The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : VIP compulsions!

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Tuesday, Mar 11, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

VIP compulsions!

Having a woman as district Collector was a god-sent opportunity for many organisations in the city, which were keen on celebrating the International Women’s Day (IWD) with the best possible VIP as chief guest. As a result, Shailaja Ramaiyer, who took over the reins of the district only a few days before the IWD, had to do a lot of hopping on March 8 attending more than one function. While she spent considerable time at the function organised by the Department of Women & Child Welfare at TANA Rescue Shelter at Hanumanpet, she also had to turn up for the function organised by the VMC in the evening. In between, she had to attend another function organised by the Red Cross for distribution of spectacles to poor children. Though it was not related to the IWD, she could not skip it, as Assembly Speaker K.R. Suresh Reddy was the chief guest. Some protocol compulsions and some gender compulsions!

Nothing unusual!

What if an official who usually tries to keep the media away is forced to spend quite a long time with reporters? Assistant Commissioner of Police (West) L. Vijay Kumar is known for his reluctance to speak to the media. Particularly in the wake of murder of pharmacy student Ayesha Meera, the case for which he is one of the investigating officers, the ACP is maintaining a conspicuous distance from presspersons. However, Mr. Vijay Kumar had to recently address a press meet to give details of the persons being sent for narco analysis as a part of the probe. Though the ACP completed his briefing in 15 minutes and announced that he would have to rush for an urgent assignment, he was forced to repeat the content many a time, thanks to the reporters of television channels who insisted on being given ‘exclusive’ bites. Having come thus far, Mr. Vijay Kumar had no option but to oblige.

A surprise

Congress leaders and activists, who attended a ‘meet-the-press’ of Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajagopal recently, said they were very disappointed. The scribes who wondered about the reason for the disappointment were quick to be told that the MP was let off lightly as the journalists refrained from asking difficult and cryptic queries. The partymen were candid in saying that it was the reason for their disappointment. Surprisingly, they had come not to see Mr. Rajagopal give brilliant replies, but struggle to give answers.

Sage counsel

Marriage is a serious institution and any mismatch can upset the apple cart. The secretary of the Legal Services Authority of Krishna district, K. Srikanthachari, made this valid point in an effective way at a meeting organised in connection with the International Women’s Day celebrations. Since majority of the audience comprised adolescent girls and young women, he perhaps deemed it fit to hand out an advice. He said smitten by the love ‘virus’, young girls and boys find it difficult to wait for the wedlock till they turn ‘majors’. “In their desperation, some of them tie the nuptial knot exactly on the day they are declared ‘majors’. The result is that we have hordes of young couples coming to us for divorce citing non-compatibility as reason. I advise such couples to wait until they are mature enough to handle a life-long bond like marriage,” he said, amidst public applause.

K. Srimali, K. N. Murali Sankar, G. V. Ramana Rao and P. Sujatha Varma

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