The push factor

A bureaucrat's lot is not always to be envied, if a talk by a senior mandarin from the department of consumer affairs is anything to go by. Addressing a group of representatives from the direct selling industry recently, he said bureaucrats often face a dilemma in discharging their duties between action and coercion. Dealing with consumer-related issues, he joked, is like the man who jumps into a well, ostensibly to save a child from drowning. When everyone applauds his bravery, he confesses to being pushed into the well, not willingly jumping in.