The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : ‘No development to show Tirupur is a Corporation’

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 01, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

‘No development to show Tirupur is a Corporation’

Special Correspondent

Photo: M. Balaji

EXPRESSING RESENTMENT: MDMK councillors stage a sit-in at the Tirupur Corporation Council meeting on Monday over the lack of development works. —

TIRUPUR: Members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India staged a walkout from the Tirupur Corporation Council on Monday, lamenting the lack of development despite the local body having been upgraded from a municipality to a corporation.

The first of the walkouts for the day was by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) over the rise in fuel price. Former MLA and Leader of the Opposition in the Council C. Sivasamy said the Corporation could not afford to distance itself from the fuel price hike as it had to spend on fuel for its vehicles.

Tirupur’s revenue earner – the knitwear industry – was into difficult times because of frequent power disruptions. It, therefore, had to run units on diesel and the rise in the cost of the fuel has piled more agony on the industry. Mr. Sivasamy and other party councillors staged a walkout.

The CPI, however, said it saw no reason to raise this issue in a local body meeting. Instead, it criticised the Corporation for the lack of initiatives for all-round development.

P.R. Natarajan of the CPI said the Corporation had failed to solve the drinking water crisis despite many review meetings having been held on this issue. “You said water from two schemes should be mixed and supplied in order to increase frequency of supply. But, the promise of once-in-four-days supply has not been kept. It is still done only once in eight days,” he told officials.

Mr. Natarajan warned against increasing Property Tax and assailed the Corporation for not showing any indication of development works being taken up. “The Corporation is non-functional,” he said and led his party’s walkout.

G. Easwaramoorthy of the CPI (M) alleged that only work orders were being issued, but nothing was happening on the ground. Water supply had not improved and contractors were not doing patchworks on roads, citing rising cost of materials.

Allocation of funds for works in newly regularised layouts had been made, but works were not being carried out. “Only the stature of the local body has been upgraded to that of a corporation. But, there is no development to show Tirupur is a corporation,” he said, and led the CPI (M) councillors in a walkout.

S. Sivabalan of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and four party colleagues staged a sit-in to protest the lack of development.

Officiating for Mayor K. Selvaraj, who was in Chennai, Deputy Mayor K. Senthilkumar said the Corporation was taking up works. Municipal Engineer K. Gouthaman explained that a number of road works had been initiated. Power supply disruptions affected water supply. Efforts were being made to solve this problem also.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu