Andhra Pradesh   

A lesson in balanced diet

Thanks to the unpredictable nature of their working hours, majority of the members of the fourth estate hardly ever make it on time for a meal. Many either skip or grab a ‘greasy' meal served at the end of the press conferences in the hotel.

The concept of balanced diet is usually forgotten while eating such meals.

A recent meeting organised by a hospital on obesity, however, was different. In addition to waxing eloquent about virtues of a balanced diet, apparently, the doctors wanted to make the media persons taste an ideal balanced diet.

So in came sprouts, raw vegetable salads, soy beans, brown bread sandwiches, fruits and juices in the menu and out went ice-creams, sweets, deserts, rice, biriyani, non-vegetarian dishes.

Unfortunately, many presspersons, accustomed to ‘greasy' meals, struggled with the changed menu. The doctors, later on, rubbed it in by saying everybody should be disciplined in their eating habits.

Yet another incident of a chief warden severely injuring a student has seen the light of the day this week, revealing the unspeakable torture heaped upon children at schools.

One question that arises in the mind is how intimidating these teachers must be as parents, as parental authority goes unquestioned in our culture.

The person in question might not break the bones or burn the legs of his own children. But he could be quite menacing towards his children too.

Its robbery out there in the Secunderabad Cantonment in the name of toll tax and Octroi.

Despite public outcry and numerous resolutions passed by SCB, the Defence Ministry is unmoved about abolishing them because it wants the State governments to compensate for the “loss in revenue”.

Ironically, even the SCB losses much revenue because the contractors who bid for the collection fleece much more than the officially sanctioned rates displayed on the notice boards at various check posts at entry/exit points.

The collection is so brazen that they did not spare a senior defence official's vehicle bringing household goods after his transfer!

The official himself confessed when a delegation of drilling machine trucks gave a written complaint on the ‘heavy duties' being forcibly collected.

“Wonder what action they will take when its own elected members run the show,” was their wry remark later.

M. SAI GOPAL, SWATHI.V, V. GEETANATH

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