With senior BJP councillors running around for a ticket, and little or nothing to do with the code of conduct in place, municipal employees believe it is time to fix those creaky joints and niggling aches.

The man they have turned to is 52-year-old acupressure specialist Bal Krishan Joshi. The municipal Town Hall is Joshi’s dispensary for the week. The biggest problem, Joshi said, is in the spine of civic employees.

Popular as ‘Balu’, Joshi begins his day after the employees have walked the morning walk, and sweated out at the exercise session. Both initiatives, the specialist and the morning activity, have been undertaken by the office of the Municipal Secretary.

Joshi’s work, though simple in procedure, has worked wonders on aching joints, civic officials said. “He pokes at the pressure points, and we feel better,” an employee said. And all this, is absolutely free.

Joshi has treated many with a spinal cord problem. “This could be because of wrong posture, even incorrect lifestyle,” he said. Then there are the aching knees, blood pressure, and joint inflammation.

A clerk said: “I had an acute pain in my joints, high blood pressure and high sugar. But since Balu started treating me, my joints are better. Even my blood pressure is under control.”

Municipal driver Gurmeet Singh had a bad back. “I couldn’t walk without wearing a belt before. But I can now.”

Joshi arrived sharp at 9 am this Monday, and will be there till Friday. The lines are longer every day before his table. “On day one, there were 20. I have treated more than 50 people today,” Joshi said.

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