomenon is now spreading to the education sector as well, as many foreign universities have been eyeing for a tie-up or partnership with local institutions.

Though `partnership' is a word that suggests mutual benefit, the tie-up in this field seems to benefit more the universities abroad than our own.

Here is an example of how foreign universities try to attract Indian students while not for sending their students to India.

Even as the principals and college correspondents in Madurai privately admit that there was no mutual advantage, they could not resist but to host a programme on institutional tie-up with UK universities on Friday.

The visiting dignitary from the Department of Education and Skills, Government of United Kingdom, was evasive to a question from a reporter on whether students from his country would come to Indian institutions under the partnership programme.

"Maybe in the long run, as there is no infrastructure here", he says before meeting college principals in Madurai. But, he was very eager to say that UK-based institutions were opening offices in Chennai and Madurai by May to tap Indian students who now have to pay more because of what, the visitor says, is the `brand value' his country's institutions have.

A principal of a leading college in the city could only endorse the view that it would be a "one-way traffic." Making the Indian students pay more for just brand value is what is going to happen as the principals jump in to agreements.

"Exploiting education in the globalisation bandwagon" is what a college principal has to say about the UK-attempt.

Work on reconstruction of the Ellis Nagar Bridge is progressing at a brisk pace, is welcome too.

As part of this measure, some kind of work is going on at the bridge near the Periyar bus stand for which the road has been dug up. This has resulted in traffic becoming chaotic, particularly during night, as majority of the vehicles, especially lorries with heavy loads and tourist buses and vans, notice the pit only after nearing it and make a screeching halt.

As a result, bikes and auto-rickshaws approaching from behind these heavy vehicles sometimes bump on them.

Further, the vehicles while trying to negotiate this point have to cross into the opposite lane and then return to their track. This also causes a traffic snarl.

This medical shop on the New Natham Road is different.

Unlike other medical shops, pharmacist here does not insist customers on purchase of alternative drugs when the actual one sought is not available. Moreover, when there is a crowd and the customers are made to wait, he even provides for refreshments! (coffee or tea). The outcome of the customer care is reflected by the growing business at the shop. At a time when a majority of people have a negative opinion on drug stores for various reasons, including difference of prices of medicines from shop to shop that are not billed, the attitude of this drug store owner has set a new `marketing' trend among medical shops in the city.

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Mahatma remembered
Around the City
In Madurai Today
Reporter's Diary

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