The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Corporation's best known face to bid farewell

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 31, 2007
ePaper


<SCRIPT language='JavaScript1.1' SRC="http://ad.doubleclick.net/adj/N4322.hinduonline/B2155503.3;abr=!ie;sz=468x60;ord=[timestamp]?"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT> <A HREF="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/N4322.hinduonline/B2155503.3;abr=!ie4;abr=!ie5;sz=468x60;ord=[timestamp]?"> <IMG SRC="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/N4322.hinduonline/B2155503.3;abr=!ie4;abr=!ie5;sz=468x60;ord=[timestamp]?" BORDER=0 WIDTH=468 HEIGHT=60 ALT="Click Here"></A> </NOSCRIPT>

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Corporation's best known face to bid farewell

Karthik Subramanian

Dafedar B. Pulla Reddy to retire

Pulla Reddy. — Photo: K. Pichumani

CHENNAI: The sacred-ash smeared forehead, silver grey moustache, shell-frame spectacles and the immaculate white uniform: no visitor to the Corporation Commissioner's office in Ripon Buildings here over the past two decades could have missed B. Pulla Reddy, the official dafedar since 1984.

He retires from service this Wednesday as the senior most dafedar of the civic agency. The soft-spoken employee says he is looking forward to running a small business and spending more time with his family at his residence in Korattur near Padi.

Mr. Reddy joined the Chennai Corporation in 1968 as an office assistant and was promoted to be a dafedar in 1984. Since then, he has assisted 30 different commissioners and is easily the most widely recognised face of Ripon Buildings, the Corporation headquarters.

At office

For Mr. Reddy, the routine has been strenuous over the past two decades. He is among the first to arrive at Ripon Buildings — his day begins at 5 a.m.

Due to the long commute from his residence, he is able to reach the Chennai Corporation headquarters anytime between 6.45 a.m. and 7 a.m. He stays on till 8 p.m. at night. Several senior officials praised Mr. Reddy as an efficient worker who went about his chores with the slightest fuss. When we pushed to recall his unforgettable memories at work, he remembers the days following the death of former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran. "None of the staff left the office for five days. All of us were in a state of shock."

The proudest moment for Mr. Reddy was during his son's marriage in 1996. "Several former Commissioners and VIPs visited," he says with a big smile. Regular visitors to Ripon Buildings will surely miss him.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu