It starts with the stinking garbage menace at Vellalore in the East to man-animal conflicts as a result of encroachments on water bodies in the West. This is the geography of the 49 years old Kinathukadavu Assembly Constituency, which came to existence in 1967. Of course delimitations have taken place over the years.
So far, only the All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) have been successful in this constituency that has seen 11 assembly elections till 2011. AIADMK has been the most successful party as their candidates have been elected as MLA seven times including hat-trick victories by the sitting MLA S. Damodaran from 2001.
But, over the years many woes of the people in this semi urban assembly segment has not seen a solution and in fact they seem to be on the rise.
Dump yard
The key issue is dumping 850 tonnes of garbage that Coimbatore Corporation is dumping at the 650 acre Vellalore dump yard every day.
It is affecting residents of that town panchayat and Podanur. Even water from borewells 1 km away is yellow and is not potable, says organiser of Vellalore Dump Yard Opposition Committee J. Daniel Jesudas.
People suffer breathing difficulty and other ailments in this region.
While it will take decades for repairing the damage caused by this dump yard both leading parties don’t seem to have understood the magnitude of the issue and demands of the people here. AIADMK candidate A. Shanmugam said ‘Amma’ has taken steps for redressing this grievance.
DMK candidate Kurichi Prabakaran said that ‘Kalaignar’ in his manifesto announced garbage segregation and electricity generation from the yard without affecting people.
On the other hand, Marumalarchi Dravida Munetra Kazhagam candidate V. Eswaran has been fighting for the cause and has even filed a case before the Green Tribunal in 2012.
The other important issue is the encroachment of revenue lands and areas close to the forest by educational institutions, agricultural lands and thousands of houses, affecting the course of canals. It has reflected with groundwater depletion and increase in man-animal conflicts.
Sadly, candidates of leading parties are not taking up this issue as it would turn into negative votes.
Proposal to lay the GAIL pipeline will affect nearly 1,500 farmers in the assembly. “Petroleum companies are planning to lay more pipelines for other projects through a vast stretch of agricultural lands in this constituency. We want a representative who will raise his voice in the assembly. This has not happened in the last five years,” P. Kandhasamy, State general secretary of farmers association said.
Tomato cultivation is widely done at Kinathukadavu and nearby areas rain shadow regions.
Farmers are dependent on rain-fed irrigation and expect steady viable price for their produce and units to be established to make value added products that will fetch them a good price.
Improving ground water availability would make irrigation possible round the year.
Thousands of people from Kinathukadavu worked in large numbers in the industrial units at Kurichi and Malumichampatti SIDCO industrial estates.
But, many have lost their jobs due to various reasons that affected the industries there and want these units to be revived and to create more jobs.
Speedy completion of the broad gauge conversion between Coimbatore and Pollachi, and establishing more railway stations on this stretch, mending damaged village roads and starting mini bus connectivity between the villages were other important demands of Kinathukadavu assembly segment.
