Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

Reporter's Diary

Is it fair on the part of financial institutions to publish photographs of loan defaulters in dailies to realise the money by humiliating their clients? Can a photograph submitted along with the loan application be misused by these firms? These are some of the daunting questions in the minds of the public.

But the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court feels it is not proper for finance companies to indulge in such unpleasant acts. While hearing a writ petition this week, Justice D. Murugesan told the counsel for a reputed finance company to advise his client not to harass the loan defaulters by publishing their photographs.

"Of course, you've the right to realise borrowed money. That does not mean you can publish photographs, which are given to you for the purpose of obtaining the loan," the Judge said.

Life was completely thrown out of gear and people had little option but to scurry to safety to escape the brunt of torrential rains. Flash floods ravaged houses and industrial units, breached roads and damaged bridges. People had to seek shelter in kalyana mandapams initially. The district, in the last few days, witnessed a stream of VIPs. The first to visit the affected areas was the Public Works Department and Revenue Minister, O. Panneerselvam, accompanied by the Secretary, Commercial Taxes, S. RajarethinamOn Sunday, the Union Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, the Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, and the Minister of State for Home, A. Reghupathy, toured some of the areas in the city, before undertaking an aerial survey. The Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Anitha R. Radhakrishnan, and the Speaker, K. Kalimuthu, also coordinated relief efforts. .

For a rain-starved city, any hint of water on the barren Vaigai river is a big spectacle for the public. More than the impending danger the flash floods may pose, it seems that the joy of seeing water gushing out and overflowing the causeways has overwhelmed the people, as was evident from the huge crowd on the Albert Victor Bridge, which gathered to have a view of the river in full flow.

But it further complicated the traffic as most of the two-wheeler riders parked their vehicles on the road blocking free movement. It was quite understandable as it had been 12 years since Madurai had received such a widespread rainfall causing flash floods on the river. As water engulfed all the causeways across the river, the slow moving vehicles were permitted to pass through the A.V. Bridge

Can he speak or not? The Vice-Chancellor of Madurai Kamaraj University, P. Maruthamuthu, who normally shares all information about developments in the varsity with the media prefers the `mute mode' now, following `advice' from a few senior colleagues.

At the Syndicate meeting on Saturday, opinion was divided on media interaction with some members suggesting that he may avoid the press while a few gently told him that there should not be a generalisation. The debate took place in the context of some recent decisions taken by the Syndicate and Senate based on internal investigation reports.

Officials said that Dr. Maruthamuthu was asked to give only `press releases' by a few members. Some felt that image building and development were quite essential and hence the Vice-Chancellor could speak to the press. However, the VC's opinion was that there need not be a blanket ban on media briefings in the university.

Mohamed Imranullah S.,

J.V. Siva Prasanna Kumar,

T. Saravanan and Shastry V Mallady.

Contributions from Mohamed Imranullah S., J.V. Siva Prasanna Kumar, T. Saravanan and Shastry V Mall

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