The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Violent sport!

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Tuesday, Jun 16, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Violent sport!

Boxing is a dangerous sport and even the great Mohammad Ali had to suffer from serious problems like loss of memory soon after he retired. Professional boxing is particularly perilous as the boxers do not wear any headgear and go at each other’s head. Amateur boxing allows use of protective gear but still as real combat is involved, there has been a demand for banning boxing totally in all categories of sport. The latest advocate for the ban is ‘Ram Ram’ Santi Vidyananda Saraswathi Thirtha Swami, more popular as Ram Ram Santi Baba. He has decried the boxing coaching camp recently held at Swarnabharati Indoor Stadium. “They could instead organize classes in computers, music and arts which is so useful to the youth and children. Is it necessary they should be trained to punch others in the nose and face to inflict bleeding injuries? Can’t anyone stop such violent sport in the land of Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi who preached peace?,” he asks.

Good Samaritans

Auto rickshaw drivers bother people by not plying their vehicles on meter, stopping at any place which brings the traffic behind an auto to a grinding halt, or cut across the path of other vehicles. But instances of being rude with passengers is rare with Vizag ‘auto men’, as the school children calls them. Parents sending their children to school by autos have no complaints. Some auto men carry pregnant women and physically handicapped persons free of cost. A few incidents of robberies in the autos by thieves posing as passengers made the AITUC-affiliated auto men union to ask its members to take precautions, which is appreciable. Its State general secretary G. Vamana Murthy wanted the bad elements to be picked up and thrown out as they are defaming the tranquil atmosphere of the city. He suggested steps like not allowing three or four unfamiliar male passengers getting into an auto, etc. to protect the passengers as well as the reputation of Vizag auto men. A few precautions like this would also ensure that the people would continue to believe in auto drivers, he said.

All for amenities

At the Zilla Parishad general body meeting on Monday, members complained about lack of adequate seating, suffocation and stinking toilets. As members came in, plastic chairs were hurriedly brought into the hall to seat them. One member made a scathing attack on the state of toilets and wanted some arrangement to be made instead of carrying out repeated repairs to other buildings. Former Mayor and Anakapalle Lok Sabha member Sabbam Hari proposed that the meeting hall should be air-conditioned as the members needed physical comfort to discuss problems. Surprisingly, Srikakulam has a spacious, air-conditioned Zilla Parishad meeting hall that was complimented by former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu who inaugurated it.

(Prabhakkar Sharma, G. Narasimha Rao and G.V. Prasada Sarma)

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