Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

Reporter's Diary

For the motley crowd living around Thirumalai Naick Palace it was a pleasant surprise to see a large contingent passing through their streets looking at their houses in awe.

It was a `heritage walk' organised to create an awareness of the historical significance of the Temple City and to reaffirm their faith in the rich culture. For the students from different schools and colleges who participated in the walk it was a unique experience as they were able to gather some interesting information about the historical sites.

The organisers felt that such tours could bring in a sea of change in the attitude of the people who could be motivated into keeping their premises clean. Some of the participants felt that the walk would have been a lot more meaningful if the organisers had accorded a more traditional welcome with persons decked as the king and queen.

Agitations in front of the Head Post Office in Madurai often lead to traffic chaos.

During the recent weeks, two ruling party demonstrations led to a traffic block on Scott Road forcing the police to divert vehicles for more than an hour. Access to Meenakshi Bazaar and the HPO remains cut off during such demonstrations. Adding to the congestion, the agitators raise slogans during peak hours much to the inconvenience of officials working in government offices and banks nearby.

Similar is the scene on North-West Masi Junction where the police allow agitations regularly. Whenever there is a huge gathering, vehicles coming from West Veli Street are diverted. Employees in the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Tallakulam Post Office and Chief Educational Officer's office also complain of perennial disturbance from party cadres and other associations who agitate behind the Nehru Statue.

The plea of road users and office-goers is that the police should identify a common place for public gatherings/meetings/demonstrations so that they do not affect traffic flow or disturb others.

T. Saravanan and

S. Vijay Kumar

in Madurai.)

(Contributions from T. Saravanan and S. Vijay Kumar in Madurai.)

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