The Hindu 18.04.2013
A message that will not fail to fall even on the weakest eardrums
Muncipality employs tom tom to deliver encroachment news.
A man, dressed in khaki shorts and shirt, has been
beating a small drum and going around the Pudupalayam area here, the
past few days, announcing that those shopkeepers who have encroached
upon the drainage space and put up protruding ceilings should remove
those structures at their own expenses by Wednesday.
The
municipality has found the time-tested tom tom an useful device to
effectively reach out to the residents. It is, therefore, not a wonder
that in this age and time, with so many technological advancements, the
tom tom has come to smugly perform a duty.
None could
avoid the reverberating sound of the tom tom as it would attract every
passerby to pause and listen. Those staying indoors would crane their
necks to have a good look at the man handling the tom tom and listen
closely to what he has to say.
Sounding a tom tom
implies that the matter is urgent and important. The man seen at
Pudupalayam has been succinctly passing on the message that if the
unauthorised structures are not removed within the stipulated time, the
civic body would be constrained to deploy bulldozers to pull down the
illegal appendages.
As the tom tom wielder would have
many witnesses, none could later claim that he or she is unaware of the
deadline for clearing the bills and adhering to the rules.