Mayor Saidai S. Duraisamy alleged the Chennai Corporation Council was misled into passing the resolution permitting demolition of the Anna Arch. The Chennai Corporation council on Wednesday also revoked the permission given in May for the demolition.
The council also passed a resolution asking the Highways Department to restore the Arch to its original condition and hand over the structure to the Chennai Corporation again. Mr. Duraisamy said that previous government had played a role in planning the demolition of the structure. “We regret the events,” said Mr. Duraisamy responding to a councillor belonging to the AIADMK. The councillor blamed the civic body for permitting the demolition of the Anna Memorial Arch. He claimed that the councillor or the ward committee members of the area were not aware of the demolition of the Arch.
The resolution passed by the Council follows the Chief Minister’s “unequivocal and explicit instructions to the effect that Anna Memorial Arch would not be shifted and would remain at its present location.”
The Chief Minister had also directed that the alignment of the grade separator be suitably altered so as to ensure the positional integrity of the Anna Memorial Arch. The arm of the grade separator is likely to be shifted to the eastern part of the structure.