“Stop taking pictures… grab the camera… get the lensman here”. These were some of the warnings shouted by a side-kick of Chennai Mayor Saidai Duraisamy while accompanying the latter in his car while leaving the Ripon Buildings on Thursday.
It seems the top brass of the city Corporation have chosen to distance themselves from the scribes, fearing overexposure in the media.
Taking advantage of the Mayor’s dilemma, the side-kicks often behave rudely and prevent photographers from clicking pictures of the media-shy mayor.
Though Mr Duraisamy was unaware of such behaviour by his aides, he has often been heard requesting media men to not take his photos.
The situation turns ugly at times as some photojournalists chase him to click snaps while he meets members of the public who frequent the corporation headquarters for redressal of their grievances.
The event on Thursday jolted two photographers — one from an English-language national daily and another from a top Tamil daily. In fact, this correspondent too exchanged heated words with the Mayor’s aide protesting the latter’s rude behaviour.
According to Corporation sources, the Mayor is working round-the-clock to improve sanitation and the scenic beauty of the city.
He inspects at least two spots daily and also reaches out to the public to listen to their grievances. But not much news or information is conveyed to the journalists covering the civic beat.
“The mayor is really hardworking and addresses the complaints lodged with him, but for some reason his aides often behave rudely and when the media approaches the mayor’s chamber, there is no response,” wondered a senior journalist.
