Avoid long mobile conversations, serials: Mayor advises to college students

Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai, on March 5, 2012:

Source:http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/avoid-long-mobile-conversations-serials-mayor/369435.html

CHENNAI: Pitching for a change in the mindset of youth for the country’s progress, Mayor Saidai S Duraisamy on Saturday advised students of the Madras Veterinary College (MVC) to desist from watching tele-serials, which, according to him, feeds only bad thoughts into budding minds.

Addressing the students during their Hostel Day celebrations here, Duraisamy said, “Don’t watch tele-serials as they bring in a lot of criminal thoughts and are responsible for leading young minds astray.” Besides, the Mayor also advised the students, especially girls, to use their mobile phones judiciously.

“Conversing on mobile phones for long hours would not only waste your precious time, but is also very harmful to health,” Duraisamy advised the students, who reacted with a thunderous applause.

Moving away from the tradition of addressing only from podium, the Mayor, using a cordless mike, stepped down from the stage amid the students and started interacting with them just as their professors would.

He advised the students to read newspapers regularly in order to improve their general knowledge, which, in turn, would help them face any kind of competitive examination.

Going a step ahead, the Mayor asked Dr R Prabakaran, the Vice-Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Veterinary Sciences and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS), to make it compulsory for all veterinary students to read newspapers apart from  their subject textbooks.

Asking the veterinary  students to think beyond their subject, Duraisamy said, “You should not restrict yourselves to the veterinary profession after completing courses from TANUVAS, as competitive examinations would open new vistas in your careers.” He also rewarded students who came up with correct answers to general knowledge questions posed by him, with a cash prize.