The stream of visitors outside Coimbatore Mayor Kalpana Anandakumar’s room at the Corporation building seems unending. They are greeted by the Mayor and her husband Anandakumar, who, ever since his wife won the mayorship election, has been beside her, be it while meeting party leaders or officials or speaking to the media. Winning the Coimbatore mayorship has brought enormous responsibilities, which “I feel but am yet to understand”, says Ms. Anandakumar. “I also realise my responsibility to strengthen the party [DMK] by delivering on the promises we made during the campaign,” she adds. Before beginning to talk about her vision for the city, she says she would like to make it clear that she wants uniform development under her mayorship. “I want development in all 100 wards, with the same standards of water supply, sanitation, etc. I do not want uneven development, which I witnessed during the last 10 years,” she says. Her priority, as announced by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin during his visit to the city a few months ago, is to improve water supply. “Improving water supply by bettering its distribution is one of my priorities, as there are areas which receive water once in two days and other places where water is supplied once in 10 days,” Ms. Anandakumar says. The same goes for sanitation – collecting waste from the wards and clearing the drains. “There are many wards that don’t have bins and localities that don’t have stormwater drains. Therefore, my priority is to improve sanitation as well,” she says.
She also plans to focus on improving infrastructure in Corporation schools. In discharging her duties, she is conscious that she should not be seen as someone who favours one ward or zone over others.
“All that I aspired for was the post of a chairperson of a zone or a standing committee. Winning the mayorship has been possible only because of the faith and trust that the party leadership has in my family. So, I want to live up to their and the people’s expectations,” she says.
