Decision to reserve 9 wards to women breeds resentment

Condemning the decision to reserve nine wards in the Melapalayam Zone of Tirunelveli Corporation for women, representatives of various political parties barring the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam submitted their objection to Commissioner S. Sivasubramanian on Thursday.

The petitioners said seven wards in Melapalayam Zone of Tirunelveli Corporation had been reserved for women during the October 2011 local body polls. However, this number had been upwardly revised to nine for the forthcoming local body election.

“While the number of wards reserved for women in the Thatchanallur, Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai zones are much lower than this number, it has been increased to nine in Melapalayam Zone alone, which cannot be accepted.

The decision to increase the number of wards reserved for women will deny men the opportunity to contest the local body polls and serve the public,” said Abdul Gayoom of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, one of the signatories in the petition.

The petitioners also said the ‘women wards’ should be fixed on rotational basis, which was in practice a decade ago.

Representatives of Indian Union Muslim League, Congress, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Social Democratic Party of India, Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, National League and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi had signed in the petition.

They also organised a meeting in this connection with IUML leader L.K.S. Meeran Maideen chairing the meet and passed a resolution in this regard.

The meeting also appealed to the district administration and the Public Works Department to clean the seriously polluted Palayam Channel wherein sewage was flowing uncontrollably for the past several years.

Moreover, chicken, fish and goat wastes were being dumped in the channel which had already been inundated by waterweeds. Above all, debris was also being dumped in the channel that obstructs the free flow of water to become a potential breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Considering the gravity of the situation, immediate steps should be taken to clean the Palayam Channel and initiate stringent measures against those dumping waste in it, the meeting said.